Constitutional Law Cases Flashcards
Department of Human Resources of Oregon v Smith
• Individual’s religious beliefs do not excuse person from complying with a law
Edwards v Aguillard
• Louisiana law “Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science” Act unconstitutional
Elk Grove Unified School District v Newdown
- Newdown did not have standing to bring suit because did not have sufficient custody over his daughter
- Dealt with Pledge of Allegiance “under God”
Engle v Vitale
• There may not be a prayer, even a nondenominational once, in public schools
Epperson v Arkansas
• States cannot prohibit the teaching of material objectionable to a particular religious sect
Lemon v Kurtzman (1971)
- Supreme Court strikes down state effort to subsidize parochial school salaries
- Established “Lemon Test” (3 obstacles to federal funds)
ACLU v Reno
- Ruled internet to be “mass speech…unlike broadcasting…non-invasive…same protection as print media”
- A law that bans sending “indecent” material to minors over the Internet is unconstitutional because “indecent” is too vague a term
Tennessee v Scopes
- Challenged a Tennessee law that made it a crime to teach evolution
- Fined Scopes, but the fine was reversed on a technicality
Baker v Carr
• Enables federal courts to intervene in and to decide redistricting cases
Brown v Board of Education
• Ruled that separation was not equal → outlawed segregation
Bush v Gore
• Held that Florida Supreme Court’s scheme for recounting ballots was unconstitutional
Gratz v Bollinger
• Michigan’s use of racial preference in undergraduate admissions violates Equal Protection Clause
Guinn v US
• Bans grandfather clause that had been used to prevent blacks from voting
Harper v Virginia
• The 14th Amendment forbids making a tax a condition of voting in an election
Heart of Atlanta Motel Inc. v US
• Congress can force private businesses to abide by the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Ledbetter v Goodyear
• Employment discrimination case dismissed because did not file within limitations period
Lochner v NY
• State limit of working hours unconstitutional because interferes with freedom of contract
Regents of University of CA v Bakke
• University can use special criteria to determine which students gained acceptance so long as it did not use a quota system
Reynolds v Sims
- Struck down AL’s apportionment law
* Must apportion based on population
Clinton v NY
• Ruled line item veto unconstitutional
Fletcher v Peck
• First case to declare a state law in violation of the Constitution
Gibbons v Ogden
- Expanded interstate commerce
* Established federal authority over states
Gonzales v Oregon
• Controlled Substances Act did not authorize Attorney General to declare medical marijuana illegal
National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius
Upheld most provisions of Obamacare
US v Nixon
• Granted that presidents have limited “executive privilege,” but it did not apply in Nixon’s case
US v Darby
• Affirmed the right of Congress to exercise to the “utmost extent” its power under the Commerce Clause, so Congress can regulate employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act
US v Windsor
- States have the authority to define marital relationships
* Struck down DOMA
DC v Heller
• 2nd Amendment protects right to possess firearm unconnected with service in a militia
Korematsu v US
• Internment of Japanese Americans was illegal → give compensation
Marbury v Madison
• Upheld judicial review of congressional acts
McCulloch v Maryland
• Said that creating a federal bank, though not mentioned in the Constitution, was a “necessary and proper” exercise of the government’s right to borrow money
Worchester v Georgia
- Marshall invalidated GA law concerned Cherokee nation
* Only federal government has power to control Native American nations
Board of Education (Island Tree) v Pico
• Board could not restrict the availability of books in its libraries just because its members disagreed with their content
Buckley v Valeo
- Struck down limits on campaign spending
* Upheld restriction of individual contributions
Chaplinsky v New Hampshire
• Fighting words are not protected by the Constitution
Citizens United v FEC
• Corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited
Gitlow v NY
- “Dangerous tendency” test
* First Amendment applies to states
Miller v CA
• Tried to define obscenity
