US Supreme Court Cases for Review

Case Significance Marbury v. Madison (1803) Court established the concept of judicial review Fletcher v. Peck (1810) States cannot annul contracts that they enter into Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) Dartmouth Colleges original charter to operate granted by the King of England when NH was a colony cannot be changed by the state of NH McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) The national government has a right to establish a national bank because it is necessary and proper and states cannot impose taxes on federal entities operating within the state Cohens v. Virginia (1821) The Supreme Court has the right to review decisions made by state supreme courts Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) Established what was meant by interstate commerce. As long as there is some commercial connection between the states, states cannot pass laws regarding that commerce Worcester v. Georgia (1832) Federal jurisdiction over Native Americans is exclusive; states cannot pass laws regarding tribes living within states Scott v. Sanford (1857) Slaves were property, not citizens. Thus, a slave could not sue in court. Furthermore, the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which forbid slavery north of 36'-30 was unconstitutional Ex Parte Merryman (1861) President Lincoln improperly substituted his military authority over civilians when he suspended the writ of habeas corpus at the outset of the Civil War Ex Parte Milligan (1866) President Lincoln acted unconstitutionally when he instituted trial by military tribunal for civilians in areas outside of actual war zones during the Civil War Slaughterhouse Cases (1873) First time the Court interpreted due process under the 14th Amendment. States could grant a monopoly on the slaughterhouse business to one company. The right of other butchers to do business was not a privilege and immunity Minor v. Happersett (1875) States could deny suffrage to women Munn v. Illinois ( 1877) Since railroads were an important part of the public interest, states could pass laws regulating them. The railroads contended that this deprived them of property (profits) without due process

US Supreme Court Cases for Review

Civil Rights Cases (1883) Wabash et al v. Illinois (1886) Civil Rights Act of 1875 was unconstitutional. The 14th Amendment applies only to discriminatory practices by states, not by individuals (private discrimination) States could not regulate the rates railroads charged for lines operating in a state. Railroads run from state to state, therefore, only Congress can regulate (interstate commerce) Sugar refineries were manufacturing centers that were not directly related to interstate commerce, thus they could not be regulated by Congress, only by states A federal income tax is unconstitutional. Congress would later propose and the states would ratify the 16th Amendment allowing for a federal income tax Labor strikes interfere with the General Welfare of people, thus, the federal government has the right to employ methods (troops) to break them up Separate but equal facilities for blacks do not violate the Constitution. This case sets the stage for segregation Upheld the constitutionality of literacy tests as a requirement for voting. These were declared unconstitutional in the 1960s and the 24th Amendment did away with poll taxes The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 does not apply to Chinese born in the US who leave the US and later return. They are citizens of the US because they were born on US soil The Constitution does not necessarily follow the flag. Upheld the right on Congress to place tariffs on products imported from US territories Certain types of business combinations (in this case a holding company) were conspiracies in restraint of free trade and could be regulated by the Federal Trust Act. This was a significant departure from their previous ruling in the E.C. Knight case in 1895 A law which establishes a maximum number of hours that labor could work violates a workers right to enter into a contact with employers Price fixing by meat packing companies operating solely within a states is illegal This case took into account the differences between men and women and allowed

US v. E.C. Knight Co. (1895) Pollock v. Farmers Loan & Trust (1895) In Re Debs (1895) Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Williams v. Mississippi (1898)

US v. Wong Kim Ark (1898)

Insular Cases (1901) Northern Securities v. US (1904)

Lochner v. New York (1905)

Swift v. US (1905) Muller v. Oregon (1908)

