Court Cases
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
• Marbury tried to force
Madison to give him
appointment as judge
• Established Judicial Review
(the Supreme Court claimed
its right to declare acts of
the Legislative and Executive
Branches unconstitutional)
• Allowed other cases to
reach the Supreme Court
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
• Maryland tried to tax the
national government’s
banks
• Strengthened national
supremacy and gave
congress implied powers
• Enforces Supremacy
Clause
Gallery Walk
Amendment Court Cases
Texas v. Johnson
(1989)
• Man burned a flag at
a rally and was
arrested
• Flag burning is
constitutional;
Protects symbolic
Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag outside of the
speech
convention center where the 1984 Republican National
• Strengthened 1st Convention was being held in Dallas, Texas. Johnson burned
the flag to protest the policies of President Ronald Reagan.
Amendment
He was arrested and charged with violating a Texas statute
that prevented the desecration of a venerated object. A Texas
court tried and convicted Johnson. He appealed, arguing that
his actions were "symbolic speech" protected by the First
Amendment.
Mapp v.
Ohio (1961)
•Mapp’s home was
searched without warrant
and she went to jail
• Exclusionary rule—must
throw out bad evidence
found without a warrant
• Enforces 4th Amendment
(unreasonable search and
seizure)
Police believed that Mapp was harboring a
suspected bomber, and demanded entry. No
suspect was found, but police discovered a trunk
of obscene pictures in Mapp's basement. Mapp
was arrested for possessing the pictures, and was
convicted in an Ohio court. Mapp argued that her
Fourth Amendment rights had been violated by
the search
In Re Gault (1967)
• Juvenile was not
given due process
rights in trial;
questioned without
parents; forced
confession
• Gives juveniles the
same due process
rights as adults
• 5th Amendment
(Due process of law)
Gerald (“Jerry”) Gault was a 15 year-old accused
of making an obscene telephone call to a
neighbor, Mrs. Cook, on June 8, 1964. After Mrs.
Cook filed a complaint, Gault and a friend,
Ronald Lewis, were arrested and taken to the
Children’s Detention Home. Gault was on
probation when he was arrested, after being in
the company of another boy who had stolen a
wallet from a woman’s purse.
At the time of the arrest related to the phone
call, Gault’s parents were at work. The arresting
officer left no notice for them and did not make
an effort to inform them of their son’s arrest.
Miranda v.
Arizona (1966)
•Man was NOT told he
had the right to
remain silent or a
lawyer
• Established Miranda
Rights that had to be
read before trials
• 5th and 6th
Amendments
Miranda was arrested at his home and taken
in custody to a police station where he was
identified by the complaining witness. He was
then interrogated by two police officers for
two hours, which resulted in a signed, written
confession. At trial, the oral and written
confessions were presented to the
jury. Miranda was found guilty of kidnapping
and rape and was sentenced to 20-30 years
imprisonment on each count. On appeal, the
Supreme Court of Arizona held that Miranda’s
constitutional rights were not violated in
obtaining the confession.
Gideon v.
Wainwright
(1963)
• Gideon could not
afford a lawyer so he
defended himself and
lost
•All people have the
right to a lawyer no
matter how much
money they make
• Enforces 5th and 6th
Amendment
Gideon was charged with breaking and
entering with the intent to commit a
misdemeanor, which is a felony under
Florida law. At trial, Gideon appeared in
court without an attorney. In open court,
he asked the judge to appoint counsel for
him because he could not afford an
attorney. The trial judge denied Gideon’s
request because Florida law only
permitted appointment of counsel for
poor defendants charged with capital
offenses.
Furman v.
Georgia (1972)
•Death penalty was
cruel and unusual
punishment because
it favored black
males
• Death penalty was
UNconstitutional
• 8th Amendment
Furman was burglarizing a private
home when a family member
discovered him. He attempted to
flee, and in doing so tripped and
fell. The gun that he was carrying
went off and killed a resident of
the home. He was convicted of
murder and sentenced to death .
Gregg v.
Georgia (1976)
•Gregg said death
penalty was
unconstitutional because
of Furman
• Death penalty IS
constitutional if it follows
fair and consistent rules
• **Overturned Furman
vs. Georgia
• 8th Amendment
A jury found Gregg guilty of armed robbery
and murder and sentenced him to death.
On appeal, the Georgia Supreme Court
affirmed the death sentence except as to
its imposition for the robbery conviction.
Gregg challenged his remaining death
sentence for murder, claiming that his
capital sentence was a "cruel and unusual"
punishment that violated the Eighth and
Fourteenth Amendments.
Other Court Cases
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
• Questioned who had
control of interstate trade
for steam boat trading
• Gave the Federal
Government sole power to
regulate all possible forms
of commerce between the
states/Strengthened
National Government
power
In this case Thomas Gibbons -- a
steamboat owner who did
business between New York and
New Jersey under a federal
coastal license -- challenged the
monopoly license granted by
New York to Aaron Ogden. New
York courts consistently upheld
the state monopoly. Proved a
federal license is greater than a
state license
Dred Scott vs. Sanford
•Dred Scott was a slave whose
master moved him from
Missouri to a free state (Illinois)
and then back to Missouri.
When the master died, Scott
sued for his freedom since he
lived in a free state.