Must appeal to prurient interests
Displays sexual conduct in an offensive manner
Lacks artistic value
• Issue left to local jurisdiction to define
Morse v Frederick
• School officials can prohibit students from displaying messages that promote illegal drug use
New York Times v Sullivan
• To libel a public figure, one must prove “actual malice”
New York Times v US
- Upheld ability to publish Pentagon Papers
* Denied Nixon his “executive authority” over this
Schenk v US
• Clear and present danger test of free speech = advocacy is allowed so long as it does not incite a violation of another’s rights
Texas v Johnson
• There may not be a law to ban flag burning
Tinker v Des Moines Independent School Board
• Upheld the right of students to wear black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War
Cohen v California
• Supreme Court overruled a conviction (man wearing a jacket saying “fuck the draft”) stating “one man’s vulgarity is another man’s lyric”
Near v Minnesota
• Government could not censor or otherwise prohibit a publication in advance, even though the communication might be punishable after publication
Bowers v Hardwick
• Unsuccessful challenge to GA’s anti-sodomy laws
Boy Scouts of America v Dale
• A private organization may ban gays from its membership
Lawrence v Texas
• State law may not ban gay sexual relations
Romer v Evans
• Colorado violated the equal protection clause by singling out gay people
US v Windsor
• States have the authority to define marital relationships
Struck down DOMA
Barron v Baltimore
• Ruled Bill of Rights is only on federal issues, not the state
Gideon v Wainwright
- Granted people in need the right to counsel
* 6th Amendment extends to states
Mapp v Ohio
• Incorporated the exclusionary rule
Griswold v Connecticut
- Original privacy case
* Found a “right to privacy” in the Constitution that would ban any state law against selling contraceptives
Katz v US
• Extended Fourth Amendment protection to all areas where a person has a “reasonable expectation of privacy”
Madsen v Women’s Health Clinic
- State of FL could only restrict abortion protesters to extent necessary to allow clinic to run
- Limited noise but not images
Planned Parenthood v Casey
• Reaffirmed Roe but tolerated limitations like parent notification for minors by upholding PA’s restrictive abortion regulations
Roe v Wade
- Most disputed privacy case
* State laws against abortion were unconstitutional
Dolan v City of Tigard
• There must be an “essential nexus” between a legitimate state interest and the permit requirements
Kelo v City of New London
• City’s taking of private property to sell for private development qualified as a “public use” within the meaning of the takings clause
Nolan v CA Costal Commission
• If CA wished to use its power of eminent domain to make residents keep a sidewalk, it must provide “just compensation”
Dred Scott v Sanford
- Supreme Court could not forbid slavery because slavery were property and had no rights
- Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional
Brown v Board of Education
• Ruled that separation was not equal → outlawed segregation
Plessy v Ferguson
• “Separate but equal”
Dred Scott v Sanford
- Supreme Court could not forbid slavery because slavery were property and had no rights
- Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional
Shaw v Reno
• NC’s gerrymandered reapportionment was bizarre and unconstitutional
Smith v Allwright
• Denying blacks the right to vote in primary elections was unconstitutional
Swann v Charlotte Mecklenberg County Schools
• Approved busing as a means of combating racial segregation
Atkins v Virginia
• No capital punishment for the mentally disabled
Brewer v Williams
- Clarifies what constitutes “waiver” of the right to counsel for the purposes of the Sixth Amendment
- “Christian Burial Speech” was tantamount to an interrogation → officer violated
Furman v Georgia
Limited use of death penalty
Gideon v Wainwright
• Granted people in need the right to counsel
Hamdi v Rumsfelt
• Terrorist detainees must have access to a neutral court to decide if they are legally held
Mapp v Ohio
• Established that illegally obtained evidence could not be used in a trial (exclusionary rule)
Miranda v Arizona
• Established Miranda rights (rights policy have to read when they arrest you)
Burwell v Hobby Lobby
Exemption for “for profit” organization to provide contraception
