SCOTUS cases

Question 1

Abramski v US 2014

Answer 1

“Straw purchases” – buying a gun for someone else while pretending it’s for yourself – are illegal, even if both people are legally allowed to own guns.

Question 2

Baze v Rees (2008)

Answer 2

Lethal injection – used by 35 states and the federal government – did not constitute a cruel and unusual punishment and so did not violate the 8th.  The decision was reaffirmed in 2015 in Glossip v Gross. 

Question 3

Bostock v Clayton County 2020

Answer 3

Gorsuch authored the majority opinion of this 6-3 decision that the Civil Rights Act 1964 protects people from being fired on grounds of sexuality

Question 4

Boumediene v Bush 2008

Answer 4

Govt cannot deny habeas corpus rights to foreign enemy combatants held in Guantanamo Bay.

Question 5

Burwell v Hobby Lobby 2014

Answer 5

Companies based on religious principles do not need to provide contraception as part of their Obamacare packages – but the ruling was limited to these circumstances only

Question 6

Bush v Gore 2000

Answer 6

Counting in Florida following the 2000 election must stop, which effectively gave the presidency to Bush.

Question 7

Citizens United v FEC 2010

Answer 7

Corporations have first amendment rights. With the case of Speechnow, this created the conditions in which SuperPACs could be formed.

Question 8

Department of Homeland Security v Regents of the Uni of California (2020)

Answer 8

Trump’s decision to rescind Obama’s EO on DACA contravened the Administrative Procedures Act because it was ‘arbitrary and capricious’

Question 9

DC v Heller 2008

Answer 9

Struck down DC’s restrictions on owning guns, though it only applied to federal law as DC is a federal district. MacDonald v Chicago 2010 extended this to state law.

Question 10

Dobbs v Jackson WHO 2023

Answer 10

There is no constitutional right to abortion.

Question 11

Elonis v US (2015)

Answer 11

Court overturned, 8-1, Elonis’ conviction for writing and posting rap lyrics that threatened the life of his ex-wife and others. Jury should only have been asked whether Elonis himself meant the threats as serious.

Question 12

Fisher v Texas 2016

Answer 12

Abigail Fisher, who was white, was not discriminated against by Uni of Texas’ admissions policy.

Question 13

Gonzalez v Carhart (2007) 

Answer 13

The Court upheld the 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Act which banned a particular procedure for late term abortions 

Question 14

Gonzalez v Raich 2005 (still Rehnquist Court)

Answer 14

Under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution Congress can criminalize the production and use of homegrown cannabis even if state law allows its use for medicinal purposes.

Question 15

Griswold v Connecticut 1965

Answer 15

SCOTUS said there was a right to privacy in the “penumbras” of the Constitution.

Question 16

Grutter v Bollinger 2003

Answer 16

University of Michigan law school’s admissions policy, which considered race as one factor among many, was constitutional because it was “narrowly tailored” to achieve its goal of diversity.

Question 17

June Medical Services v Russo (2020)

Answer 17

Overturned Louisiana requirements that abortion clinics be, in effect, within 30 miles of a hospital. Roberts didn’t join the judgement but did vote to overturn, due to precedent following WWH v Texas

Question 18

Kyollo v US (2001)

Answer 18

Under the 4th Amendment’s prohibition of unreasonable searches, the police do need a warrant to search a house using thermal imaging 

Question 19

Marbury v Madison 1803

Answer 19

SCOTUS has power of judicial review (it gave it to itself)

Question 20

Masterpiece Cakeshop v Colorado Civil Rivhts Commission 2017

Answer 20

A baker could refuse to make a cake for a gay wedding on religious grounds, as they are protected by the First Amendment. But the Court limited precedent to thise specific case because of some procedural errors committed by CCRC.

Question 21

McConnell v FEC (2004)

Answer 21

Upheld the section of the Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold) that banned soft money.  Opponents had said this was contrary to free speech.

Question 22

McDonald v City of Chicago (2010)

Answer 22

The 2nd Amendment gives Americans a fundamental right to bear arms and the due process clause of the 14th Amendment means this cannot be infringed by state or local government.

Question 23

Moore v Harper 2023

Answer 23

SCOTUS rejected the “Independent state legislature” theory which interprets the Constitutions’ Elections Clause (A1 S4) as giving state legislators near-exclusive authority to regulate federal elections. North Carolina’s gerrymandered election map was struck down.

