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John Jay as Chief Justice
John Jay did not make very many large, well remembered decisions. He was nominated for a second term, but he declined. -
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John Marshall as Cheif Justice
John Marshall made several important decisions that established traditions that still carry on today. He is still well respected today. -
Marbury vs. Madison
This case established the principle of judicial review. William Marbury, who was appointed in the last few days of John Adams presidency, was being petioned against on the grounds that he never fully recieved his orders before John Adams presidency ended. The court decided that the appiontment was legitamate, according to the Judiciary Act of 1789, but that the Judicary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional itself. -
Fletcher vs Peck
This was the first time a state law was ruled unconstutional. It involved land fruad, and the court made the decision that a contract cannot be voided by a state law. -
Dartmouth College vs. Woodward
Dispute over a law made by the state of New Hampshire, which turned the privately chartered Dartmouth College into a public college, eventually led to the Supreme Court and the law was declared unconstitutional. This holds still today and is a reason we have state schools and private schools. -
McCllough vs. Maryland
This decision involved federal banks and taxes on those federal banks. Maryland tried to collect taxes from the Second Bank of the United States. Marshall ruled that federal institutions were untaxable by states, primarily because federal laws overruled state laws. -
Gibbons vs. Odgen
In this case, the court ruled that New York could not issue a monopoly to a steamboat company. This case established The Supreme Court's control over interstate commerce. -
Cherokee Nation vs Georgia
The Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokees were not a nation that could sue in court. -
Worcester vs Georgia
John Marshall ruled that the state of Georgia had no athourity in the Cherokee territory. Andrew Jackson, upon hearing the decision, said defiantly "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it." -
Commonwealth vs. Hunt
The Supreme Court ruled that labor unions were lawful and could negotiate contracts with employers . -
Dred Scott vs Sanford
Dred Scott was a slave whose owner took him into Wisconsin, a free territory. Scott sued that because he was in a free territory, he was a free man. The Court decided that a) Scott could not sue in court because he was property, not a citezen b) Congress did not have the right to take property without due process of law, so, because slaves were property, Congress could not illigalize slavery in any terrirory, and c) because the Compromise of 1820 did illegalize slavery, it was unconstitutional -
Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. EEOC et al
Cheryl Perich is suing the school she used to work for because they dismissed her. She has narcolepsy (a condition where one randomly falls asleep) and claims the school is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. This is shameful.
