AP Government Court Cases

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

• Ruled that it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools, violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

• Established the Lemon Test for determining whether a law violates the Establishment Clause. The Court ruled that state funding of religious schools was unconstitutional under this test.

Kennedy v. Bremerton Schools (2022)

• Addressed the rights of a high school football coach to pray on the field after games, focusing on free speech and religious freedom in public schools.

Sherbert v. Verner (1963)

• Held that the government cannot deny unemployment benefits to a person who refuses work that conflicts with their religious beliefs, upholding the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

• Ruled that the state's interest in educating children did not outweigh the Amish community's right to educate their children according to their religious beliefs, affirming the Free Exercise Clause.

Employment Div. of Oregon v. Smith (1990)

• Determined that the state could deny unemployment benefits to individuals fired for using illegal drugs for religious ceremonies, stating that neutral laws of general applicability do not violate the Free Exercise Clause.

Church of Lukuani Babalu Ave. v. Hialeah (1993)

• Struck down municipal ordinances that prohibited animal sacrifices for religious rituals, ruling that they discriminated against a specific religion.

Schenck v. U.S. (1919)

• Established the 'clear and present danger' test for limiting free speech, ruling that speech creating a clear and present danger of illegal acts is not protected under the First Amendment.

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

• Upheld the conviction of a socialist for distributing a manifesto, ruling that states can restrict speech that poses a threat to the government, incorporating the First Amendment through the Fourteenth.

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)

• Established the actual malice standard for press reports about public officials, protecting the press from liability unless it can be shown that false statements were made knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth.

New York Times Co. v. U.S. (1971)

• Affirmed the right of the press to publish the Pentagon Papers without prior restraint; the government's efforts to block publication were unconstitutional.

Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)

• Reinforced the protection of free speech, ruling that inflammatory speech is protected unless it incites imminent lawless action.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

• Affirmed students' rights to free speech in public schools, ruling that students could wear armbands to protest the Vietnam War without disrupting school activities.

Hazelwood Schools v. Kuhlmeier (1988)

• Ruled that schools could regulate school-sponsored publications, emphasizing the school officials' authority over school-sponsored speech.

Morse v. Frederick (2007)

• Upheld a school’s right to limit student speech at a school-sponsored event, ruling that promoting illegal drug use was not protected under the First Amendment.

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

• Ruled that burning the American flag as a form of protest is protected speech under the First Amendment.

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

• Held that political spending by corporations and unions is protected under the First Amendment, allowing for unlimited independent expenditures in political campaigns.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

• Incorporated the Second Amendment right to bear arms to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, ruling that states cannot impose undue restrictions on gun ownership.

NY State Rifle Ass'n v. Bruen (2022)

• Determined that the right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense is protected under the Second Amendment.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

• Recognized a constitutional right to privacy involving marital relations, ruling that a Connecticut law banning contraception violated this right.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

• Affirmed a woman's right to choose to have an abortion under the right to privacy, leading to a significant legal foundation for reproductive rights.

Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)

• Upheld Roe v. Wade but allowed states to impose regulations as long as they do not place an undue burden on women seeking abortions.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health (2022)

• Overturned Roe v. Wade, ruling that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, thus returning the power to regulate abortion back to the states.

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

• Established the exclusionary rule, ruling that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment cannot be used in state courts.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

• Held that the Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel in state courts, effectively extending the right to free legal representation to defendants who cannot afford it.

Terry v. Ohio (1968)

• Established the concept of stop-and-frisk, allowing police to stop and search a person based on reasonable suspicion without a warrant.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

• Established the requirement that individuals taken into police custody must be informed of their rights to an attorney and against self-incrimination.

New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)

• Confirmed that school officials can search students’ belongings with reasonable suspicion without violating the Fourth Amendment.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

• Upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine, legitimizing many state laws on segregation.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

• Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, declaring racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, paving the way for the civil rights movement.

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S. (1964)

• Upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ruling that businesses cannot discriminate based on race and that Congress can regulate private businesses engaged in interstate commerce.

Loving v. Virginia (1967)

• Invalidated laws banning interracial marriage, ruling such laws violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)

• Ruled that affirmative action policies in education could not discriminate based on race, although diversity is a legitimate goal.

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

• Recognized same-sex marriage as a constitutional right under the Fourteenth Amendment, ruling that state bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

• Established the principle of judicial review, allowing courts to declare legislative and executive actions unconstitutional.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Affirmed the supremacy of federal law over state law and established the implied powers of Congress.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

• Introduced the concept of justiciability in political questions, allowing federal courts to intervene in legislative redistricting cases.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

• Addressed racial gerrymandering, ruling that redistricting plans must ensure equal protection under the law and must not be based solely on race.

United States v. Lopez (1995)

• Limited congressional power under the Commerce Clause, ruling that the Gun Free School Zones Act exceeded Congress's authority by regulating gun possession in schools.