Supreme Court Cases

United States v. Texas (2016)

-DAPA allows the executive branch to determine priorities for deportation. It gives work authorization and lawful status to certain immigrants, mainly parents of American citizens. Texas and other states claim this violates the Take Care Clause.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

1954 - The Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

5th Amendment self-incrimination clause requires government agents to warn suspects of their right to remain silent and/or contact an attorney before questioning them when they are in custody. Statements made without Miranda Warning are inadmissible in court (like the exclusionary rule for evidence)

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

A 2010 decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that independent expenditures are free speech protected by the 1st Amendment and so cannot be limited by federal law. Leads to creation of SuperPACs & massive rise in amount of third party electioneering (Citizens for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow)

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

A case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld federal limits on campaign contributions and ruled that spending money to influence elections is a form of constitutionally protected free speech. The court also stated candidates can give unlimited amounts of money to their own campaigns.

California Board of Regents v. Bakke (1978)

Affirmative Action systems were constitutional but quota systems based on race were not. Alan Bakke was denied admission to the UC Davis medical school. He claimed that 16 seats set aside for racial minorities meant he wasn't treated equally under the law. The SCOTUS agreed.

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

Anarchist calling for overthrow of the government. Established precedent of federalizing Bill of Rights (applying them to States); States cannot deny freedom of speech - protected through due process clause of Amendment 14

Reynolds v. US (1879)

Banned Polygamy. Distinguished between religious beliefs that are protected by the free exercise clause and religious practices that may be restricted. Ruled that religious practices cannot make an act legal that would otherwise be illegal.

Kelo v. City of New London (2005)

Eminent domain case: Local governments may force the sale of private property and make way for private economic development when officials decide it would benefit the public.

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

Established 3-part test to determine if establishment clause is violated: nonsecular purpose, advances/inhibits religion, excessive entanglement with government.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Established the principle of "one person, one vote" and made such patterns of representation illegal. The Court asserted that the federal courts had the right to tell states to reapportion their districts for more equal representation.

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Extended the Exclusionary Rule to the states, increasing the protections for defendants

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Extends to the defendant the right of counsel in all state and federal criminal trials regardless of their ability to pay.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Found a "right to privacy" in the Constitution that would ban any state law against selling contraceptives

Furman v. Georgia (1972)

Found that the imposition of capital punishment was often racist and arbitrary. Court ordered a halt to all death penalty punishments in the nation until a less arbitrary method of sentencing was found

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Legalized segregation in publicly owned facilities on the basis of "separate but equal." Eventually iverturned by Brown v. Board of Education.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

NO racial gerrymandering; race cannot be the sole or predominant factor in redrawing legislative boundaries; majority-minority districts.

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.

McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010)

Several suits were filed against Chicago and Oak Park in Illinois challenging their gun bans after the Supreme Court issued its opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller. In that case, the Supreme Court held that a District of Columbia handgun ban violated the Second Amendment. There, the Court reasoned that the law in question was enacted under the authority of the federal government and, thus, the Second Amendment was applicable. Here, plaintiffs argued that the Second Amendment should also apply to the states. The district court dismissed the suits. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed.

Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)

States can regulate abortion, but not with regulations that impose "undue burden" upon women; did not overturn Roe v. Wade, but gave states more leeway in regulating abortion (e.g., 24-hour waiting period, parental consent for minors)

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

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

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Students in an Iowa school were suspended for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam war. Ruled that this suspension was unconstitutional, and that public school students do not "shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse door."

U.S. v. Lopez (1995)

Supreme Court declared Gun Free School Zones Act exceeded Congress's Interstate Commerce Clause power and was therefore unconstitutional. First federal law declared to exceed commerce clause since the 1930s (Devolution Revolution?)

U.S. v. Nixon (1974)

Supreme Court ruling on power of the president, holding that no absolute constitutional executive privilege allows a president to refuse to comply with a court order to produce information needed in a criminal trial

Scott v. Stanford (1857)

The 1857 Supreme Court decision ruling that a slave who had escaped to a free state enjoyed no rights as a citizen and that Congress had no authority to ban slavery in the territories.

Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988)

The Court ruled in favor of school district censorship of student newspapers as long as censorship is related to legitimate concerns.

McCulloch v. Maryland

The Court ruled that states cannot tax the federal government, i.e. the Bank of the United States; the phrase "the power to tax is the power to destroy"; confirmed the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States.

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

The Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-State.

New York Times v. US (1971)

The President argues that the publication of the Pentagon Papers is in violation of executive privilege. Result: The barring of the publication of these papers is in violation of the 1st A. Publication does not imperial the public.

Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

The Supreme Court ruled that the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment did not apply to the actions of states. This decision limited the Bill of Rights to the actions of Congress alone.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

The Supreme Court upheld broad congressional power to regulate interstate commerce. The Court's broad interpretation of the Constitution's commerce clause paved the way for later rulings upholding expansive federal powers.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

The court legalized abortion by ruling that state laws could not restrict it during the first three months of pregnancy. Based on 4th Amendment rights of a person to be secure in their persons.

Bush v. Gore (2000)

The court ruled that manual recounts of presidential ballots in the Nov. 2000 election could not proceed because inconsistent evaluation standards in different counties violated the equal protection clause. In effect, the ruling meant Bush would win the election.

Wisconson v Yoder (1972)

The freedom of religion always outweighs the values of secondary education7

Korematsu v. US (1944)

This supreme court case followed the movement of 100,000 Japanese Americans moved to internment camps; the case upheld the US govt's internment policy as justified in wartime.

Near v. Minnesota (1931)

This was the first case in which the Supreme Court found that a state law violated freedom of the press as protected by the First Amendment. Struck down case law imposing prior restraint of articles dealing with public corruption.

Schenck v. US (1919)

Unanimously upheld the Espionage Act of 1917 which declared that people who interfered with the war effort were subject to imprisonment; declared that the 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech was not absolute; free speech could be limited if its exercise presented a "clear and present danger." (Burning draft cards)

Gregg v. Georgia (1976)

Upheld new Georgia death penalty laws requiring dual-phase trial and special circumstances; capital punishment does not constitute cruel & unusual punishment of 8th Amendment.

New Jersey v. TLO (1985)

addresses the constitutionality of a search of a public high school student for contraband after she was caught smoking. A subsequent search of her purse revealed drug paraphernalia, marijuana, and documentation of drug sales. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, held that the search was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

court case that established the principle of judicial review, which allowed the Supreme Court to determine if federal laws were constitutional. In this case, the Court struck down part of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which the justices believed gave the Court power that exceeded the Constitution's intent.

Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)

speech that does not call for illegal action is protected, and even speech that does call for illegal action is protected if the action is not "imminent" or there is reason to believe that the listeners will not take action

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States (1964)

upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the use of the Commerce Clause as a basis for civil rights legislation; public places are in fact prohibited from discriminating against blacks

Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)

upheld the affirmative action policy of the university of michigan law school. Upheld bakke ruling that race could be a consideration in admissions policy but that quotas are illegal.