Supreme Court Cases In American History

Question 1

Fletcher v. Peck

Answer 1

(1810, Marshall) The decision stems from the Yazoo land cases, 1803, and upholds the sanctity of contracts

Question 2

McCullock v. Maryland

Answer 2

(1819, Marshall) The court ruled that states cannot tax the federal government, i.e. the Bank of the United States; the phrase “the power to tax is the power to destroy”; confirmed the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States

Question 3

Dartmouth College v. Woodward

Answer 3

(1819, Marshall) 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

Question 4

Gibbons v. Ogden

Answer 4

(1824, Marshall) Affirmed Congressional power over interstate commerce

Question 5

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia

Answer 5

(1824, Marshall) “The conditions of the Indians in relation to the U.S. is perhaps unlike that of any two people in existance,” Chief Justice John Marshall wrote,”Their relation to the United States resembles that of a ward to his guardian…(they were a) domestic dependent nation.” Established a “trust relationship” with the tribes directly under federal authority

Question 6

Worcester v. Georgia

Answer 6

(1832, Marshall) Established tribal autonomy; Tribes were “distinct political communities, having territorial boundaries within which their authority is exclusive.”

Question 7

Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge

Answer 7

(1837, Taney) The interests of the community are more important than the interests of business; the supremacy of society’s interns over private interest

Question 8

Commonwealth v. Hunt

Answer 8

(1842) Declared that labor unions were lawful organizations and that the strike was a lawful weapon

Question 9

Dred Scott v. Sanford

Answer 9

(1857, Taney) Speaking for a widely divided court, Chief Justice Taney ruled that Dred 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), this voiding the Missouri Compromise of 1820

Question 10

Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway Co. v. Illinois

Answer 10

(1886) Declared state-passed laws that regulated interstate commerce unconstitutional

Question 11

U.S. v. E. C. Knight Co.

Answer 11

(1895) Due to a narrow interpretation of the Sherman Anti-trust Act, the Court undermined the authority of the federal government to act against monopolies

Question 12

Plessy v. Ferguson

Answer 12

(1896) Legalized segregation on the basis of “separate but equal”

Question 13

“Insular Cases”/ Downes v. Bidwell

Answer 13

(1901) Confirmed the right of the federal government to place tariffs on goods entering the U.S. from its territories on the grounds that “the Constitution does not follow the flag”

Question 14

Northern Securities Co. v. U.S.

Answer 14

(1904) Re-established the authority of the federal government to fight monopolies under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Question 15

Lochner v. New York

Answer 15

(1905) Declared unconstitutional a New York act limiting the working hours of bakers due to a denial of the 14th Amendment rights

Question 16

Muller v. Oregon

Answer 16

(1908) First case to use the “Brandeis brief”; recognized a 10-hour work day for women laundry workers on the grounds of health and community concerns

Question 17

Schenk v. U.S.

Answer 17

Unanimously upheld the Espionage Act of 1917 which declared that people who interfered with the war effort were subject to imprisonment; declared that the 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech was not absolute; free speech could be limited if its exercise presented a “clear and present danger.”

Question 18

Schechter v. U.S.

Answer 18

(1936) unanimously declared the national industry recovery act unconstitutional on three grounds: that the act delegated legislative power to the executive; that there was a lack of constitutional authority for such legislation; and that sought to regulate businesses that were wholly intrastate in character

Question 19

Korematsu v. U.S.

Answer 19

(1941) The court upheld the constitutionality of detention camps for Japanese-Americans during WW2

Question 20

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

Answer 20

(1954, Warren) Unanimous decision declaring “separate but equal” unconstitutional

Question 21

Gideon v. Wainwright

Answer 21

(1963) Extends to the defendant the right of counsel in all state and federal criminal trials regardless of their ability to pay

Question 22

Escobedo v. Illinois

Answer 22

(1964) Ruled that a defendant must be allowed access to a lawyer before questioning by police

Question 23

Miranda v. Arizona

Answer 23

(1966) The court ruled that those subjugated to in custody interrogation be advised of their constitutional right to an attorney and their right to remain silent

Question 24

Roe v. Wade

Answer 24

(1973) The court legalized abortion by ruling that state laws could not restrict it during the first 3 months of pregnancy. Based on 4th Amendment rights of personal privacy

Question 25

U.S. v. Richard Nixon

Answer 25

(1974) The court rejected Richard Nixon’s claim to be an absolutely unqualified privilege against any judicial process

Question 26

Bakke v. Regents of the University of California

Answer 26

(1978) Ambiguous ruling by a badly divided court that dealt with the affirmative action, but with a 4/4/1 split, it was a very weak decision

Question 27

Bush v. Gore

Answer 27

(2000) U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of George W. Bush and ordered the state of Florida to stop ballot recounts; The decision led to an electoral victory for Bush

Question 28

Marbury v. Madison

Answer 28

(1803, Marshall) The court established its role as the arbiter of the constitutionality of federal laws, the principle is known as judicial review