Key SC cases Flashcards
Key Court Cases
- Brown v Board of Education 1954
- Roe v Wade 1973
- Bush V Gore 2000
- Boumeduene v Bush 2008
- Citizens United v Federal Electoral Commison 2010
- NFIB V Sebelius 2012
- Shelby v Holder 2013?
- Obergefell v Hodges 2015
- Hawaii v Trump 2018
- NFIB V OSHA 2022
- Dobbs v Jackson WHO 2022
Brown v Board of Education 1954
It was a major turning point in the Civil Rights Movement and helped to bring an end to the era of segregation in the United States. The decision was a key moment in the fight for equal treatment under the law, and helped to lay the foundation for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The plaintiffs argued that the “separate but equal” doctrine, which allowed for segregation in public schools, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court declared that segregation in public schools was inherently unequal and violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court held that separate educational facilities were inherently unequal, and that segregation had a detrimental effect on African American students, undermining their ability to learn and creating a sense of inferiority.
Roe v Wade 1973
The case involved a Texas woman named Jane Roe, who sued the state for its ban on abortion, claiming that the law violated her constitutional right to privacy.
In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court held that the right to privacy under the Fourteenth Amendment included a woman’s right to have an abortion. The Court declared that the state’s ban on abortion was unconstitutional. It continues(or was) to be a crucial precedent for the protection of abortion rights in the United States.
Bush V Gore 2000
The case involved a dispute over the results of the 2000 Presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. After a close and highly contested election, the outcome in Florida was disputed, with both candidates claiming victory in the state and its critical 25 electoral votes.
It centered on the issue of whether a statewide manual recount of the vote in Florida should be conducted. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court declared that the manual recount was unconstitutional, as it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court held that the recount was arbitrary and inconsistent, and that it lacked sufficient standards to ensure that the recount was fair and impartial. The ruling was widely criticized by many, who saw it as an attempt by the Supreme Court to intervene in a political dispute and decide the outcome of the election. The decision was also seen as an example of the growing polarization and politicization of the American judiciary.
Boumeduene v Bush 2008
The case involved several foreign nationals who were being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba as part of the U.S. government’s efforts to combat terrorism. The detainees challenged their detention, claiming that they were being held without access to the courts and without due process of law.
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that the detainees had a constitutional right to challenge their detention in federal court. The Court declared that the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, which stripped the detainees of their right to fair trial, was unconstitutional. The Court held that the Constitution extends the right to fair trial to all persons within U.S. jurisdiction, including foreign nationals held at Guantanamo Bay.
Citizens United v Federal Electoral Commison 2010
A 5-4 judgement where the Roberts courts declared aspects of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act 2002 unconstitutional because banning pressure groups from making political ads is against the first amendment right to freedom of speech.
NFIB V Sebelius 2012
Upheld sections of the affordable care act using the commerce clause as a basis for their judgment, the decision was made because it fell under congress’s power to raise taxes.
Obergefell v Hodges 2015
In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry, and that states cannot deny them the right to marry. This decision limited the states’ ability to regulate marriage and family law within their borders.
Hawaii v Trump 2018
President Trump issued an executive order that restricted travel from several nations identified as countries of high risk, Hawaii sued Trump but the Supreme court in a 5-4 decision ruled in the favour of President Trump, the majority argued that the President had broad discretion to suspend entry of non-citizens into the US if they could be detrimental to the interests of the US.
NFIB V OSHA 2022
President Biden issued an executive order requiring federal employees, as well as employees in organisations with more than 100 employees, to be vaccinated. The Supreme Court voted 6-3 against it, arguing that mandating employees in larger corporations to get vaccinated was discriminatory against them.
Dobbs v Jackson WHO 2022
The majority held that abortion is not a constitutional right as the Constitution does not mention it and its substantive right was not “deeply rooted” in the country’s history, meaning that individual states have the authority to regulate access to abortion. On June 24, 2022, the Court issued a decision that, by a vote of 6–3, overturned Roe and Casey.
Shelby v Holder 2013
The Shelby County v. Holder decision was significant because it effectively gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, which had been instrumental in ensuring that minority voters had equal access to the ballot. The decision limited the federal government’s ability to protect the voting rights of minorities and left it to individual states to enforce voting rights protections. A United States Supreme Court case that dealt with the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act required certain states and localities with a history of discrimination in voting to obtain “preclearance” from the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal court before making any changes to their voting laws or practices.
Shelby County, Alabama, challenged the constitutionality of Section 5, arguing that it imposed an undue burden on states and that it was no longer necessary in light of recent improvements in voting rights.
The Supreme Court agreed with Shelby County, ruling that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional. The Court held that the formula used to determine which states and localities were covered by the preclearance requirement was based on decades-old data and did not accurately reflect the current state of voting rights in the country. As a result, the Court ruled that the coverage formula was not sufficient to justify the burden imposed on the states by Section 5.
Supreme Court Cases that are examples of Judicial Activism
Citizens United V FEC 2010 - It is an example of judicial activism as it overruled an act of congress and it did so by enforcing the first amendment right outlined in the constitution.
Obergefell v Hodges 2015 - Overulled the Defense of Marriage Act signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996. DOMA prevented same-sex couples whose marriages were recognized by their home states from receiving the many benefits available to other married couples under federal law. This also decision limited the states’ ability to regulate marriage and family law within their borders.
NFIB v OSHA 2022- Overulled Biden’s vaccine mandate
Supreme Court Cases that are an example of Judicial Restraint
NFIB v Sebelius 2012 - It is an example of judicial restraint as the judges did not overrule the Affordable Care Act, which was part of Obama’s campaign, largely supported by voters and the justices also showed a degree of deference to congress on the policy.
Hawaii v Trump 2018 - The Supreme court in a 5-4 decision ruled in the favour of President Trump, the majority argued that the President had broad discretion to suspend entry of non-citizens into the US if they could be detrimental to the interests of the US.
