Supreme Court Cases
CASES
Quick Summary
Marbury v.
Madison(1803)*
Appointment of midnight
justices by John Adams
rejected by Jefferson.
Supreme Court must decide
constitutionality of Judiciary
Act.
Outcome/Historical Significance
CONSTITUTIONAL
CONCEPTS/Enduring Issues
John Marshall declares Judiciary Act
unconstitutional The Supreme Court has
the right of Judicial Review.
Judicial v. Executive and Congressional
Power
Impact of Marshall Court
Judicial Review/Separation of powers
McCulloch v.
Maryland(1819)*
Maryland attempts to tax the
National Bank of the United
States.Court must decide
whether Bank is legitimate
under the elastic clause and
whether Maryland can tax it.
John Marshall declares "the power to tax
is the power to destroy." The Supremacy Supremacy vs State Rights; Elastic Clause
Clause of the Constitution prohibits state Judicial Review; Federalism
taxation of a federal institution.
Gibbons v.
Odgen(1824)*
Ogden receives exclusive
right from New York to use
Steam boat to navigate in
New York and to N.J.
Gibbons gets right from
Congress.
John Marshall declares that Congress has Interstate Commerce Clause (Art. I, Sect.8)
the exclusive authority to regulate
vs States Rights
Interstate Commerce, especially when it
Judicial Review/Federalism
involves a"stream of commerce."
Engel v Vitale (1962)
A group of parents and
students challenged the New
The Supreme Court decided that the
York State Board of Regents
prayer violated the Separation of Church
mandatory nonand State.
denominational prayer in
school.
Gideon v Wainwright
(1963)*
First Amendment Establishment Clause and
Fourteenth Amendment v First Amendment
Free Exercise Clause and Tenth
Amendment.
Bill of Rights/Separation of Church and
State
Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments vs
Gideon was accused of a
Based on his "pauper" appeal to the
felony by Florida and did not Supreme Court, it decided that regardless 10th Amendment
have attorney representation of the crime, Gideon had the right to an
Bill of Rights/Due Process/ Right to an
because he could not afford
one.
attorney.
attorney
If a school paper is part of the curriculum
and it goes against the "mission of the
school," school administrators may place
restrictions on the paper and can censor it.
First Amendment and 14th amendment vs
Tenth Amendment
Dolleree Mapp was accused
of harboring a dangerous
criminal. The police searched
her house without a warrant
and found other illegal
material which they used to
prosecute Mapp.
The exclusionary rule was established by
the Supreme Court. States were not
allowed to introduce illegally obtained
evidence in a trial.
Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments vs
Tenth Amendment
Miranda v Arizona
(1966)*
Ernesto Miranda was
arrested, interrogated and
confessed to rape without the
police informing him of his
right to remain silent or have
an attorney after his arrest.
Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amenmends vs
One of the most important cases decided Tenth Amendment
by the Supreme Court, it directed police
to give "Miranda Warnings" immediately Bill of Rights/Due Process/Right against
self-incrimination/Right to an attorney vs
after a person is arrested.
Police Power
New Jersey v TLO
(1985)
TLO was accused of smoking
in the bathroom. The
principal searches her
pocketbook without her
permission and discovers
cigarettes as well as other
illegal substances.
Court rules that schools can search
students with reasonable cause. This case
lessens the Tinker doctrine and gives
school officials greater latitude in
disciplining students
Roe v Wade (1963)*
A Texas woman has an
A constitutional right to an abortion is
Fourth amendment right to privacy, ninth
abortion violating Texas state established, though the court laid down a amendment rights not listed in the
law. Abortion at the time is trimester criteria in determining whether Constitution and the Fourteenth
Hazelwood School
District v Kuhlmeir
(1988)
Mapp v Ohio (1961)
Kathy Kuhlmeir, editor of her
high school newspaper
appealed the principal's
decision to censor the paper
because it contained articles
dealing with student
pregnancy and divorce.
