Unit 3 Court Cases
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Established the doctrine of judicial review.
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
Overturned the Missouri Compromise, stating that slaves were property. Since the Constitution forbids Congress from depriving Americans of life, liberty and property without due process of the law, citizens could not be deprived of their property simply because they had traveled to another state.
Minor v. Happersett (1874)
Court ruled that the 14th Amendment does not protect the voting rights of women.
Strauder v. WV (1880)
Court rules that state law barring blacks from jury service violated equal protection clause of 14th Amendment.
Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886)
Court ruled that unequal enforcement of city ordinance violated rights held under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
The Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment allowed states to provide “separate but equal” facilities for blacks.
Gitlow v. New York (1925)
Although the Court upheld Gitlow’s conviction and concluded that New York’s Criminal Anarchy law was constitutional, the ruling also concluded that free speech protections under the First Amendment does apply to the states. (Free speech considered a fundamental right.)
Korematsu v. United States (1944)
Court ruled that the President and Congress did not go beyond their war powers by implementing exclusion and restricting rights of Americans of Japanese descent. The Court held that the need to protect against espionage outweighed Japanese American’s rights.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
The Court ruled separate is not equal and ended school segregation. (Reversed Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896.)
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
Established the principle that the “Third Amendment together with the First, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments created a zone of privacy that protected the rights of married couples to use contraceptives.”(Established fundamental right to purchase and use birth control.)
Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections (1965)
Court ruled that making affluence an electoral standard(poll tax)violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment
Loving v. Virginia (1966)
Court ruled that VA law banning inter-racial marriage violated Equal Protection Clause of 14th Amendment. (Established fundamental right to marry and have children.)
Stanton v. Stanton (1974)
Court ruled that differing standards (based upon gender) for child support violated the equal protection clause.
Craig v. Boren (1976)
Court ruled that law establishing different drinking ages for men and women made unconstitutional gender classifications.
Regents v. Bakke (1977)
Court ruled that the University of California’s racial quota admissions standard violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. However, the use of race as a criterion in admissions decisions was constitutionally permissible.
Rostker v. Goldberg (1980)
Court held that Congress’ decision to exempt women from military draft registration did not violate Due Process Clause.
Plyer v. Doe (1981)
Court ruled that a 1975 Texas education law allowing the state to withhold from local school districts state funds for education children of illegal aliens violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Texas could not prove a “compelling state interest” for the law.
Romer v. Evans (1995)
Court ruled that Colorado’s constitutional amendment forbidding official protections to those who suffer discrimination due to their sexual orientation violated the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
Grutter v. Bollinger (2002)
The court ruled that the University of Michigan’s Law School’s use of racial preferences in student admissions did not violatethe 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
Court Case Summaries from Oyez: US Supreme Court Media ( 1
Unit 3 Court Cases
Court Case Summaries from Oyez: US Supreme Court Media ( 1