Lesson 1 Test- Federal Court Cases Flashcards
Buckley v Valeo
Buckley said that the FECA (Federal Election Campaign Act, was enacted after the Nixon Watergate course) was unconstitutional, he said it limited his power to contribute to a campaign, limits his right of symbolic speech. The court decided that the one piece of the act that was wrong was that if the person wanted to individually contribute to their own campaign then that was okay. If others want to help pay for the campaign then their money is limited. To get around this people contributed unlimited money to political parties (soft money). In 2002 John Mccain said that soft money was unconstitutional so lawyers created the 527 group so the government could regulate the money going into all campaigns.
US v Lopez
Lopez brought a gun to his high school and got arrested. Federal gov. found out and charged him with the federal act; the GunFree Zones Act (1990). Congress said they had the power to do this because education goes under the umbrella of comers (Gibbons Case) because eduction helps the economy. The Supreme Court said that the GunFree Zones Act was unconstitutional cause they stretched the Constitution too far. Lopez got off free cause he couldn’t be tried for the same case twice in state court.
Regents of UC Davis v Bakke
Bakke applied to UC Davis’ medical school and was denied admission, but he heard that people with lower test scores got in and filed a lawsuit. Are the states taking away his rights because of Affirmative Action (programs that were written to eliminate racism in workplaces and schools to have a more balanced environment, set standards on different races). The Federal Court decided that you can’t have quotas for different races but you can ask people what their race is to promote the diversity in a school (affirmative action still applies to the workplace).
Mapp v Ohio
Mapp had creepy material in her house which the police saw while looking through her house for a person (1960). The materials were taken away without a warrant. Was that material protected by the first amendment rights (freedom of expression)? Can the evidence gathered in violation of the 4th be used in the trial? The 4th amendment question was so strong that the 1st amendment question was dropped. The final decision was that the stuff they found could not be used against her cause they did not have a warrant to search for it.
Miranda v Arizona
Miranda was a criminal and didn’t know that he could not talk because he was uneducated about his rights. Was his right to not have to self incriminate violated because he wasn’t told his rights? Came up with the ‘Miranda Rights’. Miranda won and got out of prison.
Roe v Wade
Abortion Rights Case. Texas student wanted to terminate her pregnancy (sounded like a tumor, not a baby). Does the constitution embrace the right for a women to terminate her pregnancy? They used the 4th amendment to be secure in your person (meant to be searched without a warrant). The 4th applied to the states because of the 14th. All states have to allow you to get an abortion in your first trimester, depends on your second trimester.
Lemon v Kurtzman
In Rhode Island and Pennsylvania tax payer money was given out to schools that practiced religion. Atheist guy got mad and formed cases. Does this violate the establishment clause? Invented the Lemon Test for cases involving church and state.
- Does the money serve a secular purpose?
- Does the money advance or inhibit religion?
- is there excessive entanglement?
New York Times v US
President Nixon wanted to stop something being printed that was released from the Pentagon and tried to use his ‘Presidential Privilege’. Does Presidential Privilege & Power apply to this case? It was decided that the New York Times has the freedom of press so the president was violating those freedoms. That is only allowed if it is an extreme violation of national security.
Gitlow v New York
Gitlow, a socialist who printed manifesto that encouraged people to overthrow the government and is convicted by New York. Thought he had the freedom of press and speech. Does the first amendment apply to the state? If so, can the state forbid speech in some circumstances? It was decided that the 1st amendment does apply to the states (only free speech) and used the 14th amendment to support it. If what you say results in a dangerous tendency then states do have the power to limit speech. The New Deal changed our government. Free speech applies to the states with the help of the 14th amendment (before it was up to the states to allow freedoms and regulations.
Brown v Board of Education
Linda Brown and 12 other individuals were denied admission to her school. Does segregation provide equal schooling to both groups? Case supported by the NAACP. In the end it was decided that separate but equal was wrong and was detrimental to the minority race.
Closure
the vote to end a filibuster (majority)
Filibust
wasting floor time so a bill is not passed
Marbury v Madison
Adams and Congress gives all of his friends jobs before he is kicked out of office. Marbury was one of the people said to be given a job. Madison gives John Marshall the position of Supreme Court justice who gave people the letters of appointments and he somehow loses all the letters of all the people promised jobs by Adams. Marbury wants Marshall to write ‘Writte of Manamus’ to give to Madison to get his job back. Marshall says the Manamus is unconstitutional so doesn’t type the paper. By doing this he said judicials could state something as unconstitutional which creates judicial review.
Gibbons v Ogden
At the time you needed a permit to run a company in a state. Gibbons had a federal permit and Ogden had a state permit. Which one (federal or state) overcomes the other? It widened the definition of comers to include all forms of business (used to be just some money activity). Gibbons was given the right to operate his business.
McCulloch v Maryland
The Federal government wanted to build a bank in Maryland. The state taxes the federal government. McCulloch says that the state could not tax the federal government. Could the federal government have the power to build the bank? Yes. Could the state tax the federal government? No. Taught us that there were implied powers in the constitution.
