Major Court Cases for EOC
Marbury vs. Madison: established judicial review – the ability of the Supreme Court to declare any law in question unconstitutional F
McCulloch vs. Maryland: necessary and proper clause – Congress can make any laws that are necessary and proper for them to carry out their duties F
Gibbons vs. Ogden: Congress has sole authority to regulate interstate commerce (trade from state to state). F
Dredd Scott vs. Sanford: Americans are not entitled to citizenship, and have no rights under the Constitution. Supreme Court also held that Congress could not ban slavery in the U.S. territories. F/CL
Reynolds vs. Sims: both chambers of state legislatures must be apportioned on the basis of equal population F
Baker vs. Carr: federal courts can hear suits to force state authorities to redraw electoral districts F
Plessy vs. Ferguson: separate but equal clause – African Americans have separate facilities from whites, but their facilities are equal to white people’s facilities. CL
Schenck vs U.S.: the government cannot restrict freedom of speech unless the speech incites violence 1ST
Gitlow vs. New York: 14th Amendment could safeguard freedom of speech and free press “from impairment by the states” 1ST
Korematsu vs. U.S.: upheld the authority of the federal government to move Japanese Americans to camps in response to Pearl Harbor CL/F
Brown vs. Board of Education: overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson case; separate but equal unconstitutional CL
Gideon vs. Wainright: right to legal counsel when being tried for a major crime ROA
Miranda vs. Arizona: ruled that at the time of arrest suspects cannot be questioned until informed of their rights ROA
NY Times vs. U.S.: upheld doctrine of prior restraint 1ST
Roe vs. Wade: legalized abortion CL
U.S. vs. Nixon: executive privilege could not be used to cover up a crime; the president is not above the law F
NJ vs. TLO: the 4th Amendment “warrant requirement is unsuited to the school environment”
Hazelwood School District vs. Kuhlmeier: school administrators can regulate the content of student print publications if doing so serves an educational purpose 1ST
Tinker vs. Des Moines: a public school cannot suspend students who wore black armbands to school to symbolize their opposition to the Vietnam War; the court considered this act a freedom of speech 1ST
In Re Gault: juvenile rights ROA
WV vs. Barnette: flag pledge requirement
unconstitutional F
Abington vs. Schempp: court ruled against allowing students to recite Bible verses and the Lord’s Prayer 1ST/F
Wallace vs. Jaffree: moment of silence in school unconstitutional F
Engel vs. Vitale: held that a public school district’s practice of starting the day with prayer violates the establishment clause 1ST/F
Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. vs. U.S.: upheld Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial discrimination CL
DeJonge vs. Oregon: reinforced peaceable assembly and association protection of the 1st Amendment 1ST
Leandro vs. State of North Carolina: Ruled that the state constitution does not require equal funding of education, however, the constitution does “guarantee every child of this state an opportunity to receive a sound basic education in our public schools.” S
Hoke vs. State: Plaintiffs appealed the Leandro ruling, and the superior court ruled that “at-risk children require more resources, time and focused intervention in order to learn,” which are the state’s responsibility to provide. S
Swann vs. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education: ruled that the school district’s policy of freedom of choice for school assignments was not a successful method for integrating schools. The Court also ruled that more active plans, such as busing, should be employed. L
Near vs. Minnesota: ruled against censorship of information, defining “prior restraint” of written material as unconstitutional 1ST
Reed vs. Reed: held that a state law that discriminated against women was unconstitutional CL
Reno vs. American Civil Liberties Union: declared the indecency portions of the law unconstitutional; the court held that speech on the Internet should have the highest level of 1st Amendment protections, similar to protection of books and newspapers CL
U.S. vs. Eichman: struck down Federal Flag Protection Act- held that flag burning is expression of speech 1ST
KEY:
F: federal powers
CL: civil liberties
S: state powers
L: local powers
1st: 1st Amendment
ROA: Rights of accused persons