Court Cases Flashcards
Summary of the Court Cases (14 cards)
Marbury v. Madison
Marbury was denied a federal appointment so sued Madison for it but the courts ruled that the law that would force them to deliver the commission was unconstitutional, setting up the power of Judicial Review
McCulloch v. Maryland
Maryland tries to tax the national bank but the courts establish the supremacy of the US constitution, stating that Maryland cannot tax the fed gov
Schenk v. US
An anti-war socialist is handing out anti-draft pamphlets and is arrested, the courts decide that freedom of speech can be limited if there is a “Clear and Present Danger”
Brown v. Board of Education
More commonly called Brown v. Board
Race based school segregation is defeated based on Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment
Baker v. Carr
Tennessee did not redraw their voting districts for 60 year the courts decided that Redistricting was not a political issue so they could rule on it, and they decided that this type of redistricting violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendmnet
Engel v. Vitale
A school sponsored prayer in New York was ruled to be in violation of the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment
Gideon v. Wainwright
Gideon was not given a lawyer in a state court (Florida) and went to prison. The Supreme Court decided that states need to follow the 6th Amendment right to an attorney (Incorporation)
Funny enough, after this, Gideon got his fair trial with a lawyer, but that dude was so guilty he still went to prison after - still an important case though
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District
More commonly called Tinker v. Des Moines
Students wore black armbands to protest the Vietnam war but were punished for doing so, the court decided that this violated students’ free speech in 1st Amendment also creating the idea of protecting Symbolic Speech
Yay! Students get rights too! (Well, sort of)
New York Times Co. v. United States
NYT wants to publish the Pentagon Papers (secret Vietnam War docs) and the US gov tells them they can’t, they sue and the courts say that the government does not have the right to “Prior Restraint” (blocking something before it’s published) even for national security reasons
Winsconsin v. Yoder
Amish parents try to pull their students out of school and the courts decide that students cannot be forced to go to school past 8th grade if it is for religious reasons - uses Free Exercise Clause of the 1st Amendment
Shaw v. Reno
North Carolina drew voting districts based on race and the courts ruled that minority-majority districts can be challenged if districts are drawn only using race as a factor (14th A - Equal Protection Clause)
United States v. Lopez
Congress passes a law blocking people from bringing guns into school zones based on Commerce Clause but courts say this was an overreach of power
Congress argued that some people buy or bring guns across borders, making this interstate commerce
Courts asked, “r u sure about that???”
McDonald v. Chicago
Chicago tries to ban guns, the courts decide that 2nd Amendment applies to cities and states (incorporation)
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
More commonly called Citizens United
Congress puts limits on how much private organizations (business, unions, etc.) can spend on an election, courts decide that this **amount can be UNLIMITED **if it is not coordinating directly with campaign under idea of freedom of speech
Yes, businesses get the same free speech rights as a person too!
