Landmark Cases

  • Marbury v. Madison

    Marbury v. Madison
    The Supreme Court established the principle of judicial review in the U.S. meaning that American courts have the power to strike down laws and statutes they find to violate the Constitution of the U.S.
    Did Marbury have the right to commission?
  • Gibbons v. Ogden

    Gibbons v. Ogden
    The Supreme Court decided of that the power to regulate interstate commerce, which is granted to the U.S. Congress by the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, encompasses the power to regulate navigation.
    Competing claims of Rival Steamship franchise
  • Dred Scott v. Sandford

    Dred Scott v. Sandford
    The Supreme Court that held the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to people of black African descent, and thus they could not enjoy the rights and privileges that the Constitution conferred upon American citizens.
    Wether the descendants of such slaves, when they shall be emancipated, or who are born of parents who had become free before their birth, are citizens of a State
  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    Plessy v. Ferguson
    The Supreme Court ruling was that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in quality, a doctrine that came to be known as " separate but equal".
    Prohibits the states from denying " equal protection of the laws" to any person within their jurisdiction"
  • Brandenburg v. Ohio

    Brandenburg v. Ohio
    The Supreme Court established that speech advocating illegal conduct is protected under the First Amendment unless the speech is likely to incite " imminent lawless action"
    Did Ohio's criminal syndicalism law, prohibiting public speech that advocates various illegal activities, violate Brandenburg's right to free speech as protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments
  • Roe v. Wade

    Roe v. Wade
    Was a Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that the Constitution of the United States generally protected a right to have an abortion.
    Does the Constitution recognize a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy by abortion
  • Buckley v. Valeo

    Buckley v. Valeo
    It was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court on campaign finance. The majority of the justices held that, as provided by section 608 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, limits on election expenditures are unconstitutional
  • Texas v. Johnson

    Texas v. Johnson
    The Supreme Court ruled that burning the Flag of the United States was protected speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as doing so counts as symbolic speech and political speech.
    Wether flag burning constitutes " symbolic speech" protected by the First Amendment
  • Bush v. Gore

    Bush v. Gore
    The Supreme Court settled a recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore
  • Obergefell v. Hodges

    Obergefell v. Hodges
    The Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
    Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state license for a marriage between two people of the same sex?