•Supreme Ruled that since Scott
was black he did not have the
right to sue in court and if a
person. They further stated
that if a person was a slave they
were personal property.
•This is why we have the 14th
Amendment
Plessy v.
Ferguson (1896)
•Plessy sat on an all
white train and
was arrested
because he was
1/8 black
•Legalized
segregation
•Supreme Court
Ruled “separate,
but equal” is OK
Brown v. Board of
Education (1954)
*Brown wanted
his daughter to go
to a closer all
white school
*Desegregated
schools, blacks and
whites could go to
same school
OVERTURNS PLESSY VS. FERGUSON
Swann v. CMS (1971)
• Schools in CMS were still
segregated because
neighborhoods were
segregated
• Used busing to force
desegregation in
Charlotte Schools
Korematsu v.
US (1944)
• Korematsu
refused to go to a
Japanese
internment camp
and was arrested
• Allowed
government to
take people’s
rights away in
times of war
The Korematsu decision was significant because
it ruled that the United States government had
the right to exclude and forcibly move people
from designated areas based on their race. The
decision was 6-3 that the need to protect the
United States from espionage and other
wartime acts was more important than
Korematsu's individual rights. Even though
Korematsu's conviction was eventually
overturned in 1983, the Korematsu ruling
concerning the creation of exclusion orders has
never been overturned.
US vs. Nixon
Pres. Nixon installed a taping
system in the White House to
record all the conversation with
his advisors. A Special Pro
subpoenaed the tapes and
Nixon refused to turn them over
•Supreme Court has final voice
in interpreting the Constitution
and no one, not even the
President is above the Law—
Rule of Law
•Upholds the Principle of Rule of
Law
•
Regents of the
University of CA
v. Bakke (1978)
•Bakke was angry
because minorities
with lower scores
were getting into
schools over him
• Affirmative Action
OK in admissions
• AA: Makes up for
past discrimination
Allan Bakke, a thirty-five-year-old white man, had
twice applied for admission to the University of
California Medical School at Davis. He was rejected
both times. The school reserved sixteen places in each
entering class of one hundred for "qualified"
minorities, as part of the university's affirmative action
program, in an effort to redress longstanding, unfair
minority exclusions from the medical profession.
Bakke's qualifications (college GPA and test scores)
exceeded those of any of the minority students
admitted in the two years Bakke's applications were
rejected. Bakke contended, first in the California
courts, then in the Supreme Court, that he was
excluded from admission solely on the basis of race.
New Jersey v.
T.L.O. (1985)
•T.L.O. was searched
in school with no
warrant and was
arrested for selling
marijuana
• Can search in
schools with
reasonable suspicion
Bethel School
District v. Fraser
(1986)
•Frasier gave an
inappropriate speech
and was suspended
• Freedom of speech
can be limited in
schools
• Limits 1st Amendment
Tinker v. Des
Moines (1969)
•Tinker wore armbands
to protest Vietnam and
got suspended
• Upholds freedom of
symbolic speech in
schools
• 1st Amendment
Hazelwood v.
Kuhlmeier
(1988)
•Principal censored a
school newspaper and
students said it was
against freedom of the
press
• Can censor school
sponsored activities
• Limits 1st Amendment
Engle v.
Vitale (1962)
•Public schools
forced students to
say prayers
• Said this was
unconstitutional
because it was
against 1st
Amendment
• Think: Angel v.
Vitale
A New York State law required public schools to
open each day with the Pledge of Allegiance and
a nondenominational prayer in which the
students recognized their dependence upon
God. The law allowed students to absent
themselves from this activity if they found it
objectionable. A parent sued on behalf of his
child, arguing that the law violated the
Establishment Clause of the First Amendment,
as made applicable to the states through the
Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment.
Roe v. Wade
(1973)
•Woman was
denied a first
trimester abortion
because it was
illegal in Texas
• Legalized 1st
trimester abortions
in all states
The Court held that a woman's right to an
abortion fell within the right to privacy
(recognized in Griswold v. Connecticut)
protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. The
decision gave a woman total autonomy over the
pregnancy during the first trimester and
defined different levels of state interest for the
second and third trimesters. As a result, the
laws of 46 states were affected by the Court's
ruling.
State vs.
Mann (1830)
•A slave owner beat
his slave close to
death and was
charged with the
assault and found
guilty.
•NC Supreme Court
overturned the ruling
stating that a person
could not be charged
with destroying their
property
State v. John Mann, an 1829 North Carolina
Supreme Court decision, is probably the
most notorious judicial opinion on the
relationship between master and slave ever
rendered by a state court. Written by Justice
Thomas Ruffin, Mann stands for the
proposition that masters were not subject to
criminal indictment for a battery committed
on their slaves.
Leandro vs.
NC (1997)
•Parents of low income
student sued stating their
child was not receiving the
same education as in other
predominate schools.
(Cumberland, Hoke, Halifax,
Robeson, and Vance
Counties of NC)
•NC Supreme Court ruled
that every child must
receive a “Sound, basic,
education.”
Leandro vs. State of North Carolina,
commonly referred to as "The Leandro
Case," was a law suit filed in 1994 on
behalf of students and parents from
five low wealth North Carolina
counties. These citizens argued that
their school districts were unable to
raise adequate funding and that the
state was failing to provide equal
education to all students by providing
equal funding, as they argued was
assured in the State Constitution.