AP Government Court Cases from Unit 3 Vocab Terms

Maryland v. Craig (1990)

• A defendant does not have an absolute right to come face to face with their accuser

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988)

• School officials have sweeping authority to regulate freedom of speech in student-run newspapers

Stromberg v. California

• First case in which the supreme court ruled that symbolic speech was protected

Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)

• The court upheld the constitutionality of the University of Michigan law school’s affirmative action policy because the law school needed diversity (see Bakke)

Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986)

• Important case in determining free speech. Gave school districts the power to suspend students for speaking in a lewd or indecent manner

Cooper v. Aaron (1958)

• Several southern states refused to follow the Brown decision and argued they could nullify a federal court if deemed unconstitutional. Rejected by Supreme Court

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Federal law that made segregation illegal in most public places, increased penalties and sentences for those convicted of discrimination in employment, and withheld federal aid from schools that discriminated on the basis of race or gender.

Title IX, Higher Education Act of 1972

• Prohibits discrimination by institutes that receive federal funds. Has increased women-only programs

Voting Rights Act of 1965

• Federal law that increased government supervision of local election practices, suspended the use of literacy tests to prevent people (usually African Americans) from voting, and expanded government efforts to register voters. The Voting Rights Act of 1970 permanently banned literacy tests.

Freedom of Information Act (1974)

• Act which declassified government documents for public use

Miller v. California (1973)

• Established a three-part obscenity test: a. does it appeal to base sexual instincts, b. does it have literary or artistic value, c. does it depict sexual behavior in an offensive manner

Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000)

• Allowed the boy Scouts to expel any member discovered to be homosexual because it is a private organization which invites members. Is legal discrimination

New York Times v. US (1971)

• Executive efforts to prevent the publication of the "Pentagon Papers" violated the First Amendment

Loving v. Virginia (1967)

• Ended all race-based restrictions on marriage

Furman v. Georgia (1972)

• Ended the death penalty in the United States in 1972

Gregg v. Georgia (1976)

• Established the constitutionality of the death penalty in 1976

Brown v. Board of Education

• 1954 case in which the Supreme Court overturned the “separate but equal” (Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896) standard as it applied to education

Brown v. Board of Education II

• 1955 case in which the Supreme Court ordered desegregation with “all deliberate speed”