AP GOV - Supreme Court Cases
For more info go to Supreme
Court cases is Oyez.org
Marbury v. Madison 1803
Background :
Midnight judges, appointed
by John Adams did not
receive their appointments.
Marbury petitioned the
Supreme Court to order
Madison to deliver the
documents.
Court Decision:
Chief Justice Marshall
states that the
appointments can be
blocked based on the
premise that the
Judiciary Act of 1789
was unconstitutional.
The Court established
its power to interpret
the Constitution =
Judicial Review
McCulloch v. Maryland 1819
Background:
In an attempt to interfere with the operations of the
Bank of the United States, Maryland passed a tax on
the bank.
Court Decision:
The power to tax is the power to destroy!
Establishes national supremacy and implied powers.
Permitted the use of the elastic clause (Necessary-andproper clause - I;8;8) and denied the ability of states to
tax federal institutions.
Gibbons v. Ogden 1824
Background:
WARNING! This one is
ugly…..
Ogden obtained an
exclusive license to
run a steamship line
within NY, Gibbons
obtained a license from
Congress to run a
steamship from New
Jersey to New York.
Ogden petitioned the
court to stop Gibbons
ships.
Court Decision:
The court finds that the NY
law was unconstitutional
because Commerce Clause
(I;8;3) give Congress the
power to regulate interstate
trade. Finding actually
expands the power of the
Commerce Clause.
Roe v. Wade
1973
Norma McCorvey
(a.k.a. Jane Roe) had
attempted to receive
an abortion in Texas, a
state that only allowed
abortions in the cases
of incest and rape.
The baby was born
before the case was
heard in the Supreme
Court.
Using the 9th and 14th
Amendments to justify a
woman’s right to privacy,
the Supreme Court set up
the guidelines in which the
state can regulate
abortions.
1. States may not interfere with
abortion in the 1st trimester
2. States may regulate to protect
the health of the mother in the
2nd trimester
3. State may regulate to protect the
health of the child in the 3rd
trimester. *
Schenck v. US
1919
Charles Schenck,
the Secretary of the
Socialist Party of
America, was
charged and
convicted under
the Espionage Act
of 1917 for printing
and distributing
pamphlets
suggesting army
draftees stand up
against the army.
The conviction stood and
the court established an
additional limit on free
speech, especially in
wartime. Oliver Wendell
Holmes "Clear and
present danger"
Engel v. Vitale
1962
The case was
brought to a
New York court
by the parents
who opposed
voluntary prayer
to the “Almighty
God” in the
school.
Prohibited statesponsored recitation
of prayer in public
schools by virtue of
the 1st amendment
establishment clause
and the 14th
Amendment due
process clause.
Warren Court
activism.
Near vs. Minnesota
1929
Jay Near published a
scandal sheet in
Minneapolis charging
local officials with
having connections to
gangsters. Officials
reacted by placing a
gag rule on anyone
publishing this type of
journalism.
1st Amendment
protects
newspapers from
prior restraint.
Laws must allow
newspapers to
publish.
NY Times vs. Sullivan
1964
A full page ad was
taken out in the NY
Times stating that
claimed that the
arrest of MLK Jr
was an attempt
destroy the civil
rights leader’s
campaign.
Sullivan, the
Montgomery City
Commissioner
sued for libel.
Statements about public
figures are libelous only if
made with malice and
reckless disregard for the
truth. Malice is specifically
defined in this case as a
person knowingly
publishing a falsehood, by
the theory that only a
malicious person would
knowingly publish a
falsehood.