SCOTUS Cases Flashcards
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Established the principle of judicial review; strengthened power of judicial branch by giving Supreme Court the power to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Confirmed the right of Congress to use implied powers to carry out its expressed powers; validated supremacy of national government over states (states cannot interfere with or tax legitimate activities of the federal govt.
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Strengthened the power of the federal government to regulate interstate commerce; established role of commerce clause as vehicle for expansion of federal power
Engel v. Vitale
Struck down state-sponsored prayer in public schools; ruled that the Regents’ prayer was unconstitutional violation of the Establishment Clause
Lemon v. Kurtzman
Struck down state-sponsored funding for private religious schools
Rule that state aid to church-related schools must meet three tests: (a) the purpose of the aid must be clearly secular, (b) the government’s action must neither advance nor inhibit religion, and (c) the government’s action must not foster and “excessive entanglement” between govt. and religion
Reynolds v. US (1879)
Banned polygamy; Distinguished between religious beliefs that are protected by the Free Exercise Clause and religious practices that may be restricted; Ruled that religious practices cannot make an act legal that would otherwise be illegal
Oregon v. Smith (1990)
Banned the use of illegal drugs in religious ceremonies; Ruled that the govt. can act when religious practices violate criminal laws
Schenck v. US (1919)
Ruled that free speech could be limited when it presents a “clear and present danger”
New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)
Ruled that public officials cannot win a suit for defamation unless the statement is made with “actual malice”
Roth v. US (1951)
Ruled that obscenity is not constitutionally protected free speech
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District (1969)
Protected some forms of symbolic speech; ruled that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate”
Texas v. Johnson (1989)
Ruled that flag burning is a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment
Barron v. Baltimore (1833)
Ruled that the Bill of Rights cannot be applied to the states
Gitlow v. New York (1925)
Established precedent for the doctrine of selective incorporation, thus extending most of the requirements of the Bill of Rights to the states
Weeks v. US (1914)
Established the exclusionary rule in federal cases; prohibited evidence obtained by illegal searches and seizures from being admitted in court
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
Extended the exclusionary rule to the states; illustrated the process of selective incorporation through the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
Ruled that the 6th Amendment right-to-counsel provision applies to those accused of major crimes under state laws; illustrated the process of incorporation
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
Ruled that the police must inform criminal suspects of their constitutional rights before questioning suspects after arrest; required police to read the Miranda rules to criminal suspects
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
Ruled that African Americans were not citizens and therefore could not petition the Supreme Court; overturned by 14th Amendment
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Upheld Jim Crow segregation by approving “separate but equal” public facilities for African Americans
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Ruled that racially segregated schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment; reverse “separate but equal” principle
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
Ruled that UC Davis medical school’s strict quota system denied Bakke the equal protection guaranteed by the 14th Amendment but ruled that race could be used as a factor among others in the competition for available places
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
Upheld the affirmative action policy of the University of Michigan Law School (upheld Bakke ruling)
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
Ruled that Connecticut law criminalizing the use of contraceptives violated the right to marital privacy
Roe v. Wade (1973)
Ruled that the decision to obtain an abortion is protected by the right to privacy implied in the Bill of Rights
Baker v. Carr (1962)
Ruled that the judicial branch can rule on matters of legislative apportionment; used the principle of “one person, one vote” and ordered state legislative districts to be as equal as possible
Wesberry v. Sanders (1963)
Established the principle of “one person, one vote” in drawing congressional districts
Korematsu v. US (1944)
Upheld the constitutionality of the relocation of Japanese Americans as a wartime necessity; viewed by contemporary scholars as a flagrant violation of civil liberties
US V. Nixon (1974)
Ruled that there is no constitutional guarantee of unqualified executive privilege
Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
Upheld federal limits on campaign contributions but struck down limit on the amount of money individuals could contribute to their own campaign (it’s a form of free speech)