Bill of Rights/ Freedom of the Press/ States
Reserved Power of Education
Bill of Rights/Search and Seizure/Reserved
Police Power of the States
Tenth Amendment reserved power of
education vs Fourth and Fourteenth
Amendments
Bill of Rights/Due Process/Search and
Seizure vs police and education reserved
power of the school.
legal in some states and
illegal in others.
states can impose restrictions
Amendment vs the Tenth Amendment
health reserved power of the states.
The rights of women/contemporary social
issues
Planned Parenthood v
Casey (1992)
The Pennsylvania legislature
amended its abortion control
law in 1988 and 1989:
informed consent and a 24
hour waiting period prior to
the procedure. A married
woman seeking an abortion
had to indicate that she
notified her husband of her
intention to abort the fetus.
The Supreme Court reaffirmed the Roe v
Wade principles but allowed informed
consent and a 24hour waiting period prior
to an abortion. It struck down spousal
notification.
Fourth Amendment right to privacy,
Fourteenth Amendment vs Tenth
Amendment reserved power of health.
Rights of women/contemporary social
issues
In 1984, in front of the Dallas
City Hall, Gregory Lee
Johnson burned an American
flag as a means of protest
Texas v Johnson (1989) against Reagan
administration policies.
Johnson was tried and
convicted under a Texas law
outlawing flag desecration.
TheTexas Flag Desecration was ruled
unconstitutional and the Court determined
that burning a flag as political speech was
protected as a form of silent speech.
Further attempts to create a national flag
desecration law was also ruled illegal.
Three public school students
wore black arm bands to
school to protest the Vietnam
War. Principals in their
school district had prohibited
the wearing of armbands on
the ground that such conduct
would provoke a disturbance,
so the students were
suspended from school.
The court declared that "student rights do
not stop at the schoolhouse gates." The
wearing of black arm bands was protected
by the Constitution. Students enjoy
protection of the Bill of Rights unless
their actions materially disrupt the
educational environment.
James Acton refused to
As in the NJ v TLO case, the Court ruled Tenth Amendment Reserved power of
Tinker v Des Moines
School District (1969)
Vernonia v Acton
Tenth Amendment reserved police power vs
First Amendment freedom of speech,
Fourteenth Amendment
Bill of Rights/Civil Liberties/ Constitutional
Change and Flexibility
Reagan Presidency
First Amendment free speech, Fourteenth
Amendment vs Tenth Amendment
education as a reserved power.
Bill of Rights/Civil Liberties
Vietnam War
(1995)
Dred Scott v Sanford
(1857)*
Ex Parte Milligan
(1866)*
participate in a random drug
test in order to play a school
sport as prescribed by the
school district.
Dred Scott was a slave who
was brought into free
Territory as defined by the
Missouri Compromise.
that there was no right to privacy
protection and it gave the school district
the right to have random drug testin.
education vs the Fourth Amendment right
to privacy and the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Supreme Court declared that slaves
were property and as such were not
protected by the Constitution. It also
declared the Missouri Compromise
unconstitutional
Article III citizenship rights vs Fifth
Amendment property rights.
Bill of Rights/Civil Liberties
Civil War causes/
Federalism/Equality/Rights of Ethnic
Groups
Milligan argued that his Fifth Amendment
Due Process Rights and Sixth Amendment
Lambden P. Milligan, a selftrial by jury rights were violated. The
declared Copperhead was
The Court declared that even though
sentenced to death by a
Lincoln did have the right to limit Habeas government used Article I Section 9, the
military commission in
Corpus in times of national emergencies, legal suspension of Habeas Corpus in times
Indiana during the Civil War; Milligan should have been given a civil of war.
Milligan claimed that he was trial.
Civil War/ Civil
not given a trial by jury.
Liberties/Federalism/Presidential Power in
wartime
Impeachment Trial of
Andrew Johnson
(1868)*
Andrew Johnson fired his
Secretary of War Stanton in
violation of the Tenure of
Office Act and the House of
Representatives voted to
Impeach the president.
The Senate by one vote refused to convict
Johnson and the president was able to
finish his term. This event brings to light
the major differences between the
President and the Radical Republicans in
Congress regarding Reconstruction.
