Court Cases Flashcards
(15 cards)
1
Q
Engel v. Vitale
A
1st Amendment—Establishment Clause; YES 6-1
- NY required public schools to lead students in a nondenominational voluntary prayer
- RULING: states cannot use the school system to hold prayers, even if it’s voluntary/tied to a certain religion
- IMPACT: set a precedent that coercion was NOT REQUIRED for it to be a violation of the 1st Amendment.
2
Q
Wisconsin v. Yoder
A
1st Amendment—Free Exercise Clause; YES 7-0
- Wisconsin law required children to attend school until they were 16, Amish believed that children between 14-16 do not need school anymore and should start working
- RULING: Individual’s interest in Free Exercise of religion outweighed the state’s interest for school attendance, and that the values and programs of high school conflicted with the Amish Religion
- IMPACT: became the modern homeschool movement
3
Q
Tinker v. Des Moines
A
1st Amendment—Freedom of Speech; YES 7-2
- Students decided to wear arm bands in order to protest the Vietnam War despite warnings
- RULING: the armbands represented free speech, and that the students did not “shed their constitutional rights” when they went to school, to justify suppression the school would have to prove that it would interfere with the operation of school
- IMPACT: laid foundation of students’ rights on campus
4
Q
Schenck v. U.S.
A
1st Amendment—Freedom of Speech; NO 9-0
- The Espionage Act of 1917 made it illegal to urge resistance to the draft, prohibited distribution of antiwar leaflets; 2 socialists distributed leaflets and stated that it violated the 13th Amendment and urged people to disobey the draft peacefully
- RULING: the Espionage Act was an appropriate exercise of Congress’ wartime authority; courts owed the government more defense even if Constitutional Rights were at stake.
- IMPACT: created “clear and present danger” test; set standard for gov. Restrictions of rights/liberties during wartime; direct incitement test
5
Q
Citizens United v. FEC
A
1st Amendment—Freedom of Speech; YES 5-4)
- The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) was trying to regulate money and campaigns by restricting “electioneering communications” (tried to limit soft money—or $ indirectly contributed to political parties/campaigns), Citizens United tried to publish a video of Hilary Clinton within the 60 days before an election but the FEC stopped them and Citizens United sued.
- RULING: corporate funding or independent political broadcasts in candidate CANNOT BE LIMITED since they limit freedom of speech
- IMPACT: allowed for the creation of Super PACs (Political Action Committees) and the amount of money spent on elections skyrocketed
6
Q
New York Times v. U.S.
A
1st Amendment—Freedom of Press; YES unsigned
- Top secret study commissioned to look at U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War was leaked to the press, NYT and WA Post began to publish it, the government tried to stop them saying it was necessary to protect national security and the C, S, and I
- RULING: government did not overcome all the exceptions to prior restraint and that “national security” was too vague
- IMPACT: reaffirmed the right of the press to be free from prior restraint
7
Q
Gideon v. Wainwright
A
6th Amendment—Right to Jury; YES 9-0
- Gideon brok into a pool hall and charged in FL state court with felony breaking and entering, appeared in court without a lawyer even though it was requested but denied
- RULING: the guarantee of counsel applies to state due to 14th amendment; states must appoint attorneys to those who cannot afford them although defendants can competently and intelligently waive that right.
- IMPACT: right to attorney extended to ALL criminal cases (both state and federal)
8
Q
Plessy v. Ferguson
A
14th Amendment—Equal Protection Clause; NO 7-1
- Stated that “Separate but equal” was constitutional
9
Q
Brown v. Board of Education
A
14th Amendment—Equal Protection Clause; YES 9-0
- Black students were denied attendance to schools since laws allowed public schools to be segregated by race, argued that segregation violated the EPC
- RULING: “separate but equal” facilities are inherently unequal—overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, segregation violated EPC and had a detrimental effect on the education and growth of children
- IMPACT: segregation was unconstitutional and that desegragation should occur with “all deliberate speed” (South interpreted it funny); huge victory for Civil Rights Movement
10
Q
McDonald v. Chicago
A
14th Amendment—Selective Incorporation; YES 5-4
- Chicago had a handgun band which was challenged in D.C. v. Heller (SCOTUS ruled a Washinton D.C. handgun ban violated the 2nd Amendment since D.C. is considered a federal district; McDonald argued that the 2nd Amendment should apply to the states as well
- RULING: 14th Amendment/selective incorporation makes the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms applicable to states
- IMPACT: Selective Incorporation is applied to 2nd Amendment!!!!
11
Q
Baker v. Carr
A
14th Amendment—Equal Protection Clause; YES 6-2
- Tennessee reused borders that were drawn a long time ago which led to unequal representation in the districts (disparity between urban and rural); Baker argued that it was a violation of the EPC since some votes didn’t count/hold the same weight as others
- RULING: EPC issues merited evaluation (the Court was allowed to rule on this) and that each voter’s vote should carry equal weight
- IMPACT: States had to redraw district lines to ensure equal representation; it also created a political question test/doctrine (some issues are either entrusted solely to another branch of government or are beyond the competence of the Judiciary to review)
12
Q
Shaw v. Reno
A
14th Amendment—Equal Protection Clause; YES 5-4
- In North Carolina, 20% of the population identified as Black but the state district map only created 1 majority Black district; NC created another Black district but it was “too wonky” — residents could tell it’s only purpose was to elect another Black representative
- RULING: Even though the map might have seemed neutral, its shape had no other purpose than to separate by race
- IMPACT: Race CANNOT be the predominant factor in creating districts; however, it is still important and can be considered
13
Q
McCulloch v. Maryland
A
Necessary and Proper Clause/Supremacy Clause; YES 6-0
- After the creation of the 2nd Bank of America, Maryland passed a tax on the BotUS; the bank refused to pay and the bank was ruled unconstitutional in the state appeal court
- RULING: NPC gave the Congress not specifically stated in the Constitution to create the bank; MD’s taxation on the bank however, was unconstitutional
- IMPACT: Redefined the NPC and Supremacy of Fed. Law > State Law
14
Q
U.S. v. Lopez
A
Interstate Commerce Clause; YES 5-4
- Lopez brought a firearm onto his high school campus and was charged under Texas law as well as the Federal Law under the Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1990; GFSZA stated that no one could possess a firearm in a school zone; the Act was reasoned under the Interstate Commerce Clause
- RULING: Possession of firearms on school campuses does NOT have a substantial effect on interstate commerce (argued that the possession of firearms in educational environments would lead to crime and would ultimately weaken the national economy, thus placing the issue under the purview of congressional authority to regulate economic issues under the Commerce Clause)
- IMPACT: Limited Congressional power (pushed its limits too much)
15
Q
Marbury v. Madison
A
Article III, Supremacy Clause; YES & NO – Unanimous
- Adams packed the Court with Federalist judges but not all of them recieved their commissions prior to Jefferson taking office (Marbury). Marbury petitioned SCOTUS to make Madison deliver his commission since the Judiciary Act of 1789 authorized him to do so.
- QUESTIONS:
- Does Marbury have the right to commission (YES)
- If so, does SCOTUS have authority to order its delivery (NO)
- RULING: Marbury was entitled to his commission but the Judiciary Act of 1789 was actually unconstitutional since it went against Article III; the Judiciary Act conflicted with the Constitution and due to the Supremacy Clause, Constitution > Law
- IMPACT: Gave SCOTUS the pwoer of Judicial Review (power to determine the constitutionality of laws and actions by the government)
- Precedent: court decisions from the past that will help decide future cases involving similar facts/legal issues (STARE DECISIS)
