 William Marbury v. James Madison
 Est. Judicial Review- the authority for the S.C. to
determine whether legislation/actions are constitutional.
W. Marbury
J. Madison
 Congress charted the Second Bank of the US (BUS)
 Opposition from much of the country
 Saw it as a monster monopoly.
 State of Maryland placed a heavy tax on the BUS
 Cashier of the MD BUS branch James McCulloch
refused to pay tax to MD.
 State courts ruled against McCulloch
 McCulloch took it to the S.C.
 S.C. ruled in favor of McCulloch b/c…
 States cannot tax the federal government.
 Upholds Article 6: Supremacy Clause
 Federal Government > State Government
 Dollree Mapp suspected of harboring a fugitive.
 Police show up and she wouldn't let them in.
 Cops leave
 3 hours later burst in her home holding up paper
saying it was a warrant.
 It wasn’t.
 Mapp’s attorney shows up
 Cops refuse to let him in
 Upon search of her home (illegally)
they find lewd photos & books.
She’s arrested & convicted .
 S.C. ruled in favor of Mapp
 No evidence illegally seized may be used in
court under the exclusionary rule.
 Protected under the 4th and 14th amendment.
 Clarence Gideon broke into a pool hall
 Stole $ from cig machine & wine
 Asked for a lawyer
 FL law says:
 lawyer is appointed only in capital offenses.
 G represents himself, poorly.
 Sentenced 5 years.
 Appealed to S.C. based on 6th amendment.
 Right to counsel
 The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gideon
 Upholds the 6th amendment and the right
to an
attorney.
 G was retried with an appointed lawyer and he was
acquitted from the charges.
 William Furman broke into a home
and “accidentally” shot the
homeowner.
 Sentenced to death.
 Furman felt death penalty violated
the 8th amendment
 Cruel & unusual punishment
 S.C. ruled in favor of Furman
 Suspended the death penalty as a
violation of the 8th & 14th
amendments.
 Troy Leon Gregg robbed and
murdered 2 men & given the death
penalty.
 Gregg took it to the S.C. to try and
reverse his death penalty under
violation of the 8th amendment.
 S.C. ruled in favor of Georgia b/c…
 The 8th amendment was really talking
about barbaric/tortuous punishment
and the death penalty did not violate
the 8th if it fit the crime.
 Brought back the death penalty.
 “Jane Roe” wanted an abortion in Texas, where it was illegal.
 Said it violated her right to privacy, which could be inferred
from 1st, 4th, 5th, 9th and 14th amendments.
 S.C. ruled in favor of Roe b/c…
 only a woman and her Dr. can determine what’s best during the
first trimester (1st 12 weeks).
 Gives women the right to abortion within first trimester.
 Louisiana law (Separate Car Act) requiring RR’s to
have “separate but equal” RR cars.
 Homer Plessy (1/8 black) sits in white car. And
won’t go to black car. Arrested & taken to jail for
breaking law.
 P. appeals saying it’s a violation of his 14th am right.
 S.C. said that it was not a violation of the 14th am
b/c there were “equal” facilities provided.
 Creates the legal basis for the “separate but equal”
doctrine and legitimizes Jim Crow laws.
 African American children were denied admittance
to all white schools.
 NAACP worked with families of school children to
challenge the “separate but equal” doctrine set by
Plessy v. Ferguson,1896.
 Violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th
amendment.
 S.C. ruled unanimously in favor of Brown and the
desegregation of public schools b/c it not only
violated the 14th am., but it also caused
psychological damage to A.A. children.
 Ends separate but equal
 1960s affirmative action programs est.
to help minorities advance. Ex)
College admissions, jobs
 Allan Bakke (33 White) applied to U of
CA Med school.
 Denied.
 Had slightly lower scores than fellow
white students but higher aptitude
scores.
 U of CA admitted 16 (minority)
students through the special
admissions program.
 Had significantly lower scores than
Bakke.
 Was this reverse discrimination and a violation of
the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment?
 Yes, if the admission to a university was based
solely on race. Race may be used as a factor, but
not the only criteria.
 Allan Bakke was admitted to U of CA
 "Almighty God, we
acknowledge our
dependence on Thee,
and we beg Thy
blessings upon us, our
parents, our teachers,
and our Country.”

daily prayer from the NY State Board of
Regents. Recited every morning at the
beginning of school. Students could be
excused from reciting the prayer.
 Parents (Engle & others) upset over the prayer as a
violation of their 1st am. right to freedom of religion
and the establishment clause.
 S.C. ruled in favor of Engle b/c…
 It completely violated the est.. clause b/c a “prayer
composed by gov’t officials as part of a gov’t
program to further religious beliefs breaches the
Const.”
 Public schools are not allowed to encourage any sort
of religious beliefs/prayer even if they are nondenominational.
 Principal removed 2 pages from a school newspaper
b/c the dealt w/ teen pregnancy and divorce. He felt the
girls discussed would be easily identified.
 Students felt it was a violation of their 1st am. Right to
free speech.
 3 former students sued the principal for this violation.
 S.C. says…
 Not a violation of 1st am. b/c it was a school newspaper
and students do not have the same free speech rights in a
school setting as adults do on the public forum.
 In protest to the Vietnam War John & Mary Beth
Tinker & Chris Eckhart wore black armbands to
school.
