required court cases

Question 1

Mcculloch v Maryland (1819)

Answer 1

This case established supremacy of the US Constitution and federal laws over state laws. Maryland could not tax the US bank.

Question 2

United States v Lopez (1995)

Answer 2

Congress may not use the commerce clause to make possession of a gun in a school zone a federal crime.

Question 3

Engel v Vitale (1962)

Answer 3

School sponsorship of religious activities violates the establishment clause. school prayer

Question 4

Wisconsin v Yoder (1972)

Answer 4

Compelling Amish students to attend school past the eighth grade violates the free exercise clause.

Question 5

Tinker v Des Moines independent community school district (1969)

Answer 5

Public school students have the right to wear black armbands in school to protest the Vietnam War.

Question 6

New York Times co v United States (1971)

Answer 6

This case bolstered the freedom of the press, establishing a “heavy presumption against prior restraint” even in cases involving national security.

Question 7

Schenk v United States (1919)

Answer 7

Speech creating a “clear and present danger” is not protected by the First Amendment.

Question 8

Gideon v Wainwright (1963)

Answer 8

This case guaranteed the right to an attorney for the poor or indigent in a state felony case.

Question 9

Roe v Wade (1973)

Answer 9

This case extended the right of privacy to a woman’s decision to have an abortion.

Question 10

Mcdonald v Chicago (2010)

Answer 10

The second amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense is applicable to the states.

Question 11

Brown v Board of education (1954)

Answer 11

Race-based school segregation violates the equal protection clause.

Question 12

Citizens United v Federal Election Commission (2010)

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Baker v Carr (1962)

Answer 13

held that federal courts could hear cases alleging that a state’s drawing of electoral boundaries, i.e. redistricting, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.

Question 14

Shaw v Reno (1993)

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

Marbury v Madison (1803)

Answer 15

This case established the principle of judicial review, empowering the Supreme Court to nullify an act of the legislative or executive branch that violates the Constitution.