AP Gov Exam Cramming

Due Process Clause

14th amendment clause stating that no state may deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law

Equal Protection Clause

14th amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination (often about race)

Reynolds v. Sims

Equal protection requires that state legislative districts should be comprised of roughly equal populations if possible

Marbury v. Madison

Established judicial review

Mapp v. Ohio

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

Shaw v. Reno

NO racial gerrymandering; race cannot be the sole or predominant factor in redrawing legislative boundaries; 14th amendment equal protection clause

Gibbons v. Ogden

Regulating interstate commerce is a power reserved to the federal government and states cannot interfere with state legislation

Federalist 51

Separation of powers & checks & balances protects against tyranny

Tinker v. Des Moines

Students have the right to symbolic speech at school as long as it is not disruptive; students wearing the armbands to protest

New York Times v. US

Supreme Court case protecting the freedom of the press by allowing the New York Times to publish the "Pentagon Papers" despite the Justice Department's order to restrict it

United States v. López

Supreme Court ruled that Congress had exceeded its constitutional authority under the Commerce Clause when it passed a law prohibiting gun possession in local school zones

McCulloch v. Maryland

Supreme Court ruled that Congress had implied powers under the Necessary and Proper clause

Commerce Clause

The Commerce Clause included the power to regulate local activities so long as those "significantly affect" interstate commerce

Clinton v. City of New York

a president holds no constitutional power to sign into law a bill different from the one sent to him by Congress; recognized the limits of Congress in delegating its legislative powers to the president and maintained a traditional separation of power

Federalist 70

a single executive, the president, is the best form for the executive branch; a president can act more quickly and then there is only one person to blame as corrupt if things go wrong

Wisconsin v. Yoder

addressed the First Amendment clause of Free Exercise of religion in allowing parents to withdraw their children from school for religious reasons, the Amish Community

Brutus No. 1

argued that federal power was bad and that the Constitution gives too much power to the federal government; small, decentralized republic would be the best choice for the US because it could accurately represent them

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited, because doing so would violate the First Amendment; political spending is a form of free speech

Federalist 10

deals with the danger of "factions" in a democratic government and argues that the federal system that the Constitution created was the best solution to this problem

Miranda v. Arizona

detained criminal suspects, prior to police questioning, must be informed of their constitutional right to an attorney and against self-incrimination.; right to remain silent

Texas v. Johnson

flag burning is protected by the First Amendment

Baker v. Carr

held that federal courts could hear cases alleging that a state's drawing of electoral boundaries, i.e. redistricting, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution

Roe v. Wade

legalized abortion on the basis of a woman's right to privacy

Plessy v. Ferguson

legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal; "separate but equal"

Brown v. Board of Education

racial segregation in public schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment

Dred Scott v. Sanford

ruled that slaves were property and could not sue; later overturned by 13th and 14th amendment

Schenck v. United States

speech creating a "clear and present danger" is not protected under the First Amendment; limits 1st amendment, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press

Barron v. Baltimore

the Bill of Rights restricts only the powers of the federal government and not the state governments

Gideon v. Wainwright

the Constitution requires the states to provide defense attorneys to criminal defendants who cannot afford lawyers themselves

Free Exercise Clause

the First Amendment guarantee that citizens may freely engage in the religious activities of their choice

McDonald v. Chicago

the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms," applies to state and local governments as well as to the federal government

Establishment Clause

the clause in the First Amendment of the US Constitution that prohibits the establishment of religion by Congress

Furman v. Georgia

the death penalty was unconstitutional when applied in an arbitrary or discriminatory manner; violated the 8th amendment

Fletcher v. Peck

the first case for the federal government to rule a state law unconstitutional; protected property rights and said even an illegal contract is still binding

Engel v. Vitale

voluntary prayer in public schools violated the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment prohibition of a state establishment of religion; the Establishment clause