40 AP Gov Supreme Court Cases

Tinker v. Des Moines

1st amendment applies to schools, school officials can not censor student speech unless disrupting educational process.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

African Americans were not citizens of the US, and Scott had no right to sue. The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. Slaves were property and protected as such under the Constitution.

Wallace v Jaffree

Court outlawed moments of silence. State endorsement of prayer activities in schools is prohibited by the 1st amendment.

New Jersey v. T.L.O.

Court ruled that school officials only need a reasonable suspicion that a rule is being broken to search a student's possessions. Lowered expectation of privacy.

Bakke v. University of California

Court upheld affirmative action but would not allow quotas to simply fill spaces

Reed v. Reed

Laws of discrimination favoring men over women without any reasonable merit are unconstitutional

Buckley v. Valeo

Limits on individuals contributions ok; limits on expenditures not ok

Walz v. New York City Tax Commission

The Court held that grants of tax exemption to religious organizations do not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Furman v. Georgia

The arbitrary application of the death penalty constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The decision led to a moratorium on the death penalty until state legislatures rewrote their capital punishment statutes.

Chisholm v. Georgia

The court ruled that Article 3, Section 2, of the Constitution abrogated the states' sovereign immunity and granted federal courts the affirmative power to hear disputes between private citizens and states.

Marbury v. Madison

The decision established the principle of judicial review; the Supreme Court has the power to declare a law passed by Congress unconstitutional

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Upheld busing programs that aimed to speed up the racial integration of public schools in the United States.

Dennis v. United States

did not have the right under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution to exercise free speech, publication and assembly, if the exercise involved the creation of a plot to overthrow the government. adaptation of clear and present danger test.

Bigelow v. Virginia

established First Amendment protection for advertising

Marsh v. Chambers

held that government funding for chaplains (ministers/spiritual representatives) was constitutional because of the "unique history" of the United States

Citizens United v. FEC

held that the 1st Amendment prohibited the gov't from restricting independent political expenditures by a nonprofit corporation(which has been extended to for-profit corporations, labor unions and other associations). Political spending is form of protected speech under 1st amendment.

Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Co. v. Weber

ince the program sought to eliminate archaic patterns of racial segregation and hierarchy while not prohibiting white employees from advancing in the company, it was consistent with the intent of the law. Affirmative Action.

McCulloch v. Maryland

necessary and Proper Clause; Supremacy Clause Majority- Upheld the constitutionality of the First Bank of the United States under the Necessary and Proper Clause, and denied the state the right to tax the bank, noting that "the power to tax is the power to destroy."

Miller v. California

obscenity not protected under 1st amendment; states have a right to protect unwilling recipients from obscenity; outlines a test to define obscene materials that are not protected under the 1st amendment. Community standards were included, as was SLAPS, which says work is obscene if it has no Serious Literary, Artistic, Political, or Scientific value.

New York Times v. United States

prevented prior restraint when information to be published is of public concern. Pentagon papers

Near v. Minnesota

protected freedom of press by outlawing prior restraint (censorship before publication)

Olmsted v. United States

reviewed whether the use of wiretapped private telephone conversations, obtained by federal agents without judicial approval and subsequently used as evidence, constituted a violation of the defendant's rights provided by the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that neither the Fourth Amendment nor the Fifth Amendment rights of the defendant were violated. This decision was later overturned by Katz v. United States in 1967.

Plessy v. Ferguson

segregation by race is constitutional provided the facilities are equal; known as the "separate but equal" doctrine

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan

set guidelines for winning libel suits (must prove actual malice)

Brown v. Board of Education

the "separate but equal" doctrine as it applies to public education is unconstitutional; separate schools are inherently unequal. Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson

Wisconsin v. Mitchell

was a decision of the United States Supreme Court. It was a landmark precedent pertaining to First Amendment free speech arguments for hate crime legislation. In effect, the Court ruled that a state may consider whether a crime was committed or initially considered due to an intended victim's status in a protected class

Roe v. Wade

women have an absolute right to an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy based on a constitutionally protected right to privacy. The state can impose restrictions on the second and third trimesters

McConnell v. FEC

BCRA mostly constitutional, soft money contributions mostly legal.

Schenck v. United States

Freedom of speech is not absolute and the act was constitutional; established the clear-and-present-danger test as a constitutional restriction of free speech; you cannot yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater

Katz v. United States

Does the 4th amendment give protection against federal searches of electronic nature? Majority- if conversation was intended to be private, the phone conversation couldn't be wiretapped. Extended 4th amendment protection to areas where a person has a "reasonable expectation of privacy".

Wisconsin v. Yoder

Does the school attendance law violate the 1st amendment freedom to practice religion and the 14th amendment when Amish children are forced to go to school after 8th grade (against their beliefs)? Majority- the education law violated the Constitution; states cannot force children to attend school when it violates their 1st amendment rights

Wesberry v. Sanders

Each state draw its US congressional districts so they are approximately equal in population.

Mapp v. Ohio

Evidence that is seized illegally cannot be used as evidence in court. The exclusionary rule is applied to states

Baker v. Carr

Is the redistricting of a state merely a political issue, or also a judicial issue? [since it could affect which courts got which cases] Should courts be allowed to intervene in redistricting issues? Majority- redistricting is purely a political question; it may not be resolved by federal courts

United States v. Nixon

President does not have absolute privilege against production of relevant information in a criminal investigation.

Miranda v. Arizona

Prior to questioning by police, a person in custody must be informed of the following: his or her constitutional right to remain silent, that anything said can be used against him or her, that he or she has a right to have an attorney present during questioning, and that he or she has a right to have an attorney appointed if he or she cannot afford one

Griswold v. Connecticut

Right to privacy: Do married couples have the right to use contraceptives? Majority- struck down a state law that made it a crime to provide contraceptive information to married couples on the basis of a constitutionally protected right to privacy

Frontiero v. Richardson

Ruled that both male and female spouses of military service members receive equal benefits

Gideon v. Wainwright

The right to counsel is fundamental to a fair trial. The state must provide an attorney to poor defendants charged with a felony. The 6th amendment applies to the states through the 14th amendment.

Powell v. Alabama

majority of the Court reasoned that the right to retain and be represented by a lawyer was fundamental to a fair trial and that at least in some circumstances, the trial judge must inform a defendant of this right. In addition, if the defendant cannot afford a lawyer, the court must appoint one sufficiently far in advance of trial to permit the lawyer to prepare adequately for the trial.