Court Cases

Question 1

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

Answer 1

Supreme Court says the first amendment applies to states

Question 2

Palko v. Connecticut (1937)

Answer 2

Supreme Court says states must observe all “fundamental liberties”

Question 3

Mcdonald v. Chicago (2010)

Answer 3

The second amendment that allows people to keep and bear arms applies to state governments as well as the federal government

Question 4

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Answer 4

Speech may be punished if it creates a clear and present danger of illegal acts

Question 5

Chaplinksy v. New Hampshire (1942)

Answer 5

“Fighting words” are not protected by the first amendment

Question 6

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

Answer 6

To libel a public figure, there must be actual malice

Question 7

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Answer 7

Public school students may wear armbands to class protesting against americas war in Vietnam when such display does not disrupt class

Question 8

Miller v. California (1973)

Answer 8

Obscenity defined as appealing to prurient interest of an average person with materials that lack literary, artistic, political or scientific value

Question 9

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Answer 9

There may not be a law to ban flag burning

Question 10

Reno v. ACLU (1997)

Answer 10

A law that bans sending indecent material to minors over the internet is unconstitutional because indecent is too vague and broad of a term

Question 11

FEC v. Wisconsin right to life (2007)

Answer 11

Prohibits campaign finance reform law from banning political advocacy

Question 12

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

Answer 12

The part of the McCain-feingold campaign finance reform law that prevents cooperations and labor unions from spending money on advertisements(independent of political candidates or parties) in political campaigns is unconstitutional

Question 13

Pierce v. Society of sisters (1925)

Answer 13

Though states may require public education, they may not require that students attend only public schools

Question 14

Everson v. Board of education (1947)

Answer 14

The wall of separation principle is announced

Question 15

Zorach v. Clauson (1952)

Answer 15

States may allow students to be released from public school to attend religious instruction

Question 16

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Answer 16

There may not be a prayer, even a nondenominational one, in public schools

Question 17

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

Answer 17

Three test are described for deciding whether the government is improperly involved in religion

Question 18

Lee v. Weisman (1992)

Answer 18

Public schools may not have clergy lead prayers at graduation ceremonies

Question 19

Santa Fe independent school district v. Doe (2000)

Answer 19

Students may not lead prayers before the start of a football game at a public school.

Question 20

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)

Answer 20

Voucher plan to pay school bills is upheld.

Question 21

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Gideon v. Wainwright (1964)

Answer 22

Persons charged with a crime have a right to an attorney if they cannot afford one

Question 23

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Answer 23

Court describes warnings that police must give arrested persons

Question 24

United States v. Leon (1984)

Answer 24

Illegally obtained evidence may be used in a trial if it was gathered in good faith without violating the principles of the mapp decision

Question 25

Dickerson v. United States (2000)

Answer 25

The mapp decision is based on the constitution and cannot be altered by congress passing a law

Question 26

Rasul v. Bush and hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004)

Answer 26

Terrorist detainees must have access to a neutral court to decide if they are legally held

Question 27

Scott v. Sanford (1857)

Answer 27

Congress had no authority to ban slavery in a territory. A slave was considered a piece of property

Question 28

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Answer 28

Upheld separate but equal facilities for white and black people on railroad cars.

Question 29

Brown v. Board of education (1954)

Answer 29

Said separate public schools are inherently unequal thus starting racial desegregation

Question 30

Green v. County school board of new Kent county (1968)

Answer 30

Banned a freedom of choice plan for integrating schools, suggested blacks and whites must attend racially mixed schools

Question 31

Swann v. Charlotte-mecklenburg board of education (1971)

Answer 31

Approved busing and redrawing district lines as ways of integrating public schools

Question 32

Reed v. Reed (1971)

Answer 32

Gender discrimination violates the the equal protection clause of the constitution

Question 33

Craig v. Boren (1976)

Answer 33

Gender discrimination can be justified only if it serves “important governmental objectives” and is substantially related to those objectives

Question 34

Rostker v. Goldberg (1981)

Answer 34

Congress can draft men without drafting women

Question 35

United States v. Virginia (1996)

Answer 35

State may not finance an all male military school

Question 36

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Answer 36

Found a “right to privacy” in the constitution that would ban any state law against selling contraceptives

Question 37

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Answer 37

State laws prohibiting abortion were unconstitutional

Question 38

Webster v. Reproductive health services (1989)

Answer 38

Allowed States to ban abortions from public hospitals and permitted doctors to test if fetuses were viable

Question 39

Planned parenthood v. Casey (1992)

Answer 39

Reaffirmed roe v. Wade but upheld certain limits on its use

Question 40

Gonzalez v. Carhart (2007)

Answer 40

Federal law may ban certain forms of partial birth abortion

Question 41

Regents of the university of California v. Bakke (1978)

Answer 41

In a confused set of rival opinions the decisive vote was cast by justice Powell who said that a quota like ban on bakkes administration was unconstitutional but that diversity was a legitimate goal that could be pursued by taking race into account

Question 42

United steelworkers v. Weber (1979)

Answer 42

Despite the ban on racial classification in the 1964 civil rights act, this case upheld the use of race in employment agreement between the steelworkers union and steel plant

Question 43

Richmond v. Croson (1989)

Answer 43

Affirmative action plans must be judged by the strict scrutiny standard that requires any race conscience plan to be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling interest

Question 44

Grutter v. Bollinger and gratz v. Bollinger (2003)

Answer 44

Numerical benefits cannot be used to admit minorities into college but race can be “plus factor” in making those decisions

Question 45

Parents v. Seattle school district (2007)

Answer 45

Race cannot be used to decide which students may attend especially popular high schools because this was not narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling goal

Question 46

Schuette v. Coalition to defend affirmative action (2004)

Answer 46

Public institutions of higher education may not give preference in admission based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or nationality

Question 47

Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000)

Answer 47

A private organization may ban gays from its membership

Question 48

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

Answer 48

State law may not ban sexual relations between same sex partners

Question 49

United States v. Windsor (2013)

Answer 49

Gay couples married in states where same sex marriage is legal must receive the same federal health tax and other benefits that heterosexual married couples receive

Question 50

Obergefell v. Hodges

Answer 50

Same sex couples have a constitutional right to marry