Cases in 1 sentence Flashcards
(32 cards)
Marbury v. Madison
The Constitution imposes enforceable limits; the judiciary must uphold these limits, establish supremacy of the Constitution over conflicting statutes (Supremacy Clause) and set foundation for judicial review despite controversy.
Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee
Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over state-court decisions involving federal law to ensure uniform interpretation of federal law, uniformity of constitutional meaning is critical due to frequent state enforcement of federal law.
Moore v. Harper (2023)/Michigan v. Long
If a state court decision is clearly based on adequate state-law grounds, Supreme Court cannot review the case, MI established the adequate and independent state grounds” doctrine explicitly, federal courts lack jurisdiction.
Cooper v. Aaron
Supreme Court interpretations of the Constitution are binding on all states and branches of government, Supreme Court interpretations provide authoritative finality.
Luther v. Borden (1849):
Landmark case establishing the political question doctrine; held certain political questions (e.g., legitimacy of a state’s government) were non-justiciable.
Bush v. Gore (2000)
Political questions doctrine not applied because the court allowed for equal protections clause to guide a judicially manageable standard, despite the political nature of the election contest and the demonstrable commitment of elections to state plenary power.
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Broad federal power to regulate interstate commerce; states retain exclusive authority over purely intrastate commerce.
Wickard v. Filburn (1942)
Exam key commerce case as radical shift away from lassaiz-faire policy. Congress can regulate even purely local activities if, in aggregate, substantially affect interstate commerce (wheat production to feed own livestock not allowed).
United States v. Morrison (2000):
Violence Against Women Act struck down because violence is non-economic activity, reinforcing Lopez’s limit on regulating non-economic conduct under the Commerce Clause.
Gonzales v. Raich (2005):
Federal ban on homegrown medical marijuana upheld because even local cultivation was seen as economic activity substantially affecting the interstate drug market. (inconsistent with Lopez)
Poultry Case (Schechter Poultry v. United States, 1935):
The Court struck down New Deal poultry regulations, finding the sale of sick chickens too local and unrelated to interstate commerce.
NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel (1937):
The Court upheld Congress’s power to regulate labor relations under the Commerce Clause, finding that labor disputes could burden interstate commerce.
Swift & Co. (1905):
Local activities (like meatpacking) can be federally regulated under the Commerce Clause when they are part of the continuous stream of interstate commerce — even if the act itself (like slaughtering) is local.
Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. (1947):
Federal regulation of grain storage warehouses, an area traditionally regulated by states, triggered the presumption against preemption, but the Supreme Court held that Congress had shown a clear and manifest intent to fully occupy the field, thus displacing state law.
Cipollone v. Liggett, 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
Congress preempted additional state warnings in cigarette labeling.
Employment Division v. Smith (1990)
Oregon banned peyote use for everyone, not just religious groups. The law was neutral and generally applicable, so the Court upheld it using rational basis review. The government did not need a compelling interest to deny religious exemptions.
City of Boerne v. Flores:
Court struck down Congress’s attempt to expand religious freedom protections beyond judicial interpretation of 14A; created “congruence and proportionality” test requiring congressional remedies to closely fit constitutional violations.
Hirabayashi v. United States (1943):
The Court upheld a curfew imposed on Japanese Americans during World War II, holding that Congress’s war powers include preparatory defense activities, not just actual fighting.
Woods v. Cloyd W. Miller Co. (1948)
The Court upheld federal rent control laws enacted after World War II, ruling that the war power continues after active hostilities have ceased to address postwar conditions.
United States v. Robel (1968):
The Court struck down a law barring Communist Party members from working in defense plants, holding that national security concerns cannot completely override First Amendment protections.
Home Building & Loan Ass’n v. Blaisdell (1934):
The Court upheld a state mortgage moratorium during the Great Depression but emphasized that emergencies do not erase constitutional limitations on government action.
Rumsfeld v. FAIR (2006):
The Court upheld the Solomon Amendment, ruling that Congress could condition federal funding on allowing military recruiters access to campuses, rejecting claims of unconstitutional coercion because universities remained
NLRB v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago (1979):
The Court avoided deciding whether regulating religious schools would violate the First Amendment by interpreting the National Labor Relations Act narrowly, holding that absent a clear congressional statement, religious institutions were not subject to NLRB jurisdiction to prevent constitutional entanglement.
United States v. Darby (1941):
The Court held that the Tenth Amendment is merely a truism that does not limit Congress’s valid exercise of enumerated powers, upholding federal labor regulations under the Commerce Clause.
