US Supreme Court Flashcards
Marbury vs. Madison
In a 4-0 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that although it was illegal for Madison to withhold the delivery of the appointments, forcing Madison to deliver the appointments was beyond the power of the U.S. Supreme Court.
McCulloch vs. Maryland
In a unanimous decision, the Court held that Congress had the power to incorporate the bank and that Maryland could not tax instruments of the national government employed in the execution of constitutional powers. Pursuant to the Necessary and Proper Clause (Art.
Gibbons vs. Ogden
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gibbons. Congress had the right to regulate interstate commerce. The sole decided source of Congress’s power to promulgate the law at issue was the Commerce Clause.
Dred Scott vs. Sanford
Sandford, was a decade-long fight for freedom by a Black enslaved man named Dred Scott. The case persisted through several courts and ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court, whose decision incensed abolitionists, gave momentum to the anti-slavery movement and served as a stepping stone to the Civil War.
Engel vs. Vitale
In a 6–1 decision, the Supreme Court held that reciting government-written prayers in public schools was unconstitutional, violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Tinker vs. Des Monines (Links to an external site.)
In 1969 the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision in favor of the students. The high court agreed that students’ free rights should be protected and said, “Students don’t shed their constitutional rights at the school house gates.”
Wallace vs. Jaffree
Jaffree, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 4, 1985, ruled (6–3) that an Alabama statute that authorized a one-minute period of silence in all public schools “for meditation or voluntary prayer” violated the First Amendment’s establishment clause.
Texas vs. Johnson
Johnson, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5–4) on June 21, 1989, that the burning of the U.S. flag is a protected form of speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Plessy vs. Ferguson
Ferguson, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on May 18, 1896, by a seven-to-one majority (one justice did not participate), advanced the controversial “separate but equal” doctrine for assessing the constitutionality of racial segregation laws.
Brown vs. Board of Education
In a major civil rights victory, the U.S. Supreme Court hands down an unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, ruling that racial segregation in public educational facilities is unconstitutional.
Mapp vs. Ohio
Supreme Court issued a 6–3 decision in favor of Mapp that overturned her conviction and held that the exclusionary rule applies to American states as well as the federal government.
Heart of Atlanta Hotel vs. US
The Commerce Clause extends the anti-discrimination provisions in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to hotels that host travelers from outside the state. In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Clark, the Court held the government could enjoin the motel from discriminating on the basis of race under the Commerce Clause.
Furman vs. Georgia
Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972), was a criminal case in which the United States Supreme Court invalidated all death penalty schemes in the United States in a 5–4 decision, with each member of the majority writing a separate opinion.
Roe vs. Wade
On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court issued a 7–2 decision in favor of “Jane Roe” (Norma McCorvey) holding that women in the United States had a fundamental right to choose whether to have abortions without excessive government restriction and striking down Texas’s abortion ban as unconstitutional.
Gregg vs. Georgia
In a 7-to-2 decision, the Court held that a punishment of death did not violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments under all circumstances.
