SCOTUS Cases (copy)

Study Guide: Required Court Cases for AP Government and Politics

1. Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Significance: It set the precedent for the judiciary's role as a check on the legislative and executive branches, affirming that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and that it is the duty of the courts to uphold it.

2. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

  • Description: This landmark case centered around a dispute regarding the state of Maryland's attempt to tax the Second Bank of the United States, which was created by Congress. The case questioned the extent of Congress's implied powers and the supremacy of federal laws over state laws.

  • Significance: The Supreme Court confirmed the supremacy of federal laws over state laws and upheld the implied powers of Congress through the necessary and proper clause, establishing that states cannot interfere with or tax legitimate activities of the federal government.

3. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Significance: Upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine.

4. Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)Description: This landmark Supreme Court case addressed the legality of racial segregation in public schools. It arose when African American parents challenged the segregationist policies in California schools on behalf of their children.

Significance: The Court's decision declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, effectively overturning the precedent set by Plessy v. Ferguson and signaling a major victory for the civil rights movement.

5. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Significance: Guaranteed the right to counsel for defendants in criminal cases, extending the Sixth Amendment's rights to state courts.

(6). Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Significance: Established Miranda rights, requiring law enforcement to inform individuals of their rights during interrogations.

7. Roe v. Wade (1973)

Significance: Established a woman's legal right to have an abortion under the right to privacy.

(8). United States v. Nixon (1974)

Significance: Affirmed the principle that no person, not even the President of the United States, is above the law; led to the release of tape recordings during Watergate scandal.

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

Significance: Ruled that racial quotas in college admissions violate the Civil Rights Act but allowed race to be considered in admissions decisions.

10. Shaw v. Reno (1993)

  • In 1991, a group of white voters in North Carolina challenged the state's new congressional district map, which had two “majority-minority” districts. The group claimed that the districts were racial gerrymanders that violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

  • In its 1993 decision, the Supreme Court agreed, ruling that race cannot be the predominant factor in creating districts.

11. Engel v. Vitale (1962)

  • In the 1950s, New York schools encouraged teachers to lead students in a non-denominational prayer each morning. A group of parents, including Steven Engel, challenged this school prayer as a violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment.

  • The Supreme Court ruled that the school-led prayer violated the First Amendment, citing the importance of separating government and religion.

12. Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

  • The state of Wisconsin fined three Amish families for refusing to send their children to school past the eighth grade. State law mandated that all students attend school until age 16.

  • The Amish families’ case went to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the Wisconsin law violated their right to free exercise of religion.

13. Schenck v. United States (1919)

  • Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer were convicted under the 1917 Espionage Act for mailing leaflets encouraging men to resist the military draft. They appealed to the Supreme Court on the grounds that the conviction violated their free speech rights.

  • The Supreme Court upheld their convictions, ruling that speech that creates a “clear and present danger” (by encouraging violence or insurrection, or endangering national security) is not protected by the First Amendment.

14. Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

  • In 1965, a public school district in Iowa suspended three teenagers for wearing black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. Their families filed suit, and in 1969 the case reached the Supreme Court.

  • The Court ruled that the school district had violated the students’ free speech rights. The armbands were a form of symbolic speech, which the First Amendment protects.

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

  • In 1971, the administration of President Richard Nixon attempted to suppress the publication of a top-secret history of US military involvement in Vietnam, claiming that its publication endangered national security.

  • In the resulting case, the Supreme Court found that this injunction against publication was a violation of the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of the press.

16. McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)–a landmark 5-4 decision that the Second Amendment does, in fact, protect an individual’s right to bear arms. The Court declared the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns unconstitutional.



17. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC), 2010

In 2008, a conservative non-profit organization called Citizens United made a film entitled Hillary: The Movie. The film was very negative in its portrayal of then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and was clearly intended to influence voters.  A lower court ruled that Citizens United’s film violated the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act’s prohibition on “electioneering communication” by a corporation or labor union immediately before an election.

When Citizens United appealed the lower court ruling before the Supreme Court, the justices faced a number of questions about previous court rulings and the BCRA, commonly known as McCain-Feingold.  Ultimately, the case was broader in scope than the Citizens United’s film; the question before the Court was whether restrictions on political spending violated the First Amendment right to free speech.