Court Cases Flashcards
(20 cards)
What was the significance of Marbury v. Madison (1803)?
Created judicial review, allowing the Court to strike down laws that conflict with the Constitution.
What did McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) confirm?
Confirmed implied powers (Necessary & Proper Clause) and barred states from taxing the federal government.
“The power to tax is the power to destroy.”
What authority did Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) grant Congress?
Gave Congress exclusive authority over interstate commerce, curbing state monopolies.
What was the ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)?
Held that enslaved persons and their descendants could not be citizens; struck down the Missouri Compromise.
What did Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) uphold?
Upheld state-mandated segregation under the doctrine of ‘separate but equal.’
What test did Schenck v. United States (1919) introduce?
Introduced the ‘clear-and-present-danger’ test; speech that poses a real threat loses First-Amendment protection.
What did Korematsu v. United States (1944) approve?
Approved Japanese-American internment, showing deference to political branches on national security.
What was the outcome of Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?
Rejected Plessy and declared segregated public schools ‘inherently unequal,’ launching modern civil-rights litigation.
What did Mapp v. Ohio (1961) apply?
Applied the exclusionary rule to the states; illegally seized evidence can’t be used in state courts.
What right did Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) guarantee?
Guaranteed state-funded counsel for felony defendants who cannot afford a lawyer.
What requirement did Miranda v. Arizona (1966) establish?
Required police to give Miranda warnings before custodial interrogation; statements are inadmissible without a knowing waiver.
What did Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) protect?
Protected student symbolic speech; students don’t shed their rights at the schoolhouse gate unless it substantially disrupts class.
What did New York Times v. United States (1971) bar?
Barred prior restraint of the Pentagon Papers; imposed a heavy burden on government to censor the press.
What right did Roe v. Wade (1973) recognize?
Recognized a woman’s qualified right to terminate pregnancy under the Due Process ‘right to privacy.’
What limitation did United States v. Nixon (1974) impose?
Limited executive privilege; the president must comply with judicial subpoenas in criminal cases.
Regents of U.C. v. Bakke (1978) significance
Struck down rigid racial quotas but allowed race as one plus factor in admissions.
Foundation of affirmative-action doctrine.
Texas v. Johnson (1989) ruling
Flag-burning is protected symbolic speech; governments can’t ban expression just because it offends.
United States v. Lopez (1995) impact
First modern case to curb the Commerce Clause; Gun-Free School Zones Act exceeded congressional power.
Bush v. Gore (2000) outcome
Stopped Florida’s recount; equal-protection concerns decided the presidential election.
Citizens United v. FEC (2010) decision
Lifted limits on independent corporate and union spending in elections as protected political speech.
