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John Jay
4 court cases. Chief Justice -
John Marshall
Shaped constitutional law -
Creation of the Supreme Court
The creation of an independent judiciary established the third branch of government, which is responsible for interpreting the laws enacted by the legislative branch of government. -
Fletcher vs. Peck
One of the first cases in which the Supreme Court ruled a state law unconstitutional, the decision also helped create a growing precedent for the sanctity of legal contracts, -
Dartmouth College vs. Woodward
n a 6-to-1 decision, the Court held that the College's corporate charter qualified as a contract between private parties, with which the legislature could not interfere. The fact that the government had commissioned the charter did not transform the school into a civil institution. Chief Justice Marshall's opinion emphasized that the term "contract" referred to transactions involving individual property rights, not to "the political relations between the government and its citizens." -
McCulloch vs. Maryland
Maryland tried to put a tax on all notes that were not chartered in Maryland -
Gibbons vs. Ogden
Aaron Ogden filed a complaint in the Court of Chancery of New York asking the court to restrain Gibbons from operating on these waters. Ogden's lawyer contended that states often passed laws on issues regarding interstate matters and that states should have fully concurrent power with Congress on matters concerning interstate commerce. The monopoly, therefore, should be upheld. -
Worcester v. Georgia
Worcester v. Georgia
That the state of Georgia had no legal authority to pass laws regulating activities within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation, a nation recognized through treaties with the United States. Ruled in favor of Worcester overturning his lower court conviction for living on Cherokee Nation lands without a state of Georgia permit.
