Landmark Decision Cases
What kind of cases does the
U.S. Supreme Court hear?
Marbury v. Madison, 1803
 Established judicial review-right of the
Supreme Court to declare laws and
actions of local, state and national
governments unconstitutional
McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819
Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824
 S.C. ruled Congress DOES have the right
to REGULATE OR CONTROL interstate
and foreign commerce
 Used elastic clause, Article 1, Section 8
Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896
 upheld the
constitutionality of
racial segregation even
in public
accommodations under
the doctrine of
"separate but equal".
Brown v. Board of
Education 1954
 Overturned the “separate but equal
doctrine” established in Plessy v.
Ferguson
 “began de-segregation of schools
 14th Amendment
Clarence Gideon
(Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963
 ruled state courts are
required under the
Sixth Amendment of
the Constitution to
provide counsel (a
lawyer) in criminal
cases for defendants
who are unable to
afford their own
attorneys.
Ernesto Miranda
(Miranda v. Arizona, 1963
 right against selfincrimination prior to
questioning by police
(protected by the 5th
Amendment)
Mary Beth and John Tinker
Tinker v. Des Moines Iowa , 1969
 Students do have
freedom of speech
(symbolic) rights under
the 1st Amendment
New Jersey v. T.L.O., 1985
 “Probable cause” v.
“reasonable suspicion”
 School officials do not
need a search warrant
as long as search is
deemed “reasonable”
 4th Amendment
Mapp v. Ohio (1963)
 “Exclusionary Rule”
 Evidence obtained
illegally can not be
used in court
 4th and 14th
Amendment
Dollree Mapp
“Good Faith
Exception” Rule
 If there is a legitimate
or honest “mistake”
made, courts will
sometimes allow the
evidence to be used
Dr. Sam Sheppard
(Sheppard v. Maxwell, 1966
 Case examined the rights
of freedom of the press as
outlined in the 1st
Amendment when weighed
against a defendant's right
to a fair trial as required by
the 6th Amendment
 Defendants have a right
to a fair trial with
impartial jury
Texas v. Johnson, 1989
 Burning the American
flag is protected by the
1st Amendment-the act
is considered “symbolic
speech”
Bush v. Gore, 2000
 Stopped the recounting of ballots
during the Bush/Gore
2000 election in
Florida- allowed
George W. Bush to
win the election in
Florida and the
PRESIDENCY
Minersville School District v.
Gobitis, 1940
 S.C. ruled that students must stand and recite the
pledge of allegiance-1st Amendment freedom of
religion (free exercise clause) is not protected
West Virginia v. Barnette, 1943
 Oops…we made a mistake! Three years later
S.C. ruled making students stand and recite
Pledge of Allegiance DOES violate the free
exercise clause of 1st Amendment (reversed West
Viginia v. Barnette)
Clinton v. New York, 1998
 Supreme Court ruled
the line-item veto is
unconstitutionalviolates separation of
powers
New York Times v. Sullivan,
1964
 The First Amendment, as
applied through the
Fourteenth, protected a
newspaper from being
sued for libel in state
court for making false
defamatory statements
about the official conduct
of a public official,
because the statements
were not made with
knowing or reckless
disregard for the truth.
Barron v. Baltimore, 1833
 S.C. ruled the Bill of
Rights DOES NOT
extend to the States
 State governments
are not bound by the
Fifth Amendment's
requirement for just
compensation in
cases of eminent
domain
Gitlow v. New York, 1925
 Oops…we made a mistake again… S.C. ruled
that 1st amendment is protected because of
14th amendment-1st time S.C. ruled Bill of
Rights applies to the states
 Though the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits
states from infringing free speech, the
defendant was properly convicted under New
York's criminal anarchy law for advocating the
violent overthrow of the government, through
the dissemination of Communist pamphlets
Roe v. Wade, 1973
 Texas law making it
a crime to assist a
woman to get an
abortion violated her
rights-based on the
right to “privacy”
implied by the 14th
and 9th amendment
Baker v. Carr, 1962
 The reapportionment of
state legislative districts
is not a political
question, and thus is
federal courts CAN hear
cases
 Remember, for many
years S.C. refused to
hear state
reapportionment cases
because they said it was
a “state” issue
Wesberry v. Sanders, 1963
 Constitution requires
members of the House
of Representatives be
selected by districts
composed, as nearly as
is practicable, of equal
population. Article 1,
Section 2
 14th Amendment-Equal
Protection Clause
Wisconsin v. Yoder, 1972
 The Wisconsin Compulsory
School Attendance Law
(students have to go to school
until they are 16 years old)
violated the Free Exercise
Clause of the First
Amendment because required
attendance past the eighth
grade interfered with the right
of Amish parents to direct the
religious upbringing of their
children..
U.S. v. Nixon, 1974
The Supreme Court does
have the final voice in
determining
constitutional questions;
no person, not even the
President of the United
States, is completely
above law; and the
president cannot use
executive privilege as an
excuse to withhold
evidence that is
'demonstrably relevant in
a criminal trial
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
 Persons of African
descent cannot be, nor
were ever intended to
be, citizens under the
U.S. Constitution
Clinton v. Jones, 1996
 The Constitution
does not protect the
President from civil
litigation involving
actions committed
before he entered
office.
Clinton v. Jones, 1997
 Can you sue a “sitting” President?
 Paula Jones sued U.S. President Bill Clinton for sexual
harassment. Eventually, the court dismissed the lawsuit,
before trial on the grounds that Jones failed to
demonstrate any damages. However, while the dismissal
was on appeal, Clinton entered into an out-of-court
settlement by agreeing to pay Jones $850,000
U.S. v. Lopez, 1995
 Possession of a gun near
school is not an economic
activity that has a
substantial effect on
interstate commerce. A law
prohibiting guns near schools
is a criminal statute that does
not relate to commerce or any
sort of economic activity.
 Interpretation of
“Commerce Clause,”
Article I, Section 8