Show:
Cases 1
Cases 2
Cases 3
Cases 42
Cases 5
100
Marbury v. Madison (1803, Marshall)
The court established its role as the arbiter of the constitutionality of federal laws, the principle is known as judicial review
100
Fletcher v. Peck (1810, Marshall)
The decision stems from the Yazoo land cases, 1803, and upholds the sanctity of contracts.
100
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819, Marshall)
The Court ruled that states cannot tax the federal government, i.e. the Bank of the United States; the phrase "the power to tax is the power to destroy"; confirmed the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States.
100
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819, Marshall)
New Hampshire had attempted to take over Dartmouth College by revising its colonial charter. The Court ruled that the charter was protected under the contract clause of the U. S. Constitution; upholds the sanctity of contracts.
100
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824, Marshall)
Clarified the commerce clause and affirmed Congressional power over interstate commerce.
200
Johnson v. McIntosh (1823, Marshall)
Established that Indian tribes had rights to tribal lands that preceded all other American law; only the federal government could take land from the tribes.
200
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831, Marshall)
"The conditions of the Indians in relation to the United States is perhaps unlike that of any two people in existence," Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, "their relation to the United States resembles that of a ward to his guardian. . .(they were a) domestic dependent nation." Established a "trust relationship" with the tribes directly under federal authority.
200
Worcester v. Georgia (1832, Marshall)
Established tribal autonomy within their boundaries, i.e. the tribes were "distinct political communities, having territorial boundaries within which their authority is exclusive."
200
Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837, Taney)
The interests of the community are more important than the interests of business; the supremacy of society’s interest over private interest.
200
Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842)
Declared that labor unions were lawful organizations and that the strike was a lawful weapon.
300
Scott v. Sanford (1857, Taney)
Speaking for a widely divided court, Chief Justice Taney ruled that Dred Scott was not a citizen and had no standing in court; Scott’s residence in a free state and territory had not made him free since he returned to Missouri; Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in a territory (based on the 5th Amendment right of a person to be secure from seizure of property), thus voiding the Missouri Compromise of 1820.
300
Ex parte Milligan (1866)
Ruled that a civilian cannot be tried in military courts while civil courts are available.
300
Civil Rights Cases of 1883. (A single decision on a group of cases with similar legal problems)
Legalized segregation with regard to private property.
300
Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway Co. v. Illinois (1886)
Declared state-passed Granger laws that regulated interstate commerce unconstitutional.
300
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Co. v. Minnesota (1890)
Found that Granger law regulations were violations of the 5th Amendment right to property.
400
Pollock v. The Farmers’ Loan and Trust Co. (1895)
Declared the income tax under the Wilson-Gorman Tariff to be unconstitutional.
400
U. S. v. E. C. Knight Co. (1895)
Due to a narrow interpretation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, the Court undermined the authority of the federal government to act against monopolies.
400
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Legalized segregation in publicly owned facilities on the basis of "separate but equal."
400
"Insular Cases" / Downes v. Bidwell (1901)
Confirmed the right of the federal government to place tariffs on good entering the U. S. From U. S. Territories on the grounds that "the Constitution does not follow the flag."
400
Northern Securities Co. v. U. S. (1904)
Re-established the authority of the federal government to fight monopolies under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
500
Lochner v. New York (1905)
Declared unconstitutional a New York act limiting the working hours of bakers due to a denial of the 14th Amendment rights.
500
Muller v. Oregon (1908)
First case to use the "Brandeis brief"; recognized a 10-hour work day for women laundry workers on the grounds of health and community concerns.
500
Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918)
Declared the Keating-Owen Act (a child labor act) unconstitutional on the grounds that it was an invasion of state authority.
500
Schenck v. U. S. (1919)
Unanimously upheld the Espionage Act of 1917 which declared that people who interfered with the war effort were subject to imprisonment; declared that the 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech was not absolute; free speech could be limited if its exercise presented a "clear and present danger."
500
Adkins v. Children’s Hospital (1923)
Declared unconstitutional a minimum wage law for women on the grounds that it denied women freedom of contract.