Landmark Supreme
Court Cases
What is a precedent?
An earlier court decision that is used as a
rule or guide when deciding on later, similar
cases
Dred Scott v. Sandford
(1857)
Precedent: In a 7-2 opinion, a majority of the Supreme Court
ruled in favor of Sanford. African Americans were not citizens
as defined by the Constitution then ruled that slaves did not
become free simply by entering a free state or a territory
that had not yet become a state.
Plessey v. Ferguson
(1896)
Precedent: In a 7-1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in
favor of Ferguson. The majority rejected Plessy’s
Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendment arguments,
instead putting its stamp of approval on the doctrine of
“separate but equal.”
Brown v. Board of
Education (1954)
Precedent: In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court
ruled in favor of Brown. The Court found the practice
of segregation unconstitutional and refused to apply
its decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. “Separate but equal
not constitutional.
Gideon v. Wainwright
(1963)
Precedent: The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gideon
in a unanimous decision. The court ruled that the
right to the assistance of counsel in felony criminal
cases is a fundamental right, and thus must be
required in state courts as well as federal courts.
Miranda v. Arizona
(1966)
Precedent: In a 5-4 opinion, the Supreme Court ruled in favor
of Miranda. The majority opinion concluded that defendants
arrested under state law must be informed of their
constitutional rights against self-incrimination and to
representation by an attorney before being interrogated
when in police custody.
Regents of the
University of California
v. Bakke (1896)
Precedent: Five members of the Court voted to require the University
of California at Davis to admit Bakke to its medical school. The Court
determined that any racial quota system in a state supported
university violated both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fourteenth
Amendment. The Court also ruled that the benign use of race as one of
several criteria in admissions decisions did not violate either the Civil
Rights Act or the Fourteenth Amendment.