Plessy v Ferguson
(1896)*
The state of Louisiana
enacted a law that required
separate railway cars for
blacks and whites. In 1892,
Homer Adolph Plessy--who
was seven-eighths Caucasian-took a seat in a "whites only"
car of a Louisiana train. He
refused to move to the car
The Supreme Court ruled that the
"separate but equal" provision of the
Louisiana law was constitutional. The
case established this principle of
segregation until it was overturned in
1954.
Article I impeachment Power of Congress
vs Article II appointment power of the
president.
Federalism/Presidential Power/Separation
of Power
Fourteenth Amendment equal protection
clause vs Louisiana's Tenth Amendment
Reserved power right to legislate.
Equality/ Federalism/Jim Crow/
reserved for blacks and was
arrested
Linda Brown denied
enrollment in an all white
school near her home
challenges the separate but
equal policy of the Topeka
school district.
In one of the most celebrated cases, the
court struck down separate but equal and
ordered integration in the nation's schools
with "all deliberate speed."
Fourteenth Amendment equal protection
clause vs School's Tenth Amendment
Reserve Power of education
University of
California Regents v
Bakke (1978)*
Alan Bakke was denied
admission to the medical
school in the University of
California even though his
scores were higher than those
of minority candidates who
had seats set aside for them.
In one of the most controversial
decisions, the Court decided that a state
supported school could use race as a basis
for admission, though it ruled that quotas
were illegal. Bakke was admitted.
Tenth Amendment reserved power of
education vs Fourteenth Amendment equal
protection clause.
Munn v Illinois
(1877)*
Illinois regulated grain
warehouse and elevator rates
by establishing maximum
Illinois was allowed to regulate the
rates for their use because of railroad monopoly because "it was in the
pressure from farmers
public interest."
association known as the
Granger movement.
Brown v Board of
Education Topeka
Kansas (1954)*
In Re Debs (1895)*
Lochner v New York
(1905)*
Eugene V.Debs, president of
the American Railway Union,
led a strike against the
Pullman Railroad which had
the effect of halting the
distribution of the U.S. mail.
He refused to honor an
injunction to stop the strike.
After President Grover Cleveland ordered
troops to keep the railroad moving, the
Court decided that Debs' actions were
illegal because the strike also hurt the
public interest when it stopped the
delivery of the mail.
Civil Rigths/rights of ethnic minorities
Affirmative Action/ Civil Rights/Reverse
Discrimination
Fourteenth Amendment property rights of
the railroad owners vs the Tenth
Amendment reserved police power of
Illinois.
Rise of Industry/ Monoopolies/ Granger
Movement/Property Rights
Fifth Amendment due process rights of
Debs vs Article I Sect VIII commerce
clause.
The growth of labor unions/Property
Rights/National Power
The state of New York
The Court decided that New York did not Fourteenth Amendment property rights of
Lochner vs Tenth Amendment Reserved
enacted a statute forbidding have the right to make a law interfering
bakers to work more than 60 with the right of an employer to make a police powers of New York.
hours a week or 10 hours a
contract with workers.
day. Lochner challenged law.
Muller v Oregon
(1908)*
Scopes Monkey Trial
(1925)*
Oregon enacted a law that
limited women to ten hours
of work in factories and
laundries. Muller challenges
it after he orders a female
employee to work longer
hours.
Louis Brandeis offers a "friend of the
Court Amicus brief" arguing that women
were did not have the same physical
capabilities as men and the Court ruled
that Oregon's law was constitutional.
Fourteenth Amendment property rights of
Muller vs Tenth Amendment police power
of Oregon.
One of the first media trials
of the century, John Scopes
was convicted of violating a
Tennessee law prohibiting the
teaching of evolution in
public schools.
Eloquently argued by defense attorney
Clarence Darrow and prosecuting
attorney and former presidential
candidate William Jennings Bryan, the
state court ruled that Scopes broke the
law.
First Amendment establishment clause vs
State's Tenth Amendment reserved power
of education.
