Landmark Supreme Court cases

** page under construction **

Short list of Landmark Supreme Court cases

• cases as generally recommended for core study for the AP Gov exam
• review of additional cases will yield greater student comprehension and analysis

Case	Date	Court	Big Ideas/ Court Doctrine	Constitutional Issues	Issues / Background / Description / Opinion / Dissent	Related Cases
Baker v. Carr	1961	Warren	- "One person one vote" standard - Political Question doctrine	Equal protection clause (14th amendment) Judicial review	ruled that the state of Tennessee had ignored a 1901 state law that required redistricting to be adjusted according to census results the state had not drawn new districts since 1901, resulting in overrepresentation of rural over urban citizens held that challenges to state districting (gerrymandering) issues were not merely "political questions" and thus subject to Court review the Court was split on the case and the case had to be re-argued dissents: Justice Brennan argued that redistricting is a political question and should be left up to the states Justice Frankfurter held that the decision was "judicial overreach"	Reynolds v. Sims (1964) Shaw v. Reno , 1993)
Brown v. Board of Education	1954	Warren	equal protection	Equal protection clause (14th amendment)	unanimous ruling held that segregated schools were "inherently unequal" and thus violated the 14th amendment's equal protection clause regarding public school segregation the ruling did not completely overturn Plessy, as Brown applied only to public education, but it became the primary precedent for further challenges to de jure (in law) segregation subsequent cases also addressed de facto (in fact or practice) segregation	Cooper v. Aaron (1958: affirmed Brown and enforced desegregation) Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1971: busing to promote racial integration in schools) Milliken v. Bradley (1974: "busing"; distinguished between de jure and de facto segregation)
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission	2010	Roberts	campaign finance law	Free speech clause (1st amendment)	held that "political spending" by organizations is protected speech the case regarded advertising of a movie during a primary election season that was critical of Hillary Clinton and that violated a 2002 law, Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act that prohibited "electioneering communication" by corporations, non-profits or unions withing 30 days of a primary or 60 days of an election; the law was invalidated by the case	McCutcheon v. FEC (2014: expanded campaign finance limits but did not end them)
Engel v. Vitale	1962	Warren	- prayer in public school - "separation of Church and State" doctrine	Establishment clause (1st amendment)	ruled that official public school prayer (i.e., school-sponsored) violated the 1st amendment prohibition of government sponsored religion the ruling affirmed the "wall of separation between Church and State," which is from a published letter by President Thomas Jefferson in 1802 dissent: Justice Stewart's argued that the Establishment clause prohibited creation of a state- (government) sponsored church and not the non-mandatory practice of religion within a public school	Abington School District v. Schempp (1963: banned public school-sponsored Bible reading) Wallace v. Jaffree (1985: banned school-sponsored prayer but allowed for school-sponsored moment of silence for individual meditation)
Gideon v. Wainwright	1963	Warren	- public counsel - incorporation case	Right to counsel (6th amendment)	Gideon requested but was denied a public attorney (Florida only allowed it for capital offenses) the unanimous decision held that a state must provide counsel for criminal defendants who can not afford an attorney or who are otherwise incapable of representing themselves (incompetency or illiteracy) Gideon is an incorporation case, as the 6th amendment right to counsel was applied state law via the 14th amendment's Due Process clause	Powell v. Alabama (1932: required state-sponsored counsel in capital crimes; it importantly incorporated the 6th amendment right via the 14th amendment's "due process" clause) for similar cases regarding criminal protections: Massiah v. United States (1964: prohibited use of statements by criminals who had counsel without that attorney present) Miranda v. Arizona (1966: self-incrimination protections; incorporation of 5th amendment; see also Berghuis v. Thompkins 2010)
Marbury v. Madison	1803	Marshall	Judicial supremacy	Judicial review Original jurisdiction (Article III, Section 2) "legal remedy" concept	unanimous decision that settled a dispute between outgoing Adams and incoming Jefferson administrations over Adams' "midnight appointments", including one to Marbury ruled that Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1793 was illegal under the Constitution, thus establishing "judicial review" created the power of the Courts to invalidate statutory laws based upon their "constitutionality" - Marbury lost his case, as the Court ruled that any legal remedy due to him was from an invalid law Marshall quoted Federalist No. 78 by Hamilton, "... that an act of the legislature, repugnant to the constitution, is void." note that Marshall's appointment to the Court as Chief Justice was one of Adams' final appointments after having lost the election of 1800	Hylton v. United States (1796)
McColluch v. Maryland	1819	Marshall	implied powers	Supremacy clause (Article VI) Necessary and proper clause	Maryland tried to stop the Baltimore branch of the Second National Bank by taxing it the Court ruled that the National Bank was legitimate and superseded (was over) state law, thus Maryland could not tax it the Court ruled that if the National Bank was legal (constitutional) measures to implement it were also Constitutional via the "necessary and proper clause" additionally, if a federal law was legal it is also "supreme" (Article VI) over state law Marshall's ruling denied 10th amendment reservations of unexpressed powers
McDonald v. Chicago	2010	Roberts	- right to "keep and bear arms - incorporation case	Second amendment right to bear arms	in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) the Court affirmed the 2nd amendment right to "keep and bear arms" as an individual right by declaring a gun control law of the District of Columbia (DC) law unconstitutional. Since Heller regarded a DC law, which is a federal territory, the ruling was not immediately applicable to state law McDonald applied Heller it to state law via the Due Process clause of the 14th amendment	Heller v. District of Columbia (2008) People v. Aguilar (2013: upheld individual right to keep and bear arms)
New York Times v. United States	1971	Burger	- prior restraint - freedom of the press	Freedom of the press (1st amendment)	the New York Times (NYT) newspaper published the leaked "Pentagon Papers," which were secret reports by the Pentagon regarding the U.S. intervention in Vietnam; the government fought to stop their publication based on national security grounds and that the possession of them by the NYT was illegal the government was asking for "prior restraint" of further publication of the Papers (there were 7,000 pages, so the NYT started printing selections, upon which time the Government ordered the NYT to halt publication ("prior restraint" = to stop criminal behavior before it is actually done) the Court ruled that the government's need to keep certain secrets (i.e., classified information) was subordinate (less important than) to constitutional protections of the press, even if those secrets were unlawfully released (leaked) the ruling stated that when balanced against the freedom of the press, the government's position for prior restraint "carries a heavy burden of showing justification for the imposition of such a restraint" the Court created a standard for testing the importance of keeping state secrets to the "grave and irreparable danger" standard other issues include, censorship, prior restraint, injunction
