suprieme court cases

Question 1

McCulloch v. Maryland (1803) QUESTION

Answer 1

Question: does the constitution permit congress to charter a bank

Question 2

McCulloch v. Maryland (1803) RULING

Answer 2

Ruling: Affirms the supremacy of the constitution. Because of the necessary and proper clause, congress can use implied powers to charter a bank.

Question 3

McCulloch v. Maryland (1803) FACTS

Answer 3

Facts:
congress established the second bank of the united states in Maryland
At the same time Maryland decided to pass a law that imposed a tax on the bank.
McCulloch decided not to pay the tax

Question 4

United States v. Lopez (1995) QUESTION

Answer 4

Question: does the gun- free school zone act exceed the power of the commerce clause?

Question 5

United States v. Lopez (1995) RULING

Answer 5

Ruling: the law was considered unconstitutional since having a gun in a school zone did not affect interstate commerce, which is needed in the commerce clause. It also reaffirmed the 10th amendment of states rights.

Question 6

McCulloch v. Maryland importance:

Answer 6

supremacy of the constitution

Question 7

United States v. Lopez (1995) RULING

Answer 7

Ruling: the law was considered unconstitutional since having a gun in a school zone did not affect interstate commerce, which is needed in the commerce clause. It also reaffirmed the 10th amendment of states rights.

Question 8

United States v. Lopez EFFECT

Answer 8

state’s rights (10th amendment)

Question 9

Engel v. Vitale (1962) QUESTION

Answer 9

Question: do voluntary prayers violate the establishment clause?

Question 10

Engel v. Vitale (1962) RULING

Answer 10

Ruling: because the prayer was in a public school run by the government, it was unconstitutional because it went against the establishment clause.

Question 11

Engel v. Vitale (1962) EFFECT

Answer 11

Upheld the 1st amendment, establishment clause

Question 12

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) QUESTION

Answer 12

Question: does requiring students to attend school after 8th grade violate the first amendment right of freedom of religion.

Question 13

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) RULING

Answer 13

Ruling: the requirement to send children to school beyond the 8th grade was unconstitutional.
c. Facts:
Amish parents refused to send their children to school after 8th grade because of their religion
The state required the children to go to school until they were 16

Question 14

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) EFFECT

Answer 14

established the precedent that an individual’s right to exercise their religious beliefs under the First Amendment takes priority over the state’s interests in compulsory education.

Question 15

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

Answer 15

Question: does the prohibition against wearing accessories of symbolic protest violate the free speech clause of the first amendment.

Question 16

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

Answer 16

Ruling: in order for schools to justify the suppression of speech, the speech must substantially interfere with school operations.
c. Facts: a group of students decided to wear black armbands to protest the Vietnam war, despite warnings from an administration that they would be sent home. The students were sent home.
They claimed that this is a violation of free speech.

Question 17

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

Answer 17

Supreme Court’s majority ruled that neither students nor teachers “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” The Court took the position that school officials could not prohibit only on the suspicion that the speech might disrupt the learning

Question 18

New York Times v. United States (1971) QUESTION

Answer 18

Question: is the Nixon administration’s restraint of the publication of classified material was a violation of the freedom of the press.

Question 19

New York Times v. United States (1971) RULING

Answer 19

Ruling: expanded the freedom of the press. They said “there is a heavy presumption against prior restraint” and they could publish it even for national security purposes.
c. Facts: The Nixon administration tried to prevent the New York Times from publishing material that belonged to a defense department.

Question 20

New York Times v. United States (1971) EFFECT

Answer 20

In this ruling, the Court established a “heavy presumption against prior restraint,” even in cases involving national security. This means that the Court is very likely to find cases of government censorship unconstitutional.

Question 21

Schenck v. United States (1919) QUESTION

Answer 21

Question: did the espionage act violate the first amendment, and is it appropriate how congress handled wartime authority.

Question 22

Schenck v. United States (1919) RULING

Answer 22

Ruling: the espionage did not violate the first amendment and it was an appropriate use of wartime authority.
c. Facts: some socialists claimed that the draft violated the 13th amendment which prohibits involuntary servitude. They wanted people to not obey the draft.

