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Marbury vs. Madison.
At the end of President John Adam's term, his Secretary of State failed to deliver documents commissioning William Marbury as Justice of the Peace in the District of Columbia. For not deliverling the papers, Marbury sued Madison asking the Supreme Court to issue a writ requiring him to deliver the documents to officially make Marbury Justice of the Peace. -
McCulloch vs. Maryland.
Maryland attempted to close the Baltimore branch of the national bank by passing a law that forced all banks that were created outside of the state to pay a yearly tax. The state of Maryland sued McCulloch for refusing to pay the tax by saying that Maryland had the power to tax any business in its state and that the Constitution does not give Congress the power to create a national bank. -
Dred Scott vs. Sandford.
Dred Scoot was purchased in Missouri, but was then brought to Illionois; a free (non-slave) state. Scott sued the widow to whom he was left, claiming he was no longer a slave because he had become free after living in a free state. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson.
In 1890, Louisiana passed a statute called the Separate Car Act. In 1892, Plessy purchased a first class ticket and sat in the white-designated railroad car. For this act, Plessy was arrested for violating the Separate Car Act. In court, he argued that the Act violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. -
Korematsu vs. United States.
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order forcing many West Coast Japanese and Japanese Americans into internment camps. Fred Koremastu, a Japanese American, relocated claimed to be Mexican-American to avoid being interned, but was later arrested and convicted of violating an executive order. -
Brown vs. Board of Ed Topeka, KS.
In the 1950s, Linda Brown and her family believed that the segregated school system violated the Fourteenth Amendment and took their case to the court. The Browns appealed their case to Supreme Court stating that even if the facilities were similar, segregated schools could never be equal to one another. -
Mapp vs. Ohio.
Suspicious that Dollree Mapp might be hiding a person suspected in a bombing, the police went to her home in Cleveland, Ohio. The police did not have a search warrant, making Mapp refuse them for entering her home. The police forced their way into her home, finding a trunk containing pornographic materials. They arrested Mapp and charged her with violating an Ohio law against the possession of obscene material. -
Gideon vs. Wainwright.
In 1961, Gideon was arrested. He couldn't afford a lawyer, asked a Florida Circuit Court judge to appoint one for him. The judge denied his request, and he was left to represent himself. The court ruled him guilty, until his second trial where he had his own lawyer to represent him; he also won that case. Everyone is entitled to have a fair chance. To prove themselves guilty or non-guilty. -
Miranda vs. Arizona.
Ernesto Miranda was arrested after a crime victim identified him, but police officers questioning him did not inform him of his First Amendment right against self-incrimination. The court's decision was 5-4, in favor of Miranda. Each victim or criminal has the right to be informed about their rights, to have a fair chance in defending themselves during their trial. -
Tinker vs. Des Moines.
John and Mary Beth Tinker of Des Moines, Iowa, wore black armbands to their public school as a symbol of protest against American involvement in the Vietnam War. When school authorities asked the the Tinkers remove their armbands, they refused and were subsequently suspended. -
Roe vs. Wade.
Roe filed suit against Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, contesting the statue on the grounds that it violated the guarantee of personal liberty and the right to privacy implicitly granted in the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The court's decision was 7-2, in favor of Roe. Abortion is the decision of a woman. Not the man's, or court's. -
NJ vs. TLO.
A New Jersey high school student was accused of violating school rules by smoking in the bathroom. The vice principal searched her bag, finding marijuana and other items that implicated the student in dealing marijuana. The evidence of smoking in the restroom did not justify the search. The court's decision was 6-3, in favor of NJ. To search, there must be a reasonable reason in doing so. -
Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier.
The students of Hazelwood East High School wrote a newspaper. In May 1983, the principal decided to have certain pages of the newspaper to removed. The students felt that this censorship was a direct violation of their First Amendment rights. The court's decision was 5-3, in favor for Hazelwood. The First Amendment does not require schools to promote school newspapers, so they do not have they right to edit what is written or they would violate the students' rights of freedom of speech. -
Texas vs. Johnson.
In this case, Johnson was convicted for burning the American flag in response to Reagan Administration policies. He was arrested, and sentenced to one year in jail and fined $2,000. The court was a 5-4 decision, in favor for Johnson, stating that it was a form of expressive speech, and that turned to violation of his first amendment.