Section 3 of the National
Industrial Recovery Act
empowered the President to
implement industrial codes to
Schechter Poultry Corp regulate weekly employment
v U.S. (1935)*
hours, wages, and minimum
ages of employees. Schecter
was accused of violating
those codes by selling "sick
chickens."
Debs v U.S.(1919)*
Progressive Era/ Labor/ Property Rights
Debs, an avowed socialist
gave a speech in which he
urged people to work against
the efforts of the United
States during World War I.
He was accused of violating
the Espionage Act.
Schenk v U.S. (1919)* Schenck was charged with
Calling it, the court of "nine old men"
FDR was furious that the the Supreme
Court ruled the NRA unconstitutional
because it gave to the president legislative
power which the Constitution assigns to
the Congress. After invalidating other
New Deal laws, FDR proposes a court
packing solution which the Congress
rejects.
Progressive Era/rights of women/ Property
rights
Evolution vs Creationism, Roaring
Twenties
Fifth Amendment properety right of
Schecter vs Article I Section VIII
commerce clause right of Congress.
Great Depression/New Deal/FDR/Court
Packing/Separation of Powers
The Court ruled that by obstructing the
process in which people would be
recruited or register for the armed forces,
Debs did violate the act.
First Amendment, free speech and assembly
for Debs vs Congress' Article I ability to
wage war.
The Court ruled that by obstructing the
First Amendment, free speech and assembly
World War I/Clear and Present Danger
conspiracy to violate the
Espionage Act by attempting
to cause insubordination in
the military and to obstruct
recruitment.
process in which people would be
recruited or register for the armed forces,
Debs did violate the act. The "clear and
present danger" doctrine was established
by this case.
for Debs vs Congress' Article I ability to
wage war.
The Supreme Court ruled that the
President had the right to issue the
Executive order as Commander-in-Chief.
In 1988 Congress passed a law giving
$20,000 to all ancesters of JapaneseAmericans who were put in these camps.
Fourteenth Amendment equal protection
clause, vs Article II power of the president.
Korematsu v U.S.
(1944)*
During World War II,
Presidential Executive Order
9066 and congressional
statutes gave the military
authority to exclude citizens
of Japanese ancestry from
areas deemed critical to
national defense Korematsu
remained in California and
violated Civilian Exclusion
Order No. 34 of the U.S.
Army.
Rosenberg Trial
(1951)*
The Rosenbergs were
accused as spies responsible
for turning over nuclear
secrets to the Soviet Union
during the Cold War. They
were convicted and sentenced
to die.
The Supreme Court refused to grant
clemency and the Rosenbergs were
executed amidst much protest that the
original decision had Anti-Semetic
overtones. The spy the Rosenbergs made
contact with disclosed they did not give
him nuclear secrets.
In what became known as the
"Pentagon Papers Case," the
Nixon Administration
attempted to prevent the New
York Times andWashington
Post from publishing
materials from a classified
Defense Department study
regarding the history of
United States activities in
Vietnam.
The Court ruled that the papers did not
violate national security and therefore the First Amendment, free speech vs Article II
newspapers had the right to publish them. power of the president.
The result was an embarassment for the Cold War/Vietnam/Freedom of the Press
President of the United States.
New York Times v
U.S. (1971)
World War I/Clear and Present
Danger/National Power
Civil Liberties/Rights of ethnic
minorities/World War II/Power of President
in Foreign Affairs
Fifth Amendment rights of Rosenbergs vs
Article I authority of Congress to pass
Espionage act.
Due Process Rights/ The Cold War
U.S. v Nixon (1974)
President Nixon asserted that
he was immune from the
subpoena claiming "executive
privilege," which is the right
to withhold information from
other government branches to
preserve confidential
communications within the
executive branch or to secure
the national interest and
refused to hand over
Watergate related tapes.
The Court ruled unanimously that the
president had to turn over the tapes and
that executive privilege could not be
invoked in a potential criminal activity.
Shortly after turning over the tapes,
Nixon resigned from office.
*Denotes cases specifically mentioned in New York State Social Studies curriculum
Article I power of Congress v Article II
power of the president
Separation of Powers/Watergate