Marbury v. Madison

Gibbons v. Ogden 1824

Affirmed federal control of interstate commerce under commerce clause of the Constitution.

Regents of UC v. Bakke 1978

Held that colleges and universities may consider a person's race as one factor in admission policies / A fraction of seats in the universities were reserved for minorities who performed at a certain level, this was thought unfair by some

McCulloch v. MD 1819

the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution allows Congress to take actions when it is essential to a power that Congress has

Gitlow v. NY 1925

"Bad Tendency Doctrine," speech restricted if it has tendency to lead to illegal actions; selectively incorporated freedom of speech to states

Baker v. Carr 1962

"One man, one vote." Ordered state legislative districts to be as near equal as possible in population; Warren Court's judicial activism.

US v. Nixon 1974

key supreme court ruling on power of the president, finding that there is no absolute constitutional executive privilege to allow a president to refuse to comply with a court order to produce information needed in a criminal trial

Miller v. CA 1973

obscenity defined as appealing to prurient interests of an avg. person w/ materials that lack literary, artistic, political, or scientific value (student speech)

NY Times v. Sullivan 1964

Held that statements about public figures are libelous only if made with malice and reckless disregard for the truth.

Engel v. Vitale 1962

Prohibited state-sponsored recitation of prayer in public schools by virtue of 1st Amendment's establishment clause and the 14th Amendment's due process clause; Warren Court's judicial activism.

Miranda v. AZ 1966

Ruled that person taken into police custody must be informed of Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination."Miranda Rights"

Brown v. BOE of Topeka 1954

decreed that "separate is inherently unequal", overturned de jure segregation

Mapp v. OH 1961

evidence illegally gathered by police may not be used in a criminal trial

Dred Scott v. Sanford 1857

Court ruled that Scott was the property of Sanford and, as a slave, was prohibited from suing in court. Chief Justice Taney gives his opinion that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. Decision adds to sectionalism between North and South that will lead to the Civil War.

Buckley v. Valeo 1976

1st Amendment protects campaign spending; legislatures can limit contributions, but not how much one spends of his own money on campaigns.

US v. Lopez 1997

Set limits to Congress's power under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.

Texas v. Johnson 1989

Struck down Texas law that banned flag burning, which is a protected form of symbolic speech.

Gideon v. Wainwright 1963

Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that a defendant in a felony trial must be provided a lawyer free of charge if the defendant cannot afford one.

Marbury v. Madison 1803

The 1803 case in which Chief Justice John Marshall and his associates first asserted the right of the Supreme Court to determine the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. The decision established the Court's power of judicial review over acts of Congress, (the Judiciary Act of 1789).

Roe v. Wade 1973

The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion, but that right must be balanced against the state's two legitimate interests for regulating abortions: protecting prenatal life and protecting the mother's health.

Tinker v. Des Moines 1969

The First Amendment, as applied through the Fourteenth, did not permit a public school to punish a student for wearing a black armband as an anti-war protest, absent any evidence that the rule was necessary to avoid substantial interference with school discipline or the rights of others.

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US 1965

The owners of a motel refused to rent rooms to black people and wanted to continue to do so. The motel was situated between many interstates in Atlanta and 75% of its patronage was from out-of-town. If a business activity deals with or affects interstate commerce, it is subject to the reach of the Commerce Clause.

Plessy v. Ferguson 1896

Upheld the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in private businesses (particularly railroads), under the doctrine of "separate but equal".

Swann v. Mecklenburg BOE 1971

busing was an appropriate remedy for de facto segregation, courts have power to remedy state-imposed segregation

Santa Fe Board v. Doe 2000

was a case heard before the United States Supreme Court. It ruled that a policy permitting student-led, student-initiated prayer at high school football games violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Oral arguments were heard March 29, 2000. The court announced its decision on June 19, holding the policy unconstitutional in a 6-3 decision. School prayer is a controversial topic in American jurisprudence.