Roe v. Wade	1973	Burger	right to privacy	due process (14th amendment 9th amendment reservation of the rights of the people	the court ruled that the Fourteenth amendment's "Due Process" clause creates a "right to privacy" the court reasoned that the "due process" clause provides protection against excessive government restrictions of "personal liberty" the ruling struck down laws that banned abortion but still allowed some regulation of abortion, such as time limits on the age of the fetus and its "viability" for birth (which it deemed was in the 3rd trimester and so allowed for bans on abortion on it). dissent: Justice White argued that the Court has no standing to choose between a mother and an unborn child and said that in the decision the Court had exceeded it's powers of judicial review; he felt it was a political and not judicial question Justice Rehnquist argued that the Court had invented a right that the writers of the 14th Amendment had not intended, as when it was adopted in 1868 there were 36 state or territory laws limiting abortion	Griswold v. Connecticut (1965: held that laws banning contraception violated the right to marital privacy (in marriages) and that that right to privacy was implicit in the 1st, 3rd, 4th & 5th amendments) Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992: held that laws restricting abortion, such as mandatory waiting periods, spousal or parental notice, etc. had to meet the "undue burden standard" of creating undue or burdensome restrictions on individual rights) Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (pending as of April 2022)
Schenck v. United States	1919	Hughes	"clear and present danger"	- right to speech (1st amendment) - restriction on speech	unanimous decision that upheld laws that restricted anti-draft protests/ flyers during WWI were legal restrictions of the right to speech the court reasoned that the criticisms of the draft were designed to induce others to commit a crime (resisting the draft) and would present a "clear and present danger" to the war efforts created the "clear and present danger" test for laws that limit First Amendment rights to speech and the press Justice Holmes' opinion included the phrase "falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic," which is used to illuminate criminal speech	Abrams v. United States (1919: upheld a law that made it illegal to advocate for obstruction to the war efforts) Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969: partially overturned Schenck by creating the "imminent lawless action" standard that was stricter than the "clear and present danger" test)
Shaw v. Reno	1993	Rehnquist	- redistricting and gerrymandering	equal protection (14th amendment)	ruled that redistricting based on race (i.e. creating voting districts based on the race of the inhabitants) must meet the "strict scrutiny" standard (be carefully examined and measured for purpose and effect) however, the Court held that states must take into account race in adherence to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 the case was about a Federal government-ordered redistricting of a North Carolina district that had been gerrymandered to create a black-majority district; at the time, North Carolina was operating under desegregation-era Federal oversight that was to protect minorities; the government ordered the state to create two black-majority districts, the 2nd of which would have been 160 miles long and geographically odd the court ruled that the proposed district was clearly designed only with race in mind, which violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause dissenting judges noted that the strict scrutiny therefore applied to districting that advantaged blacks but not other non-racial groups and also that no voter was disenfranchised (not allowed to vote) by the districting plan	Miller v. Johnson (1995: addressed racial gerrymandering that had created a "geographic monstrosity" in order to have a black-majority of voters)
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District	1969	Warren	- protests in public schools - public safety (protecting children) v. rights of minors - "substantial disruption" test	- 1st amendment	students who wore armbands to protest the Vietnam War were suspended by the school for violating a rule that was created specifically for this protest the court held that the "silent symbol" of the armbands was not disruptive and the conduct of the students did not "materially and substantially interfere" with school operations or discipline and that even if they caused "discomfort and unpleasantness" in those who disagreed with them, the rights of the students the court allowed for circumstances in which student speech might cause disruptions the court created a "substantial disruption" test two justices dissented, including Justice Black who stated that "symbolic speech" was not a protected 1st amendment right and that people do not have a particular right to speak any "where" and "when" they please	West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943: outlawed rules or laws that force students to say the Pledge of Allegiance or to salute the flag) Miller v. California (1973: created the "Miller Test" for obscene materials, which may be legally banned)
United States v. Lopez	1995	Rehnquist	validity of Commerce clause based on substantial effect on interstate commerce	Commerce clause (Article I, section 8)	by 5-4 vote, the Court struck a federal law that banned gun possession within 1,000 feet of a school; Congress justified the law under its powers derived from the Commerce class (power to regulate inter-state commerce), under the theory that guns were commonly sold across state lines it was the first case since 1937 in which the Court held that the government had exceeded its powers under the Commerce clause Chief Justice Rehnquist set three standards for Federal regulation under the Commerce clause: the use of interstate channels for commerce instrumentality of interstate commerce (people or things that inherently engage in interstate commerce, such as an automobile or airplane) substantial impact on or relation to interstate commerce Justice Breyer's dissent argued that Congress was justified under the Commerce Clause because the economy might be impacted by gun violence that impaired education	Wickard v. Filburn (1942: expanded the regulatory power of Congress under the Commerce Clause; the issue of the case regarded whether or not Congress could regulate planting of corn, and the Court decided that since corn is sold across the country, even local planting of it impacts that commerce) United States v. Morrison (2000: similarly ruled that an act of Congress exceeded the powers granted Congress by the Commerce clause, in this case because the part of the law that the Court struck down was not directly related to economic activity)
Wisconsin v. Yoder	1972	Burger	- parental rights - freedom of religion	Free exercise of religion clause (1st amendment) - incorporation case (via the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause)	the Court ruled that the First Amendments protection of the "free exercise" of religion supersedes (is more important than) the public interest in laws that create compulsory (required) school attendance three Amish families argued that laws forcing their children to attend school past the 8th grade violated their religious belief the court ruled that not educating children past 8th grade created no burden upon society and thereby protecting the individual right to religion is the higher priority in his dissent, Justice Douglas argued that the case regarded parental rights and not the children's exercise of their religion (Justices Steward and Brennan responded that the children were following their parents' religion)	Reynolds v. United States (1878: found that religious duty was not a defense against illegal actions; the case regarded a man charged with bigamy (having multiple wives); Davis v. Beason, 1890 ruled that laws against bigamy did not violate the 1st Amendment's Free Exercise clause while not directly related to other cases, Yoder has been used as a basis for the parental right to homeschool or find alternatives to traditional schooling for children

