Required Cases
Case (Year Ruled On) | What Amendment or law was it challenging? | What was the ruling? Why? |
Marbury v. Madison (1803) | -Judiciary Act of 1789 | -The Court ruled that part of the Judiciary Act was unconstitutional. -It gave the Supreme Court powers not granted by the Constitution. This case established judicial review—the Court’s power to declare laws unconstitutional. |
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) | -Maryland state tax on the national bank -Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I) | -Maryland could not tax the national bank -Congress had implied powers to create the bank, and states cannot interfere with federal authority. |
Schenck v. U.S. (1919) | -Espionage Act of 1917 -First Amendment (free speech) | -Conviction upheld -Speech that creates a “clear and present danger” is not protected (anti‑draft flyers during wartime). |
Brown v. Board of Education (1954) | -State laws allowing school segregation -Fourteenth Amendment (Equal Protection Clause) | -Segregation in public schools is unconstitutional -“Separate but equal” is inherently unequal and harms minority children. |
Baker v. Carr (1961 or 1962) | -Tennessee’s failure to redraw voting districts -Fourteenth Amendment | -Federal courts can hear reapportionment cases -Unequal districts violate equal protection; courts can intervene. |
Engel v. Vitale (1962) | -State‑sponsored school prayer -First Amendment (Establishment Clause) | -School‑led prayer is unconstitutional -Government may not promote religion, even if prayer is voluntary. |
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) | -Florida’s denial of a lawyer to a poor defendant -Sixth Amendment (right to counsel), applied via the 14th | -Defendants must be provided an attorney -A fair trial requires legal representation. |
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) | -School punishment for wearing black armbands -First Amendment (free speech) | -Students do not lose free speech rights at school -Expression is protected unless it causes substantial disruption. |
New York Times Co. v. U.S. (1971) | -Government attempt to block publication of the Pentagon Papers -First Amendment (freedom of press) | -Government could not censor publication -Prior restraint on the press is almost always unconstitutional. |
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) | -Mandatory school attendance law -First Amendment (Free Exercise Clause) | -Amish families could remove children from school after 8th grade -Law interfered with sincere religious practice. |
Roe v. Wade (1973) | -Texas law banning abortion -Fourteenth Amendment (right to privacy) | -Women have a constitutional right to abortion (at the time) -The decision fell under personal liberty and privacy. -Note: Roe was overturned in Dobbs v. Jackson (2022). |
Shaw v. Reno (1993) | -Racially drawn congressional districts -Fourteenth Amendment | -Race‑based redistricting can be unconstitutional -Districts drawn mainly by race violate equal protection. |
U.S. v. Lopez (1995) | -Gun‑Free School Zones Act -Commerce Clause (Article I) | -The law was unconstitutional -Gun possession near schools is not interstate commerce. |
Citizens United v. FEC (2010) | -Limits on corporate political spending -First Amendment (free speech) | -Spending money for political communication is protected speech -The government cannot restrict political speech based on speaker identity. |
McDonald v. Chicago (2010) | -Chicago handgun ban -Second Amendment, applied via the 14th | -Gun ownership is a fundamental right -The Second Amendment applies to states as well as the federal government. |