Supreme Court Case
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
-U.S. Supreme Court first declared an act of Congress unconstitutional, establishing the doctrine of judicial review
-important: first Supreme Court case to apply the principle of judicial review (power of federal courts to void acts of Congress that were in conflict with the Constitution)
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
- 1950s, New York schools encouraged teachers to lead students in a non-denominational prayer each morning. A group of parents, including Steven Engel, challenged this school prayer as a violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment
Supreme Court ruled that the school-led prayer violated the First Amendment, citing the importance of separating government and religion
Roe v. Wade (1973)
- ruled unconstitutional a state law that banned abortions except to save the life of the mother
- landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the U.S. protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction
The Declaration of Independence
- provide the ideological foundations for the democratic government of the U.S.
- provides a foundation for the concept of popular sovereignty, the idea that the government exists to serve the people, who elect representatives to express their will
-outlines the blueprint for the US governmental system, which strives to balance individual liberty with public order.
Federalist No.51
- appropriate checks and balances can be created in government and also advocates a separation of powers within the national government
- Framers of the US Constitution structured the government so that the three branches have separate powers. The branches must both cooperate and compete to enact policy
- Each of the branches has the power to check the other two, which ensures that no one branch can become too powerful and that government as a whole is constrained
- structure ensures that the people’s will is represented by allowing citizens multiple access points to influence public policy, and permitting the removal of officials who abuse their power
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
- Supreme Court ruled that Congress had implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution to create the Second Bank of the U.S., and the state of Maryland lacked the power to tax the Bank
- importance: Supreme Court held that Congress had implied powers derived from those listed in Article I, Section 8
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
- 1961, a Florida court refused to provide a public defender for Clarence Earl Gideon, who was accused of robbery. Gideon appealed his conviction to the US Supreme Court on the grounds that the Fourteenth Amendment incorporated the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel to the states
- Supreme Court ruled in Gideon’s favor, requiring states to provide a lawyer to any defendant who could not afford one
Shaw v. Reno (1993)
- 1991, a group of white voters in North Carolina challenged the state's new congressional district map, which had two “majority-minority” districts The group claimed that the districts were racial gerrymanders that violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
- 1993 decision, the Supreme Court agreed, ruling that race cannot be the predominant factor in creating districts
The Articles of Confederation
- U.S.’s first constitution, lasting from 1776 until 1789. The Articles established a weak central government and placed most powers in the hands of the states
- Under the Articles, the US economy faltered, since the central government lacked the power to enforce tax laws or regulate commerce
- Shays’s Rebellion, an uprising of Revolutionary War veterans in Massachusetts that both the state and national governments struggled to address due to a lack of centralized military power, illustrated the need to create a stronger governing system
Federalist No.70
- argues in favor of the unitary executive (president) created by Article II of the United States Constitution
Schenck v. United States (1919)
- Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer were convicted under the 1917 Espionage Act for mailing leaflets encouraging men to resist the military draft
- They appealed to the Supreme Court on the grounds that the conviction violated their free speech rights
- Supreme Court upheld their convictions, ruling that speech that creates a “clear and present danger” (by encouraging violence or insurrection or endangering national security) is not protected by the First Amendment
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)
- 1965, a public school district in Iowa suspended three teenagers for wearing black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. Their families filed suit, and in 1969 the case reached the Supreme Court
- Court ruled that the school district had violated the student's free speech rights. The armbands were a form of symbolic speech, which the First Amendment protects
United States v. Lopez (1995)
- 1992, Alfonso Lopez, a high school senior, walked into his San Antonio high school with a concealed weapon. He was arrested for violating a Texas law that prohibited firearm possession on school grounds. At first, Lopez was charged in a court in Texas, but he was later charged with violating the Gun-Free Schools Act, a federal offense
- Lopez was found guilty and appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that this law was an overreach of congressional power because schools were supposed to be controlled at the state level, not the federal level. The court agreed with him and overturned the conviction
- US v. Lopez was a landmark case as ruled that the federal government had exceeded its authority under the commerce clause
The Constitution of the United States
- established America's national government & fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens
- limited government
- republicanism
- checks and balances
- federalism, system of government where the same territory is controlled by two levels of gov.
- separation of powers
- popular sovereignty, all political power is vested in and derived from the people
Federalist No.78
- discusses the power of judicial review
- argues that the federal courts have the job of determining whether acts of Congress are constitutional and what must be done if government is faced with the things that are done on the contrary of the Constitution
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
- landmark 1954 Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional
New York Times Company v. United States (1971)
- 1971, the administration of President Richard Nixon attempted to suppress the publication of a top-secret history of US military involvement in Vietnam, claiming that its publication endangered national security
- Supreme Court found that this injunction against publication was a violation of the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of the press
McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
- Suits were filed against Chicago and Oak Park in Illinois challenging their gun bans after the District of Columbia v. Heller decision by the Supreme Court. Plaintiffs argued that the 2nd Amendment should apply to states as well
Signifiance:
-the Supreme Court found that the Second Amendment (right to bear arms) applies to state, local, and federal governments
Federalist No.10
A warning about the power of factions and competing interests over the U.S. government
Since everyone has their own self-interests, & people's self-interests clash with others', government have to pass laws for the common good instead of any one specific group
Argument - Stong, united republic would be more effective than the individual states at controlling "factions"
Letter From A Birmingham Jail
- people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take direct action rather than waiting potentially forever for justice to come through the courts
- persuade his audience to break unjust laws
Baker v. Carr (1961)
- U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the Tennessee legislature to reapportion itself on the basis of population
- Court held that redistricting qualifies as a justiciable question, this enabling federal courts to redistricting cases
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
- state of Wisconsin fined three Amish families for refusing to send their children to school past the eighth grade. State law mandated that all students attend school until age 16
- Amish families’ case went to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the Wisconsin law violated their right to free exercise of religion
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
Supreme Court decided that:
- corporate funding of independent political broadcast in condition elections cannot be limited
Decision
- Political speech is indispensable to a democracy, which is no less true just because it comes from a corporation
- Disclosure is justified by a ‘governmental interest’ in providing the ‘electorate with information about election-relation spending resources
Brutus No.1
- the Constitution gives too much power to the federal government
- the proposed Constitution consolidated too much power in the hands of Congress
- liberties of the American people are best protected by the 13 states continuing to be confederated republics