Fisher Supreme Court

Question 1

Marbury v Madison

Answer 1

1803 - 1st time Sc declared a federal action unconstitutional. Established SC’s power of judicial review.

Question 2

Brown v Board of Education

Answer 2

1954 - Separate schools for black and white students unconstitutional. Overturned Plessy v Ferguson

Question 3

National federation of Independent Business Vs Sebelius

Answer 3

2012 - Upheld most of Obama Care incl. individual mandate. Struck down provision that states would loose all Medicaid funding if they failed to expand it.

Question 4

Bush v Gore

Answer 4

2000 - Ruled Florida’s recount after 2000 presidential election was unconstitutional under the equal protection cause of the 14th Amendment.

Question 5

US vs Arizona

Answer 5

2012 - Struck down provisions of Arizona law requiring police to check immigration status of anyone if they had ‘reasonable suspicion’.

Question 6

Rasul v Bush

Answer 6

Foreign detainees held at Guantanamo Bay did have access to US federal courts to challenge their detention.

Question 7

Hamdan V Rumsfeld

Answer 7

Military commissions set up by Bush to try and hold people at Guan bay rules unconstitutional.

Question 8

Boumediene v Bush

Answer 8

2008 - Procedures set up by Bush administration & Congress following Hamdan decision were inadequate to ensure detainees received their day in court.

Question 9

National Labor Relations Board v Noel Canning

Answer 9

2014 - President lacked constitutional authority to make high-level executive branch appointments when Senate technically available to give advice & consent.

Question 10

United States v Texas

Answer 10

2016 - Obama’s executive order Deferred Action for Parents of Americans & Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) unconstitutional as it breached clause of Article 2 of the Constitution that required president to ‘take care the laws be faithfully executed’.

Question 11

United States v Windsor

Answer 11

2013
Defense of Marriage Act (1996), which stated marriage between one man & one women, unconstitutional, as it denied federal benefits to married same-sex couples that were available to other married couples.

Question 12

Obergefell v Hodges

Answer 12

2015
State bans on same-sex marriage violated 14th Amendment, which forbids states from denying equal protection of laws within the state

Question 13

Shelby v Holder

Answer 13

2013
Struck down provision of Voting Rights Act (1965) that certain southern states must obtain preclearance from Justice Department before any changes to their voting laws.

Question 14

Gonzales v Raich

Answer 14

2005
Ruled federal govt could ban growth of marijuana under commerce clause. Case arose after 2002 California legalised use of medical marijuana, even though it is illegal under federal law.

Question 15

Roe v Wade

Answer 15

1973

Women had right to abortion under 14th Amendment right of ‘liberty’.

Question 16

Gonzales v Carhart

Answer 16

2007
Upheld Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which banned procedure used in small number of later abortions, crushing skull of foetus.

Question 17

Zelman v Simmons Harris

Answer 17

2002
Upheld Ohio’s ‘school voucher’ programme giving financial aid to parents to send children to religious or private schools.

Question 18

Town of Greece v Galloway

Answer 18

2014

Legislative bodies could begin meetings with prayer, even if they clearly favoured one religion.

Question 19

Burwell v Hobby Lobby

Answer 19

2014
Struck down provision of Obamacare that required family-owned corporations to pay for health insurance coverage of employees for contraception, as it violated Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) 1993.

Question 20

Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v Comer

Answer 20

2017

Missouri should provide aid to church even though state constitution calls for separation of church & state.

Question 21

Buckley v Valeo

Answer 21

1976

Part of Federal Election Campaign Act (1974) that limited expenditure by presidential candidates was unconstitutional.

Question 22

McConnell v FEC

Answer 22

2003
Upheld provisions of Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) that banned use of ‘soft money’ (paid directly to a political party) for particular candidate

Question 23

Citizens United v FEC

Answer 23

2010

Business corporations & labour unions have same rights of political free speech as individuals.

Question 24

McCutcheon v FEC

Answer 24

2014

Struck down 1970s limit on total amount of money wealthy donors can contribute to candidates.

Question 25

District of Columbia v Heller

Answer 25

2008
The ‘right to keep and bear arms’ is individual right. Struck down a District of Columbia law restricting ownership & use of guns.

Question 26

McDonald v City of Chicago

Answer 26

2010

Under due process clause of 14th Amendment, right to bear arms cannot be infringed by state or local governments.

Question 27

Atkins v Virginia

Answer 27

2002

Execution of mentally disabled criminals infringed 8th Amendment, but SC did not define mental disability.

Question 28

Roper v Simmons

Answer 28

2005

Unconstitutional to sentence anyone to death for crime they committed when younger than 18.

Question 29

Baze v Rees

Answer 29

2008

Lethal injection not a ‘cruel and unusual punishment’.

Question 30

Moore v Texas

Answer 30

2017

Executing murderer Bobby Moore unconstitutional, as IQ testing used by Texas out of date & unreliable.

Question 31

University of California v Bakke

Answer 31

1978

Ruled out racial quotas in university admissions programmes, but left door open to race being considered.

Question 32

Gratz v Bollinger

Answer 32

2003
University of Michigan’s affirmative action-based admissions programme for undergraduates too ‘mechanistic’ (all black, Hispanic & American-Indian applicants awarded 20/ 150 points required).

Question 33

Grutter v Bollinger

Answer 33

2003

University of Michigan Law School’s admission programme constitutional as it used a more ‘individualised’ approach.

Question 34

Parents Involved & Meredith cases

Answer 34

2007

Unconstitutional to assign students to public schools solely for purpose of achieving racial balance.

Question 35

Fisher v University of Texas

Answer 35

2013
Upheld decision of university to reject Abigail Fisher, who argued she was victim of racial discrimination, as minority race students with less impressive grades were accepted.

Question 36

In 2010, state of union address Obama criticised the courts judgement in ………. v. ….

Answer 36

Citizens United v. FEC

Question 37

…….. a conservative, replaced …….., a liberals, in 2006 which moved balance towards the right giving the conservatives a 5-4 majority

Answer 37

Alito replaced O’Connor

Question 38

A ……… (State) county clerk named …… …….. Made national news for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples.

Answer 38

Kentucky

Kim Davis

Question 39

In Sessions v. Di Maya
……. Voted with the 4 liberals v. Federal government’s hard line position on a key provision of a deportation statute.

Answer 39

Gorsuch

Question 40

In ……% of Roberts court cases the decision struck down state laws and a further ……% of cases federal law was deemed to be unconstitutional.

Answer 40

27%

12%