Supreme Court Cases Flashcards
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
—–The court established its role as the arbiter of the constitutionality of federal laws, the principle is known as judicial review
Fletcher v. Peck (1810)
—–The decision stems from the Yazoo land cases, 1803, and upholds the sanctity of contracts. first time supreme court assumed right to declare a state law unconstitutional
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
—–The Court ruled that states cannot tax the federal government, i.e. the Bank of the U.S.; the phrase “the power to tax is the power to destroy”; confirmed the constitutionality of the Bank of the U.S.
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)
—–New Hampshire had attempted to take over Dartmouth College by revising its colonial charter. The Court ruled that the charter was protected under the contract clause of the U.S. Constitution; upholds the sanctity of contracts
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
—–Clarified the commerce clause and affirmed Congressional power over interstate commerce
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1832)
—–ruled an indian tribe was neither a foreign nation nor a state and therefore had no standing in federal courts. But indians still had unquestioned right to their land
Worchester v. Georgia (1832)
—–Established tribal autonomy within their boundaries, i.e. the tribes were “distinct political communities, having territorial boundaries within which their authority is exclusive” the laws of georgia can have no force
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
—–Speaking for a widely divided court, Chief Justice Taney ruled that Dredd Scott was not a citizen and had no standing in court; Scott’s residence in a free state and territory had not made him free since he returned to Missouri; Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in a territory (based on the 5th Amendment right of a person to be secure from seizure of property), thus voiding the Missouri Compromise of 1820
Ex parte Milligan (1866)
—–Ruled that a civilian cannot be tried in military courts while civil courts are available, 1866
Munn v. Illinois (1877)
—–A United States Supreme Court case dealing with corporate rates and agriculture. allowed states to regulate certain businesses within their borders, including railroads
Civil Rights Cases (1883)
—–Legalized segregation with regard to private property, 1883. Cases invalidated Civil Rights acts of 1875
Wabash RR v Illinois (1886)
—–National power. Federalism. The Supreme Court forbade any state to set rates, even within its own borders, on railroad traffic entering from or bound for another state. This paved the way for the creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1887.
In Re Debs (1895)
—–denied a writ of habeas corpus to Eugene Debs, after he was cited for contempt for violating an injunction against the Pullman strike. Strike interfered with the federal responsibility to transport the mails and its authority over interstate commerce
Plessy v. Ferguson 1896
—–Legalized segregation in publicly owned facilities on the basis of “separate but equal”
Cummins v. County Board of Education (1899)
deciding this case, the U.S. Supreme Court officially applied the “separate but equal doctrine” to public schools. As a result of this decision and Plessy v. Ferguson, segregation laws known as Jim Crow laws, piled up throughout the South.