Major "Courts" (Chief Justices)

Marshall (John), 1801-1835

• early Republic period
• established judicial review and federal supremacy

Taney (Roger)

• prior to the Civil War, Taney defended slave states
• most important decision: Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

List of Fourteenth Amendment "Incorporation Cases"

14th Amendment incorporation cases

• the 14th amendment explicitly applied itself to the states
• thus its "due process" and "equal protection" clauses also apply to the states
• "incorporation" ("putting into the body") means applying the Bill of Rights and other constitutional protections to state law via the 14th amendment

Selective Incorporation

• Duncan v. Louisiana (1968) created the

List of Court Doctrines & Tests

• a "doctrine" is a judicial ruling that services as precedent for other cases
• "legal test" is a standard that a court may develop in a ruling that is used to decide if a case or action fits in or not to a certain legal category or type of case

Court Doctrines

• "One person one vote" standard (Baker v. Carr, 1961)

• Political Question doctrine
• Strict scrutiny
  • the idea that any limitation on "equal protection of the laws" (14th amendment) must be strictly scrutinized (carefully examined)
  • or that a law must carefully examined and measured for its purpose and effects

Legal Tests & Rules

• clear and present danger (Schenck v. US , 1919)
  • speech that creates a "clear and present danger" may be prohibited by law
• "grave and irreparable danger rule "(NY Times v. US, 1971)
  • updated from the "grave and probable danger" rule (Dennis v. US, 1951)
  • the government must show "irreparable" (unfixable) danger in order to justify "prior restraint"
    • "prior restraint" = stopping an action or behavior before it happens, usually referring to halting the publication of something that might pose a harm to national security
• imminent lawless action standard (Brandenburg v. Ohio, 1969)
  • in order to restrict speech, the government must demonstrate that the speech will produce "imminent lawless action," i.e., an illegal act that will be the direct result of the speech
• Miller Test (Miller v. California, 1973)
  • modified a previous test for obscenity, "utterly without socially redeeming value"
    • to lacking "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value"
• substantial disruption test (Tinker v. Des Moines, 1969)
  • a standard for school prohibitions of student speech that may be considered lewd, offensive or disruptive
• Undue burden standard
  • a law must not create an "undue" (unnecessary) or overly burdensome or that is overly restrictive of fundamental rights