AP Gov Exam (SCOTUS Cases)

Question 1

Marbury V. Madison (1803)

Answer 1

Established the principle of judicial review empowering the supreme court to Mullify an act of the legislative or executive branch that violates the Constitution.
(Article III, Jurisdictional powers of the courts)

Question 2

McCulloch V. Maryland (1819)

Answer 2

Established supremacy of the U.S. Constitution and federal laws over state laws (Article VI) and the Necessary and Proper (Implied) Powers of Congress
(Article I, Section 8, Clause 17)

Question 3

Schneck V. United States (1919)

Answer 3

Speech creating a “clear and present danger” is not protected by the First Amendment
(Free speech, First Amendment, General Public)

Question 4

Brown V. Board of Education (1954)

Answer 4

Race-based school segregation violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment
(14th Amendment, Equal Protection Clause)

Question 5

Baker V. Carr (1954)

Answer 5

Opened the door to equal protection challenges to redistricting and the development of the “one person, one vote” doctrine by ruling that challenges redistricting did not raise “political questions” that would keep federal courts from reviewing such challenges. This leads to Congress eventually passing the Voting Right Act of 1965 which gives the federal courts power to review redistricting
(Article III, Jurisdictional powers of the courts)

Question 6

Engel V. Vitale (1962)

Answer 6

School sponsorship of religious activities violates the Establishment Clause.
(First Amendment)

Question 7

Gideon V. Wainwright (1963)

Answer 7

Guaranteed the right to an attorney for the poor or indigent in a state of a felony case.
(Sixth Amendment )

Question 8

Tinker V. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)

Answer 8

Public school students have the right to wear black armbands in school to protest the Vietnam War because the school can only restrict speech that substantially disrupts the learning environment of the school.
(Free Speech, First Amendment, Schools)

Question 9

New York Times Co. V United States (1971)

Answer 9

Bolstered the freedom of the press, establishing a “heavy presumption against prior restraint” even in cases involving national secruity
(Free Press, First Amendment)

Question 10

Wisconsin V Yoder (1972)

Answer 10

Compelling Amish students to attend school past the eighth grade violates the Free Exercise Clause
(First Amendment)

Question 11

Roe V Wade (1973)

Answer 11

Extended the right of privacy to a woman’s decision to have an abortion
(Right to Privacy, Amendments III, IV, V, X)

Question 12

Shaw V Reno (1993)

Answer 12

Majority minority districts, created under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, may be constitutionally challenged by voters if race is the only factor used in creating the district
(Voting Rights, Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, Amendments 15 and 24)

Question 13

United States V Lopez (1995)

Answer 13

Congress may not use the commerce clause to make possession of a gun in a school zone a federal crime.
(Interstate Commerce Clause: Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4)

Question 14

McDonald V Chicago (2010)

Answer 14

The Follow-up Case to ‘D.C. V Heller (2008)’ and the Court ruled that the second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense is applicable to the States
(Doctrine of Incorporation, 14th Amendment, Due Process Clause)

Question 15

Citizens United V Federal Election Commission (2010)

Answer 15

Political spending by corporations, associations, and labor unions is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment.