1803-1962
MARBURY V. MADISON (1803)
What was the court's ruling and result?
The Supreme Court ruled that James Madison was wrong to withhold William Marbury's judicial commission; the Court could not order its delivery because the law granting the Court the power to issue such an order was unconstitutional. The result was the establishment of the principle of judicial review, which gives the Supreme Court the power to declare laws passed by Congress unconstitutional and therefore void.
ENGEL V. VITALE (1962)
What was the court's ruling and result?
The Supreme Court ruled 6-1 that state-sponsored prayer in public schools violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, finding it unconstitutional for the government to compose official prayers for any group of people. The invalidation of New York's public school prayer program established that the government cannot endorse or promote religious beliefs, even if participation is voluntary.
SHAW V. RENO (1993)
What was the court's ruling and result?
The Supreme Court ruled that racial gerrymandering, even if done to comply with the Voting Rights Act, is subject to strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The Court held that a redistricting plan with a bizarre, geographically incoherent shape was suspicious and likely based on race, requiring justification under strict scrutiny. The case was remanded to a lower court to determine if North Carolina had a compelling governmental interest to justify the plan's racial design
BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION (1954)
What was the court's ruling and result?
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The Court declared that "separate is not equal," finding that segregated facilities were "inherently unequal" and violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The result was the end of the "separate but equal" doctrine.
GIDEON V. WAINWRIGHT (1963)
What was the court's ruling and result?
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of counsel applies to all criminal defendants, requiring states to provide attorneys to poor individuals facing serious criminal charges to ensure a fair trial. The result was a new trial with a court-appointed lawyer, where he was acquitted after his new defense attorney demonstrated evidence that the state's key witness was lying.
UNITED STATES V. LOPEZ (1995)
What was the court's ruling and result?
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 was unconstitutional because Congress had overstepped its authority under the Commerce Clause. The Court held that possessing a gun in a local school zone was not an economic activity that substantially affected interstate commerce, and therefore, the law infringed upon state powers. The result was the reversal of Alfonso Lopez's conviction and a significant limitation on the federal government's power to regulate activities under the Commerce Clause
MCCULLOCH V. MARYLAND (1819)
What was the court's ruling and result?
Unanimous ruling, congress possessed implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause to create the Second Bank of the United States, and that the state of Maryland could not tax this federal institution. The Court affirmed the principle of federal supremacy, ruling that the Constitution and federal laws are the supreme law of the land, and states cannot tax or interfere with the federal government's execution of its constitutional powers.
TINKER V. DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT (1969)
What was the court's ruling and result?
The Supreme Court's (7-2) 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
13. MCDONALD V. CHICAGO (2010)
What was the court's ruling and result?
The Supreme Court ruled in McDonald v. Chicago that the Second Amendment's individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense is a fundamental right that applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, thus striking down Chicago's and Oak Park's handgun bans. The ruling affirmed the individual right to gun ownership for self-defense, building on the precedent set by District of Columbia v. Heller, and extended this right to state and local governments.
SCHENCK V. UNITED STATES (1919)
What was the court's ruling and result?
The Supreme Court ruled that the Espionage Act was constitutional and that the First Amendment's protection of free speech does not apply to speech that presents a "clear and present danger" of interfering with the nation's war efforts. The Court upheld Charles Schenck's conviction for distributing leaflets that discouraged military enlistment during World War I, establishing the "clear and present danger" test to determine when speech can be limited.
NEW YORK TIMES CO. V. UNITED STATES (1971)
What was the court's ruling and result?
The Supreme Court ruled (6-3) that the government could not prevent the newspapers from publishing the "Pentagon Papers," affirming the press's freedom from "prior restraint". The Court held that the government failed to meet its "heavy burden" of proving that publication would cause an inevitable, direct, and immediate danger to national security, establishing a high standard for censorship and protecting the press's role in informing the public about government actions.
CITIZENS UNITED V. FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION (2010)
What was the court's ruling and result?
The Supreme Court ruled that limiting independent political spending by corporations and unions violates their First Amendment right to free speech. The Court held that corporations and unions can spend unlimited funds on independent political expenditures, such as campaign advertising, as long as these expenditures are not directly coordinated with a candidate or political party. The decision overturned previous restrictions on corporate political spending and upheld existing requirements for the disclosure of donors for such advertisements
BAKER V. CARR (1962)
What was the court's ruling and result?
WISCONSIN V. YODER (1972)
What was the court's ruling and result?
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state's compulsory education law violated the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause by infringing on the Amish parents' religious freedom. The result was to reverse the convictions of Amish families who refused to send their children to school beyond the eighth grade, thus creating an exemption for Amish families from the compulsory education law