Supreme Court Cases

• Marbury v. Madison

  • Established judicial review
  • Validity of acts of the other two branches of gov.
• McCulloch v. Maryland 1819

  • States did not have powerto tax the federal gov.
  • "Necessary and Proper" Clause
• Schenk v. US 1919

  • Invented the "clear and danger" test to determine when a state could consitiutionally limit an individual's free speech rights under the 1st Amendment
  • Contributed to the 14th Amendment
• Brown v. Board of Education 1954

  • No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the priviledges of citizens of the US
• Baker v. Carr 1961

  • Established the right of federal courts to review redistricting issues
• Engel v. Vitale 1962

  • Struck down prayer in public schools
  • Private schools could be religious
• Gideon v. Wainwright 1963

  • Guaranteeing the right to legal counsel for criminal defendants in federal and state courts
  • 14th Amendment creates a right for criminal defendants who cannot pay for a lawyer
• Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

  • Cemented students' rights to free speech in public schools
• NY Times Co. v. US 1971

  • Defended the 1st Amendment right of free press against prior restraint by the gov.
• Wisconsin v. Yoker 1972

  • Established the precedent that an individual's right to exercise their religious beliefs under the 1st Amendment
• Shaw v. Reno 1993

  • US Congressional Districts cannot be "drawn" based solely or primarily on race
• US v. Lopez 1995

  • Reaffirmed the balance of power between the federal gov. and state govs.
• DC v. Heller 2008

  • Established the individual right to possess firearms for self-defense in the home
• McDonald v. Chicago 2010

  • Made it possible that the right to keep and bear arms can be for non-militia purposes
• Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission 2010

  • 1st Amendment prohibits limits on corporate funding of independent broacasts in candidate elections
• Miranda v. Arizona 1966

  • Ruled that an arrested individual is entitled to rights against self-incrimination and to an attorney under the 5th and 6th Amendments
• Bush v. Gore 2000

  • Ruled that the state of Florida's court-ordered manual recount of vote ballots in the 200 presidential election was unconstitutional under the "Equal Protection Clause" of the 14th Amendment
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette 1943

  • 1st Amendment prevents school officials from compelling a student and salute the flag during the Pledge of Allegience
• Mapp v. Ohio 1961

  • Ruled that evidence seized unlawfully, w/o a search warrant cannot be used in criminal prosecutions in state courts
• Gitlow v. New York 1925

  • Enabled prohibitions on speech that simply advocated potential violence