Landmark
Under Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Supreme Court was considered "activist" because of expansion of individual rights in criminal cases
In numerous decisions the Warren Court was active in expanding the rights of the accused. The most famous of these was the 1966 Miranda v. Arizona decision that established a suspect's right to be informed of his or her rights. Many cases such as Mapp v. Ohio (right against illegal search and seizure) Gideon v. Wainwright (right to counsel) and others further helped establish Earl Warren's legacy as an activist Chief Justice.
The "clear and present danger" ruling of the Supreme Court in Schenck v. United States illustrates the continuing conflict between free speech and governmental authority
Schenck's speech was anti-government and ant-war (WWI). The ruling established the ability of the government to suppress speech and press that present a danger to it or its efforts
The dred scoot decision on the issue of slavery upheld the southern viewpoint
The Supreme Court ruled in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) that blacks were not citizens and that slaves were property and could be taken anywhere, regardless of a state's status as free or slave holding. This also served to declare the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional due to its establishment of free/slave state borders. This decision was ultimately nullified by the passage of the 13th amendment feeing the slaves and the 14th amendment establishing citizenship and equal protection under the law.
rights of accused persons
Warren Court was active in expanding the rights of the accused. The most famous of these was the 1966 Miranda v. Arizona decision that established a suspect's right to be informed of his or her rights. Many cases such as Mapp v. Ohio (right against illegal search and seizure) Gideon v. Wainwright (right to counsel) and others further helped establish Earl Warren's legacy as an activist Chief Justice.
An immediate result of the Supreme Court decision in Schechter Poultry Corporation v. United States (1935) and United States v. Butler (1936) was that 1. some aspects of the New Deal were declared unconstitutional
When the Supreme Court struck down several provisions of FDR's New Deal in the 1935 Schecter Poultry v. US case and the 1936 US v. Butler decision, they were exercising a check upon the Legislature and the Executive branches by declaring laws of the Congress and actions of the President unconstitutional. FDR