Christian Doepp Mr.

Coen AP US Government 9 February 2012 Court Cases -Marbury v Madison, 1803 Summary - At the end of John Adams term as president, he appointed William Marbury as Justice of Peace in D.C. The new president, Thomas Jefferson, refused to recognize Marburys position. Normally, making these appointments was done by a notice created by the Secretary of State. At the time, the Secretary of State was James Madison. Jefferson was told by Madison to not deliver Marburys commission. He didnt so Marbury sued Madison, and the case went to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that the Judiciary Act of 1789, which talks about giving those types of commissions, is unconstitutional because it gives the Supreme Court power that was denied to it in the Constitution. Was the first decision by the Supreme Court that stated a law to be unconstitutional. -McCulloch v Maryland, 1819 At the time, the U.S. had a federal bank called the Bank of the United States. The state of Maryland voted to tax all banks business except for the state banks. It was supposed to only tax people who lived in Maryland but did business with banks in other states, but they also ended up taxing the federal bank. Andrew McCulloch worked at a branch of the US Bank in Baltimore, refused to pay the tax. The State of Maryland sued, and the case went to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that, according to the Constitution, the federal government did have the right to set up a federal bank, and that a state did not have the power to tax the federal government. This case essentially defined the power of the federal government of state governments. -Gibbons v Ogden, 1824 The New York Legislature passed a law that gave monopoly rights on steamboat travel in New York to a group of investors. One of the investors was a man named Aaron Ogden. Another man who was also a steamship trader, named Thomas Gibbons, also wanted to use the waterways in New York for his business. He had been given federal permission to do so, but the State of New York denied him access to the waterways. Gibbons sued Ogden, and the Supreme Court took up the case. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that the majority said that the Constitution had a commerce clause that allowed the federal government to control commerce, wherever it might be, including within a state. Before,

people thought that the federal government could only control interstate commerce. But, Marshalls statement said that the commerce clause counted here, too. This law basically said that if a state and federal law conflicted, the federal law would take priority. -Dred Scot v Sanford, 1857 A man in the US military named John Emerson owned a family of slaves, and the father of the family was a man named Dred Scot. While John Emerson was in the military, he traveled a lot, bringing his slaves with him. They even lived in free states for certain periods. Then they moved back into a slave state, and Mr. Emerson died. The ownership of the slaves was transferred to his wife, Eliza Irene Emerson. After Mr. Emersons death, Dred Scot tried to buy his familys freedom, but Mrs. Emerson refused. Dred Scot then sued for his freedom and the case went to the Supreme Court. The court ruled that people brought into the US from Africa as slaves were not protected by the Constitution and could not be US citizens. Therefore, they couldnt sue their owners in court. This case played a significant role in instigating the US Civil War. -Munn v Illinois, 1876 Munn was a partner in a warehouse firm in Chicago. He had been found guilty of a court in Illinois for changing the maximum charges to store grain. He appealed and argued that states couldnt regulate charges for grain elevators. The Supreme Court ruled in Illinoiss favor and upheld the Granger laws. They established as constitutional the principle of public regulation of private businesses in serving the public interest. This basically sets a precedent that lets the government regulate private utilities if it affects the good of the general public. -Plessy v Ferguson, 1896 Plessy, seven-eighths white and white-skinned, tried to sit in an all-white railroad car and refused to move to that black one. He was arrested for violating a Louisiana state law that called for segregated railroad conditions. Justice John H. Ferguson found that Plessy was guilty on the grounds that the law was part of the states police powers, and Plessy violated them. Plessy sued Ferguson, saying that the segregation against blacks violted the Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments. The Supreme Court took the case and ruled that segregation was constitutional because of the Fourteenth Amendments Equal Protection clause, which allows for separate but equal segregation. As long as states gave equal environments to each group. This law basically said that racial segregation is constitutionally legal under the separate but equal principle. -Schenk v US, 1919 During World War I, Schenck mailed letters to people that were drafted. He said that the draft was wrong, and encouraged the people to petition to repeal the Conscription Act. He was charged with conspiracy and violated the Espionage Act by attempting to cause insubordination in the military and to obstruct recruitment. His case went to the Supreme Court and they decided that he was not protected by First Amendment rights in

this situation. They said that the extent of the freedom of speech is measured by the current circumstances. During wartime, utterances tolerable in peacetime can be punished. This case was significant because it went against some peoples ideals of the freedom of speech promised in the First Amendment. -Gitlow v New York, 1925 A socialist named Gitlow was arrested for handing out papers that talked about the establishment of socialism through strikes and the disruption of the general public. He was arrested under a state law against anarchy, and the case went to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled in New Yorks favor. This ruling said that the Fourteenth Amendment extended the reach of certain parts of the First Amendment to individual states. -Near v Minnesota, 1931 A man named Jay Near published a sheet in Minneapolis that attacked local officials, saying that they were involved with gangsters. Minnesota officials got an order to prevent Near from publishing his newspaper under a state law that allowed them to do that to certain journalism publications. The law said that anyone regularly publishing a malicious, scandalous and defamatory newspaper was guilty, and could be stopped from making any more. The case went to the Supreme Court. The question was: does that Minnesota law violate the freedom of speech that was promised int he First Amendment? The Supreme Court ruled that the Minnesota law was not constitutional in this situation because action could not be taken against a publication before it is published, but it might be punishable afterwards. This ruling showed that the prohibition against prior restraint, which is the basis of the First Amendment, applies to states as well as the federal government. It was one of the most important cases concerning the freedoms expressed in the First Amendment. -Korematsu v US, 1944 During World War II, there were congressional laws and an Executive Order that gave the military authority to keep people of Japanese ancestry from areas considered crucial to national defense and places that could be vulnerable to espionage. Korematsu stayed in San Leandro, California, and violated that order. His case went to Supreme Court. The Court sided with the US Government and said that the need for protection against espionage was worth more than Korematsus rights. They said that these exceptions are excused in times of emergency and peril. This ruling said that the US Government could exclude and forcibly move people based on their race. -Brown v Board of Education, 1954 This case was a group of many different cases from different states. Black children were denied admission into public schools that white children went to under laws allowing segregation according to races. The prosecutors said that segregation was unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The

case went to the Supreme Court and all nine of the judges voted in favor of Brown under Equal Protection laws. Black children were denied admission to public schools attended by white children under laws
requiring or permitting segregation according to the races. The white and black schools approached equality in terms of buildings, curricula, qualifications, and teacher salaries. This case was decided together with Briggs v. Elliott and Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County