US Supreme Court Cases for Review

the state of Oregon to limit the numbers of hours women could be employed because they were a weaker sex The Child Labor Law of 1916 was unconstitutional. The employment of children, reasoned the Court, was not directly related to interstate commerce Speech that imposes a clear and present danger is not protected by the 1st Amendment Women now had the right to vote and they were legal equals of men, therefore, the Court reversed its ruling in Muller v. Oregon Often called the sick chicken case. The case struck down FDRs National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), a major New Deal program that gave certain powers to the president to regulate commerce. After this, FDR introduced his court packing plan Congress has the power to regulate all trade which may upset the balance between intrastate and interstate commerce. Commerce is now almost anything says it is It does not violate any persons rights to compel them to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The Court would reverse this ruling in Minersville v. Gobitis (1944) Since national security was at stake, it was lawful for the US to inter JapaneseAmerican civilians during WWII Texas law establishing separate but equal law schools was unconstitutional. This case was the forerunner to Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Upheld the Smith Act, which made it a crime to advocate violence to overthrow the government. The law was passed as a response to the fear of communism during the Cold War Landmark ruling that signaled the end of segregation. Segregated schools were inherently unequal and unconstitutional Illegally obtained evidence cannot be used against a defendant. This made the Exclusionary Rule applicable to the states Established the One Man One Vote concept. Voting districts must be properly apportioned

Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918) Schenck v. US (1919) Adkins v. Childrens Hospital Schecter Poultry Corp. v. US (1935)

NLRB v. Jones & Laughton Street (1937) West Va. Brd of Ed. V. Barnette (1943) Korematsu v. US (1944) Sweatt v. Painter (1950) Dennis v. US (1951)

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Baker v. Carr (1962)

US Supreme Court Cases for Review

School-sponsored prayer violates the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment Indigents have the right to counsel in all cases A suspect has the right to remain silent during any phase of police interrogation Gave authority to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Since hotels were engaged in interstate commerce, Congress could pass a law making it illegal for persons to be denied lodging simply because of the color of their skin Reynolds v. Simms (1964) State election districts must be drawn proportionately Miranda v. Arizona (1966) Prior to questioning, any individual taken into custody must be made aware of their rights as an accused (today we call it the Miranda Warning) Loving v. Virginia (1967) The Court ruled that Virginias anti-miscegenation law violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment and that the constitutional rights of the individual overrode the states rights to control marriage under its police powers Epperson v. Arkansas (1968) A state that passes a law making it illegal to teach evolution or requiring that evolution be balanced with Creationism violates the 1st Amendment Establishment Clause Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) Public school students have freedom of expression so long as it does not materially disrupt or substantially interfere with the rights of others New York Times v. US (1971) Prior restraint (censorship) by the government is almost always unconstitutional unless the government can show national security interests. This case was better known as the Pentagon Papers case Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg (1971) Court-ordered busing to bring about the desegregation of public schools is a constitutional remedy Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1971) Intelligence tests or other devices that have the effect of excluding minorities or women from certain jobs are unconstitutional Engle v. Vitale (1962) Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) Escobedo v. Illinois (1964) Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US (1964) Furman v. Georgia (1972) The death penalty does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. However, the procedures used by states to impose the death penalty violated due process. Five years later, the Court reinstated the death penalty. Today, 38 states use it The right of woman to terminate her pregnancy is a privacy right protected by the

Roe v. Wade (1973)

US Supreme Court Cases for Review

Constitution and may not be regulated by the states US v. Nixon (1973) Although the President has the power of executive privilege, it does not extend to criminal proceedings. This ruling ultimately forced Nixon to turn over tape recordings that implicated him in the Watergate Scandal and forced his resignation from office University of California v. Bakke (1978) Set asides or quotas are unconstitutional, but colleges may consider race and other factors when considering admission. Established the concept of Affirmative Action US v. Wheeler (1978) It is not a violation of double jeopardy if a Native American who has been convicted under tribal law for a crime is later convicted of the same offense in federal court Plyler v. Doe (1982) States may not deny a free and public education to the children of illegal immigrants unless they can show a substantial state interest in doing so Texas v. Johnson (1989) A law prohibiting the desecration of a venerated object is vague and violates due process. In this case, a man sentenced for burning a flag in protest had his 1 st Amendment rights violated Martin v. Wilks/Wards Cove Packing v. The Court made it more difficult to prove that an employer discriminated on the Antonia (1989) basis of race and made it easier for white males to bring reverse discrimination suits against businesses practicing affirmative action Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) A woman does have the right to terminate her pregnancy but states may pass restrictions on that right so long as they do not impose an undue hardship or burden Reno v. ACLU (1997) This case struck down the Communications Decency Act which intended to limit pornography on the internet. The Court reasoned that indecent was too vague and that regulating the internet would have a chilling effect Clinton v. New York City (1998) The Line Item Veto Act of 1997 was declared unconstitutional because it violated the concept of separation of powers