-
Period: to
Jay, Rutledge, and Ellsworth Courts
-
Period: to
Marshall Court
-
Marbury v. Madison
Established judicial review. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
States cannot levy taxes on a federal bank; courts upheld supremacy clause. -
Gibbons v. Ogden
Courts upheld commerce clause; national government has exclusive power to regulate interstate commerce. -
Barron v. Baltimore
Federal court cannot stop enforcement of state law that restricts rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights. (has since been overturned) -
Period: to
Taney Court
-
Scott v. Sanford
Congress cannot ban slavery, and slaves are property. -
Period: to
Chase, Waite, and Fuller Courts
-
Plessy v. Ferguson
Established the precedent of "separate but equal". Has since been overturned. -
Period: to
White and Taft Courts
-
Schenck v. United States
Speech can be punished if there is a clear and present danger. -
Pierce v. Society of Sisters
States cannot require students to only attend public schools. -
Pierce v. Society of Sisters
States cannot require students to only attend public schools. -
Pierce v. Society of Sisters
States cannot require students to attend only public schools. -
Gitlow v. New York
Used the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to apply the Bill of Rights to the states. -
Period: to
Hughes, Stone, and Vinson Courts
-
Palko v. Connecticut
States must observe all "fundamental" liberties. -
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire
"Fighting words" are not protected by the First Amendment. -
Smith v. Allwright
Abolished white primaries. -
Korematsu v. United States
The government's needs outweighs that of a citizen under circumstance of war. Not a precedent, but was never overturned. -
Everson v. Board of Education
Applied the establishment clause of the Bill of Rights to states and enforced the wall of separation. -
Zorach v. Clauson
States may allow students to be released from public schools to attend religious institutions. -
Period: to
Warren Court
-
Brown v. Board of Education
Separate public schools are inherently unequal; began racial desegregation in public schools. -
Mapp v. Ohio
Illegally gathered evidence cannot be used in a court case; a use of the exclusionary rule. -
Gideon v. Wainwright
States are required to provide counsel for defendants who can't afford attorneys. -
Engel v. Vitale
No prayer in public schools, due to the establishment clause. -
New York Times v. Sullivan
To libel a public figure, there must be "actual malice". -
Griswold v. Connecticut
Found a "right to privacy" in the Constitution that would ban any state law against selling contraceptives. -
Miranda v. Arizona
"Miranda Rights", which must be read to any arrested persons before their statements can be used as court evidence. -
Grren v. County School Board of New Kent
Suggested integration should be mandated by the government instead of letting students pick where to go. -
Tinker v. Des Moines
Public school students may wear armbands to class protesting against America's war in Vietnam when such display does not disrupt classes; over the First Amendment freedom of speech. -
Period: to
Burger Court
-
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
Approved redrawing of district lines and busing to force integration. -
Lemon v. Kurtzman
Established the Lemon Test, three guidelines for deciding whether the government is improperly involved with religion. Asks if the program has: a strictly secular purpose; primary effect that advances or inhibits religion; or fosters an excessive government entanglement with religion. -
Miller v. California
Obscenity defined as appealing to prurient interests of an average person with materials that lack literacy, artistic, political, or scientific value. -
Roe v. Wade
State laws against abortion are unconstitutional. -
United States v. Nixon
President can get confidential advice, but can be required to reveal material related to a criminal prosecution. -
Buckley v. Valeo
A law limiting contributions to political campaigns is constitutional, but limiting a candidate's expenditures of their own money is not. -
Regents of University of California v. Bakke
Quotas for admission of minorities are not allowed, but race can be a consideration. Upheld affirmative action. -
Rostker v. Goldberg
Men can be drafted into the military, but women cannot. -
Nixon v. Fitzgerald
The president cannot be sued in office. -
United States v. Leon
Created the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
States can ban sodomy. (Overturned by Lawrence v. Texas, 2003) -
Period: to
Rehnquist Court
-
Texas v. Johnson
There may not be a law to ban flag-burning. -
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Reaffirmed Roe but added some limits, -
Lee v. Weisman
There can be no clergy lead prayers at (public school) graduation. -
United States v. Lopez
Limited Congress' power under the commerce clause. -
Reno v. ACLU
A law that bans sending "indecent" material to minors over the internet is unconstitutional because "indecent" is too vague and broad a term. -
Clinton v. Jones
The president can be sued for things that happened before he took office. -
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe
No student-lead prayers before (public school) football games. -
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
It is unconstitutional for the Boy Scouts to exclude people based on their sexual orientation because it is a private organization. -
Bush v. Gore
Stopped the recount of the vote in Florida; thought to be a partisan decision. -
McConnell v. Federal Election Commission
Upheld the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which prohibits corporations and labor unions from running ads that mention candidates and their positions for 60 days before a federal general election. -
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris
Upheld a state voucher plan, despite concerns over the establishment clause. -
Lawrence v. Texas
States cannot ban sodomy. (Overturned Bowers v. Hardwick) -
Period: to
Roberts Court
-
Morse v. Fredrick
Better known as BONG HITS 4 JESUS. Over free speech. Controversial because it includes reference to illegal drugs. -
Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life Inc.
Issue ads may not be prohibited before a primary/general election; prohibits campaign finance reform law from banning political advocacy. -
District of Columbia v. Heller
Government can't ban private possession of firearms. -
McDonald v. Chicago
District of Columbia v. Heller decision applies to states. -
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
Overturned part of 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law that prohibited corporate and union funding of campaign ads. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Legalized same-sex marriage nationally, requiring all states to recognize and issue same-sex marriage licenses.