Supreme Court Cases

Question 1

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Answer 1

Result: Judicial Review
Reasoning: Madison’s refusal to deliver the commission was illegal, but did not order Madison to hand over Marbury’s commission via writ of mandamus

Question 2

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Answer 2

Result: Congress was granted the power to establish a national bank
Reasoning: The Constitution did not deny such powers; Congress handles financial transactions; the Necessary and Proper Clause

Question 3

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Answer 3

Result: Speech creating a “clear and present danger” is not protected under the First Amendment
Reasoning: First Amendment

Question 4

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Answer 4

Result: The Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional
Reasoning: The 14 Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause
Context: Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) “separate but equal”

Question 5

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Answer 5

Result: One person, one vote ideal
Reasoning: The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment

Question 6

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Answer 6

Result: Held that school-sponsored prayer is a violation
Reasoning: The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment

Question 7

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Answer 7

Result: Guaranteeing the right to legal counsel for criminal defendants in federal and state courts
Reasoning: Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of counsel is a fundamental right essential to a fair trial and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Question 8

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)

Answer 8

Result: School officials could not censor student speech unless it disrupted the educational process
Reasoning: The First Amendment applied to public schools

Question 9

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

Answer 9

Result: The US government had not met “the heavy burden of showing justification for the enforcement” of prior restraint
Reasoning: First Amendment right to freedom of the press

Question 10

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Answer 10

Result: The Court held that individual’s interests in the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment outweighed the State’s interests in compelling school attendance beyond the eighth grade
Reasoning: The First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause

Question 11

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Answer 11

Result: Unlawful to gerrymander on the basis of race
Reasoning: Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause

Question 12

United States v. Lopez (1995)

Answer 12

Result: States are in charge of gun laws, congress cannot base a law prohibiting gun possession near schools on the Commerce Clause
Reasoning: Guns in schools are not economically related (congress tried to reason that carrying a gun to school could cause something bad to happen and it would scare tourists, therefore causing an economical imbalance)

Question 13

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

Answer 13

Result: The Supreme Court ruled in favor of McDonald, Chicago’s gun laws were unjust
Reasoning: Second Amendment right to bear arms is applicable to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause
Context: This ruling built upon the 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller

Question 14

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Answer 14

Result: Prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and other associations
Reasoning: First Amendment freedom of speech

Question 15

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Answer 15

Result: Held that the law unconstitutionally invaded the privacy rights of married couples, prohibited states from denying birth control to married couples
Reasoning: Privacy rights implied in the Fourteenth Amendment

Question 16

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Answer 16

Result: Abortion rights fall within the privacy implied in the 14th Amendment
Reasoning: 14th Amendment

Question 17

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022)

Answer 17

Result: The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion
Reasoning: Not protected by the Constitution
Context: Overturned Roe v. Wade (1973)