AP U.S. Government and Politics
Supreme Court Cases likely to appear on the AP Exam: Study Sheet
Case
Marbury v. Madison
(1803)
Gibbons v.
Ogden(1824)
Brown v. Board of
Education (1954)
McCulloch v.
Maryland (1819)
US v. Lopez (1995)
Facts
The case in which Marshall first asserted the right of the Supreme Court to determine the
meaning of the Constitution. The decision established the court's power of judicial
review
The Supreme Court broadly interpreted the clause in Article I, Section 8 of the
Constitution giving Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce, encompassing
virtually every form of commercial activity
Separate but equal is inherently unequal (overturning Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
precedent))
Established the supremacy of the national government over state governments
Commerce clause does not give congress the power to pass the Gun Free Schools Act
The right to privacy gives a woman the right to an abortion in the first trimester of
Roe v. Wade (1973)
pregnancy (4th and 14th Amendments; privacy and due process)
Free speech can be restraint when there is "clear and present danger", such as during a
Schenck v. US (1919)
war
Gitlow v. New York
Overturned Barron v. Baltimore and incorporated the right to free speech to the states
(1925)
Tinker v. Des Moines
Symbolic speech of students is protected by the First Amendment
School District (1969)
Griswold v.
Right to privacy (4th Amendment) and birth control
Connecticut (1965)
Miranda v. Arizona
Rights of the accused; “Miranda Rights”
(1966)
Gideon v. Wainwright
Incorporated the right to an attorney
(1963)
Mapp v. Ohio (1960) Incorporated the Fourth Amendment (searches and seizures); exclusionary rule
New York Times v.
Set guidelines for winning libel suits; added malice to lying and hurting reputation
Sullivan (1964)
Near v. Minnesota
Freedom of the Press
(1929)
"Reasonable restrictions" on campaign contributions are allowed, but limits on campaign
Buckley v. Valeo
expenditures are not. Justified by freedom of speech
(1976)
Texas v. Johnson
Flag burning is a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment
(1989)
Miller v. California
Obscenity not protected by 1st Amendment, must pass “Miller Test”
(1973)
New York cannot mandate a state-composed non-denominational prayer be read in
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
schools because it violated the Establishment Clause
Lemon v. Kurtzman
(1971)
Struck down a law reimbursing religious schools for textbooks and teacher salaries.
Government supported programs in religious schools must have a primary secular
purpose, neither aid nor inhibit religion, and not excessively entangle government,
religion
Cantwell v.
Incorporated the Free Exercise Clause, recognized absolute freedom of belief
Connecticut (1940)
Bowers v. Hardwick Upheld the constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law
(1986)
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) 1st Amendment prohibits the government from
restricting independent political expenditures by corporations and unions