Question 24

Murphy v NCAA 2018

Answer 24

Struck down the federal ban on sports betting, showing Congress can’t force states to enforce federal regulations.

Question 25

NFIB v Sebelius 2012

Answer 25

Ruled that Obamacare’s individual mandate was constitutional under the tax and spend clause of Article 1, but the requirement that states spend more on Medicaid lest they lose federal grants was not as it was unduly coercive.

Question 26

NYSPRA v Bruen 2022

Answer 26

Struck down a New York law that required anyone wanting a concealed carry permit to show they had particular need of it, e.g. for self-defence

Question 27

Obergefell v Hodges 2015

Answer 27

Gay marriage is legal in every state.

Question 28

Parents Involved v Seattle School District (2007)

Answer 28

Struck down affirmative action programmes in Washington State and Kentucky because they assigned students to state-run schools solely for the purpose of achieving racial balance.

Question 29

Planned Parenthood v Casey 1992

Answer 29

Reaffirmed Roe v Wade, but did allow states to implement abortion restrictions that apply during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Question 30

Roe v Wade 1973

Answer 30

Constitution contains a right to an abortion.

Question 31

Printz v US 1997

Answer 31

Federal government couldn’t compel state law enforcement to conduct background checks on gun purchasers under the Brady Handgun Violence Act. So, federal govt can’t force states to implement federal regulatory programs.

Question 32

Roper v Simmons (2005)

Answer 32

Unconstitutional to sentence anyone to death for a crime committed before they were 18 

Question 33

Rucho v Common Cause (2019)

Answer 33

Political gerrymandering out of the remit of federal courts: “partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts”

Question 34

Shelby County v Holder 2013

Answer 34

The Voting Rights Act 1965 was unconstitutional when requiring certain states to have any changes to their voting arrangements approved by the federal government.

Question 35

Snyder v Phelps (2011)

Answer 35

Westboro Baptist Church’s protests at the funerals of US soldiers were protected by the 1st Amendment, even though they caused great distress to the families.  

Question 36

Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard 2023

Answer 36

Ended race-based affirmative action in college admissions, ruling that it violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

Question 37

Town of Greece v Galloway (2014)

Answer 37

Legislative bodies such as town and city councils could begin their meetings with prayer, even if it clearly favoured one religion 

Question 38

Trump v Hawaii 2018

Answer 38

Upheld Trump’s Muslim travel ban

Question 39

Trump v Vance, Trump v Mazars 2020

Answer 39

The President is not above the law and needs to supply his tax returns to New York (Vance) and congressional committees (Marzars).

Question 40

Trump v US 2024

Answer 40

A former president has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his constitutional authority (i.e. specific powers), and has presumptive immunity from prosecution from all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.

Question 41

US v Carpenter 2018

Answer 41

Under the 4th Amendment the Govt cannot search mobile phone locations without a warrant.

Question 42

US v Windsor 2013

Answer 42

Struck own the Defence of Marriage Act’s definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

Question 43

Voisine v US 2016

Answer 43

People convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence can be barred from owning guns under federal law.

Question 44

Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt (2016)

Answer 44

Overturned Texas requirements that abortion clinics be, in effect, within 30 miles of a hospital. Roberts voted against overturning.

Question 45

Zelman v Simmons Harris (2002)

Answer 45

Upheld Ohio programme giving financial aid to parents to allow them to send their children to religious schools (but it came dangerously close to promoting religion and being a

Question 46

US v Castleman 2014

Answer 46

Upheld federal law which bars those convicted of domestic violence from possessing a firearm.

Question 47

Lily Ledbetter v Goodyear 2007

Answer 47

Ledbetter could not take action against her employer when she discovered, after eight years of employment, that she had been paid less than her male colleagues, because she was outside the 180 day limit before making her claim. Congress then legislated – Lily Ledbetter Equal Pay Act 2009, first Act signed by Obama – to say that the 180 limit resets with each paycheck.

Question 48

Foster v Chatman 2017

Answer 48

An African-American sentenced to death in Georgia in 1987 had not received a fair trial because state officials had systematically and illegally excluded African-Americans from the jury.