AP GOV REQUIRED SUPREME COURT CASES

1. Marbury v. Madison (1803)

  • Principle: Judicial Review

  • Summary: Established the power of judicial review, allowing the Supreme Court to declare laws unconstitutional.

2. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

  • Principle: Federalism, Necessary and Proper Clause, Supremacy Clause

  • Summary: States cannot tax the federal government; affirmed the supremacy of national over state government and expanded Congress's implied powers.

3. Schenck v. United States (1919)

  • Principle: Free Speech, Clear and Present Danger Test (First Amendment)

  • Summary: Speech can be restricted if it presents a "clear and present danger" (e.g., anti-draft speech during wartime).

4. Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

  • Principle: Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)

  • Summary: Racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional; overturned Plessy v. Ferguson.

5. Baker v. Carr (1962)

  • Principle: Equal Protection, One Person One Vote

  • Summary: Enabled federal courts to intervene in redistricting cases; districts must have roughly equal populations.

6. Engel v. Vitale (1962)

  • Principle: Establishment Clause (First Amendment)

  • Summary: School-led prayer, even if voluntary and non-denominational, is unconstitutional.

7. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

  • Principle: Right to Counsel, Due Process (6th and 14th Amendments)

  • Summary: States must provide an attorney to defendants who can’t afford one in criminal cases.

8. Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

  • Principle: Free Speech (First Amendment)

  • Summary: Students have free speech rights in schools as long as it doesn’t disrupt learning; protected symbolic speech (black armbands).

9. New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

  • Principle: Freedom of the Press (First Amendment)

  • Summary: Government cannot prevent publication (no prior restraint) unless it poses a direct threat to national security (Pentagon Papers case).

10. Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

  • Principle: Free Exercise Clause (First Amendment)

  • Summary: Amish families could not be forced to send children to school past 8th grade; religious freedom outweighed the state interest.

11. Roe v. Wade (1973)

  • Principle: Right to Privacy (Due Process, 14th Amendment)

  • Summary: Legalized abortion nationwide by recognizing a woman's right to privacy. (Note: This was overturned in 2022 by Dobbs v. Jackson)

12. Shaw v. Reno (1993)

  • Principle: Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)

  • Summary: Race-based redistricting must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny; racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional if race is the predominant factor.

13. United States v. Lopez (1995)

  • Principle: Commerce Clause

  • Summary: Limited Congress’s use of the Commerce Clause; struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act as not substantially related to interstate commerce.

14. McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

  • Principle: 2nd Amendment, Selective Incorporation (14th Amendment)

  • Summary: Applied the Second Amendment right to bear arms to the states using the 14th Amendment.

15. Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

  • Principle: Free Speech (First Amendment)

  • Summary: Corporations and unions can spend unlimited money on political campaigns as long as they are independent of candidates.