Question 23

Schenck v. United States (1919) IMPACT

Answer 23

), the Supreme Court invented the famous “clear and present danger” test to determine when a state could constitutionally limit an individual’s free speech rights under the First Amendment.

Question 24

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) QUESTION

Answer 24

Question: does the right to counsel guaranteed in the 6th amendment also apply to felony defendants in state court?

Question 25

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) RULING

Answer 25

In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Gideon, guaranteeing the right to legal counsel for criminal defendants in federal and state courts. Following the decision, Gideon was given another trial with an appointed lawyer and was acquitted of the charges.

Question 26

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) IMPACT

Answer 26

guaranteeing the right to legal counsel for criminal defendants in federal and state courts.

Question 27

Roe v. Wade (1973)
RULING

Answer 27

Ruling: the right to abortion fell within the right of privacy and was therefore protected by the fourteenth amendment.

Question 28

McDonald v. Chicago (2010) QUESTION

Answer 28

Question: does a ban on handguns violate the 2nd amendment?

Question 29

McDonald v. Chicago (2010) RULING

Answer 29

Ruling: the ban was unconstitutional since it violated the second amendment and the right to self-defense.
c. Facts: Chicago passed a law against handguns. Several lawsuits argued that this was against the second amendment.

Question 30

McDonald v. Chicago (2010) IMPACT

Answer 30

the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,” applies to state and local governments as well as to the federal government.

limited the state’s power, and expanded the rights the individual

Question 31

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) QUESTION

Answer 31

Question: is segregation in schools violating the constitution’s 14th amendment of equal rights?

Question 32

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) RULING

Answer 32

Ruling: segregation in school was ruled unconstitutional. It required desegregation of all schools.
c. Facts:
The case was about the constitutionality of segregation in schools and segregation laws. It also was about how schools denied black students purely on race.

Question 33

. Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010) QUESTION

Answer 33

Question: should large corporations have the same right to the first amendment rights of free speech as an individual?

Question 34

Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010) IMPACT

Answer 34

The Court held that the First Amendment “prohibits Congress from fining or jailing citizens, or associations of citizens, for simply engaging in political speech.”

Question 35

Baker v. Carr (1961) QUESTION

Answer 35

Question: does the supreme court have the authority to hear cases about legislative reapportionment?

Question 36

Baker v. Carr (1961) RULING

Answer 36

Ruling: because of the 14th amendment issues (through equal protection,) that the court concluded that it did have authority to hear cases about legislative apportionment
c. Facts: Baker stated that an old reapportionment law had been ignored and that iti did not take into account the significant change that the state had been through

Question 37

Baker v. Carr (1961) IMPACT

Answer 37

United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that redistricting qualifies as a justiciable question under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, thus enabling federal courts to hear Fourteenth Amendment-based redistricting cases.

CAN HEAR REAPPORTIONMENT CASES

Question 38

Shaw v. Reno (1993) QUESTION

Answer 38

Question: does racial gerrymandering take place within the purposed district, and if it raised an equal protection clause question

Question 39

Shaw v. Reno (1993) RULING

Answer 39

Ruling: because the district was drawn so strangely, it was clear they were trying to get voters to vote racially.
c. Facts: North Carolina residents proposed an unusually shaped district. It was believed that its only purpose would be to elect African American representatives.

Question 40

Shaw v. Reno (1993) IMPACT

Answer 40

The Court ruled that claims of racial redistricting must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny, meaning that any law that results in classification by race must have a compelling government interest, be narrowly tailored to meet that goal, and be the least restrictive means for achieving that interest.

Question 41

. Marbury v. Madison (1803) QUESTION

Answer 41

Question: should courts be able to say if laws are constitutional or not? Does the court have authority to order the delivery of a commission?

Question 42

Marbury v. Madison (1803) RULING

Answer 42

Ruling: because the district was drawn so strangely, it was clear they were trying to get voters to vote racially.
c. Facts: North Carolina residents proposed an unusually shaped district. It was believed that its only purpose would be to elect African American representatives.

Question 43

Marbury v. Madison (1803) IMPACT

Answer 43

established judicial review