 They were asked to remove them, refused, and then
suspended.
 Took the case to the S.C. as a violation of their 1st
am right to free speech
 S.C. ruled in favor of Tinker b/c…
 The armbands were not offensive or disruptive.
 As long as a students “speech” is not disruptive then
it can not be limited.
 Student’s don’t shed all of their 1st am. rights because
they enter a school.
 During the 1984 RNC Gregory
Johnson burned a flag in protest
of Reagan & his policies while
chanting, “Red, white & blue we
spit on you!”
 Johnson was tried and convicted
under a Texas law outlawing flag
desecration.
 He was sentenced to one year in
jail and assessed a $2,000 fine.
 Is flag burning protected under the 1st amendment
freedom of speech? Or is the flag a sacred item that
is above freedom of speech?
 Flag burning is protected under the 1st amendment
freedom of speech.
 After the Watergate scandal
surfaced, which involved
President Nixon (R) and his
reelection committee breaking
into the Democratic National
Headquarters, going through
files, wiretapping phones, etc.
trying to find damaging info
about the Democrats.
 Nixon kept tape recordings of
convos in the White House.
 The prosecutors wanted those
tapes!!! & Nixon said no, I have
executive privileges!
 Can the President use his “executive privileges” of
confidentiality in order to keep himself out of hot
water?
 NOOOOOO. Nixon had to give in to the subpoena
and release the tapes. There is a limit of “executive
privileges.
 He resigned shortly after.
 After Brown v. Board of Ed. little
progress was made in
desegregating public schools.
 B/C of racially segregated housing
patterns and resistance by local
leaders, many schools remained as
segregated as they were at the time
of the Brown decision.
 In CMS 14,000 black students
attended 99% black schools.
 NAACP funded the case on behalf
of Vera and Darius Swann, parents
of a child(6), sued the CMS to allow
their son to attend Seversville
Elementary School, closest to their
home and then one of Charlotte’s
few integrated schools.
 Did the federal gov. have the authority to oversee
methods of desegregation?
 Yes, S.C. unanimously upheld busing programs that
aimed to speed up the racial integration of public
schools in the United States
 After the US entered WWII, &
therefore fighting against the
Japanese.
 Pres. FDR signed executive
order 9066 which banned U.S.
citizens of Japanese from living
along the west coast states.
 Interment camps were set up as
housing for the relocated
citizens.
 Poor conditions, violence and
rape ensued.
 Fred Korematsu (American
born) refused to leave his home
and was arrested for violating
E.O. 9066.
 Appealed to S.C. saying it was
unconstitutional to force people
of Japanese ancestry out of their
homes and into interment
camps.
 S.C. said that in times of war that it was necessary
and though it be unfortunate for the Japanese
Americans, the security of the nation was more
important.
 Interment of a racial group, even if they are citizens
is legal and constitutional in times of war
 Now illegal by Congress (1988)
 Gerald Gault (15) was @ home
when his friend made vulgar
phone calls to a neighbor.
 Gault was arrested & taken to
the juvenile delinquent center.
 Mom was never notified.
 Denied notice of the charges,
right to counsel, right to
confront/cross examine witness,
& protection from selfincrimination.
 Sentenced to 5 years confined in the State
Industrial School.
 S.C. said that just because he was a minor he could
not be denied due process & his 5th & 6th
amendment rights.
 1983 Nancy Beth Cruzan (25) was in a
horrible car accident.
 Cruzan was a “vegetable”, only living
b/c of life support machines
 After five years of artificial feeding
and hydration at the annual cost of
$130,000, and with increasing
physical deterioration, Cruzan's
parents requested that the feeding
tube be removed so that their
daughter could die a "natural death.“
 MO said there wasn’t enough
evidence that she would have wanted
to be taken off life support.
 Does the 14th am. protect you from refusing medical
treatment?
 Yes, if there is proper documentation that a person
would want treatment to stop if they were unable to
make that decision for themselves.
 Unfortunately Cruzan did not have proper
documentation.
 Christopher Simmons (17) & friend
broke into Shirley Cook’s home,
robbed her, kidnapped her, killed her,
and dumped her body into the river.
 Simmons bragged about the murder.
Idiot.
 Went to court and confessed fully.
 Sentenced to DEATHHHHHH.
 Is it constitutional to sentence a juvenile to death?
 NO. Executing juveniles is considered cruel and
unusual punishment according to the 8th am.
 The Student Activities Drug Testing
Policy adopted by the Tecumseh,
Oklahoma School District requires all
middle and high school students to
consent to urinalysis testing for drugs in
order to participate in any
extracurricular activity.
 Two Tecumseh High School students and
their parents brought suit, alleging that
the policy violates the Fourth
Amendment.
 S.C. said students give up some of
their rights to privacy when they
participate in extracurricular
activities and drug testing is allowed.
 Doesn’t violate 4th am.
 In 1996 California voters passed




the Compassionate Use Act,
legalizing marijuana for medical
use.
California's law conflicted with
the federal Controlled
Substances Act (CSA).
Angel Raich’s marijuana was
seized by the DEA.
S.C. said it was legal for DEA to
conduct raids and seize medical
marijuana b/c the state laws
violate the federal laws.
Supremacy Clause, Article 6 held
up