The Required Court Cases Flashcards
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Federalism: Congress allowed to establish treasury, states not allowed to tax federal bank under Necessary and Proper Clause
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Judicial review: Judicial Act of 1789 to be unconstitutional, SCOTUS cannot issue writes of man damus
Schenck v. United States (1919)
Restricted rights: Restriction of expression allowed under Espionage Act, “fire in a crowded theater”
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
Desegregation: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) aka “separate but equal” overturned, Chief Justice Earl Warren fought to get that unanimous ruling
Baker v. Carr (1961)
Gerrymandering: SCOTUS required Tennessee to redraw boundaries: “One person, one vote”
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
Religion in government: SCOTUS rules school-sponsored prayer violates establishment clause (separation of church and state), no praying during instructional time
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
Counsel: 6th Amendment right to counsel applies to criminal defendants, 14th Amendment also applies here
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)
Speech: Armbands allowed to be worn in protest of Vietnam war in school, non-disruptive speech
New York Times Company v. United States (1971)
Executive Privilege: aka “Pentagon Papers Case”, overruled Nixon’s request to censor the Pentagon Papers about the Vietnamese War
If publication doesn’t cause “an inevitable, direct, and immediate event imperiling the safety of American forces”, then it’s okay
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
Religion: Mandatory attendance ruled to be a violation of free exercise of religion
Roe v. Wade (1973) (not anymore)
Shaw v. Reno (1993)
Gerrymandering pt. 2: Race cannot be the main reason new districts are drawn
United States v. Lopez (1995)
Commerce?: Court ruled that no, in fact, prohibiting the carrying of guns in a school zone is, although a good thing, not related to commerce whatsoever and is therefore an overreach of Congress
McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
Applications of Constitution: Ruled that 2nd Amendment (that makes it so that the federal government cannot infringe on the right to bear arms) also applies to state+local governments, extended this jurisdiction.
Specifically, this ruling involves the 14th Amendment by declaring that “fundamental” and “deeply routed” rights are protected (“No state shall… deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” –> Due Process Clause)
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
Super PACs allowed to spend unlimited amounts of money on “independent” ads that do not coordinate with a campaigning candidate
