Miss Stein
US History and Government
Name: ___________________________
Period: ___________
Court Cases Research Assignment
Background
Over the past fifteen weeks in US History, we have regularly referred to and alluded to a variety
of Supreme Court cases that have shaped our nation’s history. We will continue to discuss
different course cases as we continue studying who we are and how we got here. After break, we
will delve deeply into the structure and function of the Supreme Court. The purpose of this
assignment is to provide you with background knowledge that will help you further understand
this branch of government, as well as prepare you for your midterm and final exams.
Assignment
For this assignment, you will be using www.oyez.org. The Oyez Project website is an archived
search engine through IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. You can search by specific case, Chief
Justice, year, or issue. Each case summary contains a basic list of facts, the decision, and
questions that arose as a result of and during the case.
For each of the cases listed below, create a typed chart indicating case name, year, brief
summary, and decision/constitutional significance. For example . . .
Name/Year
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Brief Summary
Jefferson’s reject John
Adams’ appointment of
midnight justices. Court must
decide whether Marbury is
entitled to his appointment
under the Judiciary Act.
Decision/Significance
The Constitution conflicted
with a law, so the law is
invalid and unconstitutional.
Established the power of
judicial review.
You are responsible for the following cases:
 Marbury v. Madison (You may use my example or write your own)
 McCulloch v. Maryland
 Gibbons v. Ogden
 Worcester v. Georgia
 Dred Scott v. Sanford
 Ex Parte Milligan
 Munn v. Illinois
 Yick Wo v. Hopkins
 US v. E.C. Knight Co.
 In Re Debs
 Plessy v. Ferguson
 Lochner v. New York
 Muller v. Oregon
 Schenck v. United States
 Schechter Poultry Corporation v. United States
 West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
 Korematsu v. United States
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Dennis v. United States
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Watkins v. United States
Yates v. United States
Mapp v. Ohio
Backer v. Carr
Engel v. Vitale
Gideon v. Wainwright
Miranda v. Arizona
Tinker v. Des Moines
New York Times v. United States
Roe v. Wade
United States v. Nixon
Regents of the University of CA v. Bakke
Texas v. Johnson
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Bush v. Gore
Nuts ’n Bolts:
 Include all 34 cases
 Please work independently!
 Typed
 12-point Times New Roman font
 Chart format with labeled columns
 Name and period in a header on the top of the first page only
 Page layout can be either portrait or landscape
 Staple in top right corner
 Worth 100 points
Due Date: Wednesday, 4 January 2012 at the beginning of your class period. No exceptions!
Only hard copies will be accepted. You must let me know in advance if this will be problematic
and we will work something out.
Please let me know if you have questions! I will check my email over break.