Court Cases Flashcards
(16 cards)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Unanimous for McCulloch. Necessary and Proper clause (elastic), Supremacy clause, 10th. After the constitution was ratified, it needed to be decided if there would be a national bank. Though it was feared, congress created a national bank. Soon after a second national bank was created but some states ended up trying to tax it. It was deemed that Maryland did not have this power and that a national bank could be made because of implied powers, and the federal government overruled the states.
US v. Lopez (1995)
5-4 for Lopez. Commerce clause, 10th, Elastic. A student attending San Antonio high school brought a gun to school despite the Gun Free School Zones act. He was arrested under the act however he argued that it was unconstitutional because congress didn’t have that power over schools. the US argued that gun affected the commerce clause, but the argument was weak. In the end Lopez won but still went to jail just not federally. The act was struck down and limited congress’ lawmaking over school.
Baker v. Carr (1962)
6-2 for Baker. 14th - Equal Protection clause. The state of Tennessee had not conducted a redistricting for decades which led to some places being overrepresented and some places being underrepresented. Baker argued that there was not equality and used the equal protection clause in court. He one and uplifted “one person, one vote” and also rewrote what powers the federal court had over state districts.
Shaw v. Reno (1993)
5-4 for Shaw. 14th - Equal Protection clause, 15th - Voting rights act. After a census in North Carolina, new district lines were drawn in order to give black voters and advantage since there had been no black people in the house of representatives. This created very odd districts, and they ended up getting taken to court. Though this act was meant to help minorities it was decided that gerrymandering cannot be entirely race-based.
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Unanimous for Madison. Supremacy clause, Judiciary act. John Adams was just about to about Marbury as he was leaving the office. When Jefferson got into office he didn’t finish the appointment. Because of this Marbury filed a lawsuit and demanded a writ of mandamus. It was decided that Madisons refusal to deliver the appointment was illegal, but he still wasn’t forced to comply. The court decided that looking back upon the Judiciary act, the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction had expanded, and they had to power of what is known as Judicial review.
Engle v. Vitale (1962)
6-1 for Engel. 1st - freedom of religion - Establishment clause, 14th. Prayer had been a daily occurrence in school though not mandatory. A group of non-Christian families were not ok with this and sued. They argued that it violated the establishment clause and won. Teacher-led prayer was no longer allowed in public schools.
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
Unanimous for Yoder. 1st - freedom of religion, 14th. A group of Amish families stopped sending their kids to school for religious reasons. They were only fined a dollar for this act but the families filed for a lawsuit anyway. Education after the 8th grade was deemed unnecessary to their lifestyle.
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
7-2 for Tinker. 1st- freedom of petition, espionage act. A group of students decided to wear arm bands to school in order to protest the Vietnam war. While the school tried to claim that it was disruptive and attempted to suspend them for the protest, the family decided to go to court. It was argued in court that it was actually ok, and not all right were shed at the doors to school.
Schenck v. US (1919)
Unanimous for US. 1st - freedom of speech, 14th. Schenck sent out a bunch of papers trying to rally people, attempting to get them to ignore the draft in protest of WW1. Because of a “clear and present danger” this freedom of speech was in fact not allowed and he lost the case.
NYT v. US (1971)
6-3 for NYT. 1st - freedom of press. Daniel Ellsberg got ahold of the pentagon papers, papers exposing the US in the Vietnam war, and distributed them to the NYT and Washinton post. The government to use the espionage act against this but freedom of press won out.
McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
5-4 for McDonald. 2nd, 14th - due process. After a ban was passed, McDonald wasn’t legally allowed to have his guns. D.C. v. Heller allowed guns federally and this case made sure that guns would be allowed on a state level too.
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
Unanimous for Gideon. 6th, 14th. Gideon was charged for breaking and entering and ended up having to defend himself in court. He went to jail and during his time there he wrote to the supreme court saying that it was unfair. In court he fought for the right to an attorney even if it wasn’t for a capital crime and won. He had his case again and won.
Roe v. Wade (1973)
7-2 for Roe. 9th, 14th - privacy. Under the pseudonym “Jane Roe”, a woman in Texas, got pregnant and wanted an abortion. She was denied so a lawsuit went into action. It was deemed unconstitutional, and abortions were a protected right, though not absolute. Laid down the grounding for trimesters.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Unanimous for Brown. 14th - equal protection clause. A black student wasn’t allowed to enroll in a school in Kansas. The family filed for a lawsuit, and they went to court. The segregation was deemed unconstitutional and “separate but equal” was struck down.
Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
5-4 for Citizens United. 1st - freedom of speech, BCRA. Citizens United created a film “Hillary: The movie”. FEC said it went against the BCRA, so they ended up going to court. Citizens united ended up winning. In that win parts of BCRA were struck down which then allowed corporations to spend unlimited money on candidates, creating super PACs.
The 6 unanimous cases?
McCulloch v. Maryland, Marbury v. Madison, Wisconsin v. Yoder, Schenck v. US, Gideon v. Wainwright, Brown v. Board of Education
