AP US GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
SUPREME COURT CASE PORTFOLIO
This portfolio is designed to have you analyze the cases in a manner that will help you understand the critical linkages to
key aspects of our governmental and political systems. The (*) indicates a case that you may choose to analyze and the
number following the chapter heading is the number of cases from that chapter that you are required to analyze. The
cases without the (*) are key cases, some of which we will address in class. Additionally, all of those cases have been
included in prior AP Exams in either Multiple Choice Questions or FRQs. This will count as a Major Assignment Grade.
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Cases from Chapters: 3,4,8,10,12,and 14 are due by Friday Nov 20th. This is a total of 10 cases. You
may turn in your case analyses at any point before the due date. If you do not follow the format or
submit a complete analysis for a case you will not receive full credit. A 10 point penalty per school day
will be applied for late assignments.
Cases from Chapters: 5 and 6, a total of 15 cases, due date is To Be Determined
Recommended Websites:
www.oyez.org
www.supremecourt.gov
SUPREME COURT CASE ANALYSIS
1. Describe the key issue(s) involved in the case. [ Ex. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Can a state tax the federal
government and was the power used to create the National Bank constitutional ]
2. Identify constitutional connections. Please be specific as to the Article(s) and or the Amendment(s). Some cases
involve different aspects of the Constitution.
3. Identify connections to the branches of government. Not just before the case was decided but also after the
decision was made.
4. Provide the vote results (9-0, 5-4) and briefly explain the majority opinion. Please include who wrote the
opinion.
5. Briefly explain the minority opinion, also known as the dissenting opinion. Please include who wrote the opinion.
6. Describe the implications of the ruling. What happened as a result of the court’s decision?
SUPREME COURT CASES
CHAPTER 3 Federalism [3]
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
*Texas v. Johnson (1989)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
*NLRB v. Jones and Laughlin Steel Co (1937)
*Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989)
*Stenberg v. Carhart (2000)
U.S. v. Lopez (1995)
CHAPTER 4 State and Local Governments [1]
*Baker v. Carr (1962)
Roe v. Wade (1973)
CHAPTER 5 Civil Liberties [10]
*Barron v. Baltimore (1833)
Gitlow v. New York (1925)
Near v. Minnesota (1931)
*Polkov v. Connecticut (1937)
*Engel v. Vitale (1962)
Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
*Agostini v. Felton (1997)
*Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)
*Gonzalez v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao Do Vegetal (2006)
Schenck v. U.S. (1919)
Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)
New York Times Co v. U.S. (1971)
*Nebraska Press Assoc v. Stuart (1976)
*Stromberg v. California (1931)
Tinker v Des Moines Industrial Community School District (1969)
*R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul (1992)
New York Times Co v. Sullivan (1964)
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942)
Roth v. U.S. (1957)
*Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition (2002)
*DeJonge v. Oregon (1937)
*U.S. v. Miller (1939)
*Quilici v. Village of Morton Grove (1983)
*Chandler v. Miller (1997)
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
*Smith v. Massachusetts (2005)
*Weeks v. U.S. (1914)
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
*Batson v. Kentucky(1986)
*Maryland v. Craig (1990)
*Furman v. Georgia (1972)
*McCleskey v. Kemp (1987)
*House v. Zant (1991)
*Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
Roe v. Wade (1973)
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1981)
Planned Parenthood of SE Pennsylvania (1992)
Stenberg v. Carhart (2000)
*Lawrence v. Texas (2003)
*Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)
Gonzales v. Oregon ( 2005)
Chapter 6 Civil Rights [5]
Civil Rights Cases (1993)
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
*Muller v. Oregon (1908)
*Brown (1954)
*Brown II (1955)
*Cooper v. Aaron (1958)
*Swann v. Charlotte – Mecklenburg School District (1971)
*Hoyt v. Florida (1961)
Korematsu v. U.S. (1944)
*Craig v. Boren (1976)
*Romel v. Evans (1996)
*Tennessee v. Lane (2004)
Regents of University of California v. Bakke (1978)
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
Chapter 8 Presidency [2]
Prize cases (1863)
*Ex Parte Milligan (1869)
U.S. v. Nixon (1974)
Chapter 10 Judiciary [2]
*Martin v. Hunter Lessee (1816)
*Chisholm v. Georgia (1793)
*Clinton v. Jones (1997)
Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. V. Sawyer (1952)
*Reynolds v. Sims (1964)
Chapter 12 Political Parties [1]
*Bush V. Gore (2000)
Chapter 14 Campaign Process [1]
McConnell v. F.E.C. (2003)
*Citizens United v. F.E.C. (2010)