Court Cases

baker v carr (redistrict)

  • 14 amendment equal protection

  • baker sued that TN supposed to reapportion seats every 10 yrs but didnt for 60

  • justiciable question bc about 14 amendment (scotus can hear it), districts should be equal in size, allow scotus hear more reapportionment case under equal protection clause

brown v board of edu (equal protection)

  • 14 amend equal protection

  • lawsuit challenging legality of racial segregation in schools, previous plessy v ferguson upheld separate but equal

  • separate but equal is inherently unequal, segregation unconstitutional bc treat ppl diff based off race (overturn plessy v ferguson), require desegregation

    • states resisted implementation, require fed law/enforcement

citizens united v fec (1st: speech)

  • 1 amend free speech

  • bipartisan campaign reform act 2002 banned corp from giving $ to indep political spending, citizens united wanted to show negative ad of hilary clinton before 2008 dem primaries

  • corp should be considered ppl so can fund indep political expenditures bc of political speech protect by 1st amend

    • development of Super PACS/increase in $ campaign (soft $)

engel v vitale (1st: religion)

  • 1 amend free religion (establishment clause)

  • NY board of regent require public schools to have voluntary, nondenominational prayer, engel (jewish parent) sued

  • gov funds public schools so prayers violate establishment clause

gideon v wainwright (selective incorp)

  • 14 amend due process, selective incorp

  • gideon charged with felony in FL & wasn’t given court-appted lawyer bc FL law only gave lawyer in capital crime cases, sued violate 6 amend

  • 6 amend right to counsel applies to state felony defendants

    • selective incorp of 6 amend right to counsel to all state level felonies under 14 amend due process (procedural)

marbury v madison (federalism)

  • article 3

  • adam made midnight appt, madison refused to deliver commissions, marbury (judge) sued

  • established judicial review/strength fed gov/csotus, struck down judiciary act of 1789

mcculloch v maryland (federalism)

  • article 6 (supremacy clause), article 1 (necessary/proper clause)

  • congress charter 2nd bank, maryland impose ta, mcculloch (cashier) refuses to pay

  • a6: states can’t tax fed gov, a1: congress not limited to enumerated power

  • expanded fed gov

mcdonald v chicago (selective incorp)

  • 14 amendment due process, selective incorp

  • chicago passed handgun ban law, ppl challenged after dc v heller said dc handgun ban was unconstitutional under 2nd amend

  • scotus ruled ban was unconstituional, right to self defense of one’s home but not absolute

    • selective incorp of 2 amend: under 14 amend due process (substantive)

ny times v us (1st: press)

  • 1 amend free press

  • nytimes stopped from publishing paper about us intervention in vietnam by nixon administration who said it would hurt national security

  • sided with nytimes, must need heavy proof it hurts national security to stop, expands freedom of press/restrict executive authority

schenk v us (1st: speech)

  • 1 amend free speech (espionage act)

  • schenk/socialists distributed pamphlets that said ww1 draft violates 13 amendment (encouraged disobedience), charged w/ violate espionage act

  • espionage act didn’t violate 1st amendment bc of ability to limit speech with clear/present danger, freedom of speech not absolute/can’t promote unlaw/danger activity, cannot yell fire in theater (free speech has limit)

shaw v reno (redistrict)

  • 14 amend equal protection

  • NC resident challenged gerrymandered district believing purpose was to elect black representatives

  • shape was odd to show clear effort to racially separate voters: race cannot be only factor in drawing districts, majority/minority districts challenged if race only factor in creation

tinker v des moines (1st: speech)

  • 1 amend free speech (symbolic speech)

  • students protest vietnam war by wearing black armbands to school, sent home by admin, they sued that it violated 1st amend speech

  • students still have free speech at school&symbolic speech, speech must substantially interfere w/ school operation to justify suppresion

us v lopez (fed)

  • article 1 (commerce clause)

  • lopez federally charged (brought gun to hs) under gun-free school zones act 1990 by congress bc of commerce clause

  • GFSZA unconstitutional bc doesn’t affect interstate commerce, limited congressional authority (federalism giving states more power), infringe on 10 amendment reserved power

wisconsin v yoder (1st: religion)

  • 1 amend free religion (free exercise)

  • amish parent stop sending kids to school after 8th grade, charged w/ violating wisconsin law requiring school till age 16

  • wisconsin law unconstitutional bc no religious exemption, free exercise clause more powerful than gov interest sending kids to school, expans religious exemption concept