Supreme Court Cases – AP Government
Listed below are the majority of the United States Supreme Court cases that are covered
on the AP Examination. These are covered in both the multiple choice section, as well as
in the essay portion of the exam.
Federalism – Wilson Chapter 3
*Fletcher v. Peck (1810)
*McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
*Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
*National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel (1937)
*Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US (1964)
Katzenbach v. McClung (1964)
South Dakota v. Dole (1987)
*United States v. Lopez (1995)
*Printz v. United States (1997)
*United States v. Morrison (2000) – IN WOLL
Gonzales v. Raich (2005)
Gonzales v. Oregon (2006)
Elections and the Media – Wilson Chapter 8
Smith v. Allwright (1944)
*Buckley v. Valeo (1976) – IN WOLL
Bush v. Gore (2000)
McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003) – IN WOLL
California v. Jones (2000) – IN WOLL
Congress – Wilson Chapter 11
*Baker v. Carr (1962)
Wesberry v. Sanders 1964
*Shaw v. Reno (1993)
US Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995)
Powell v. McCormack (1969)
Sims v. Reynolds (1964)
The Presidency – Wilson Chapter 12
*Clinton v. New York City (1998)
*United States v. Nixon (1973)
Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha (1983)
Ex Parte Merryman (1861) – IN WOLL
Ex Parte Milligan (1866) – IN WOLL
Ex Parte Quirin (1942) – IN WOLL
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004) – IN WOLL
The Judiciary – Wilson Chapter 14
*Marbury v. Madison (1803)
*McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
*Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
*Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
Elk Grove v. Newdow (2004) – IN WOLL
Incorporation – Wilson Chapter 15
Barron v. Baltimore (1833) – IN WOLL
*Gitlow v. New York (1925)
Near v. Minnesota (1931)
Palko v. Connecticut (1937)
*Everson v. Board of Education (1942)
Freedom of Religion – Wilson Chapter 18
*Everson v. Board of Education (1942)
Engel v. Vitale (1962) – IN WOLL
*Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
Wallace v. Jaffree (1985)
Westside Community Schools v. Mergens (1990)
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (2000)
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002) – IN WOLL
Ten Commandments cases: McCreary County, KY v. American Ccivil Liberties Union of Kentucky and Van
Orden v. Perry (2005)
Freedom of Speech and Press- Wilson Chapter 18
*Schenck v. United States (1919)
Abrams v. United States (1919) – IN WOLL
*Gitlow v. New York (1925)
*Near v. Minnesota (1931)
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) – IN WOLL
*Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)
New York Times Co. v. U.S. (1971)
Miller v. California (1973)
Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser (1986)
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988)
Texas v. Johnson (1989)
Reno v. ACLU (1997)
Freedom of Assembly and Petition – Wilson Chapter 18
*NAACP v. Alabama (1958)
Boy Scouts of American v. Dale (2000)
Due Process and the Rights of the Accused – Wilson Chapter 19
*Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
*Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) – IN WOLL
*Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
Furman v. Georgia (1972)
Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
New Jersey v. T.L.O (1985)
Equal Protection of the Laws – Minorities – Wilson Chapter 19
Civil Rights Cases (1883)
*Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) – IN WOLL
*Korematsu v. United States (1944)
*Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) – IN WOLL
*Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
Lawrence v. Texas (2003)
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) and Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
Adarand v. Pena (1995) – IN WOLL
Equal Protection of the Laws – Women – Wilson Chapter 19
*Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
Reed v. Reed (1971)
*Roe v. Wade (1973) – IN WOLL
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989)
Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)
Right to Die – Wilson Chapter 19
Cruzan v. Missouri (1990)
*Indicates you should know this case by name. It is sufficient to know them by their
shorthand name such as Plessy or Bakke. For the other cases, knowing them by
name would be ideal, but is not required. The important task is to understand the
cases and their ramifications.
IN WOLL indicates that the case is briefed and discussed in the Woll reader.