Supreme Court: Cases To Memorise

Question 1

What was Engel v Vitale (1962)?

Answer 1

• Prayers in public schools are unconstitutional.
• Violated ‘establishment of religion’ clause of 1st Amendment. (The constitutional wall between church and state)

6-1

Question 2

What was Texas v Johnson (1989)?

Answer 2

• Johnson burned flag to protest Reagan administration policies and was convicted under Texas law outlawing flag desecration.
• 5-4, the Court found Johnson’s actions were a form of expressive conduct and had a political nature.
• Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds it offensive/disagreeable.

Question 3

What was FEC v Citizens United (2010)?

Answer 3

• 5-4 along ideology.
• Held under 1st Amendment corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited.

Question 4

What was Burwell v Hobby Lobby Stores (2014)?

Answer 4

• Employers not required to provide healthcare that covers birth control if conflicts with their religious beliefs.
• 5-4 majority along ideology.

Question 5

What was DC v Heller (2008)?

Answer 5

• Overturned ban on handguns in Washington DC.
• Ruled 4-5 along ideology.
• Amendment read to “guarantee an individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation”.

Question 6

What was Carpenter v US (2018)?

Answer 6

• Police cannot search your phone without a warrant.
• 5-4. Roberts & libs.
• Declined extending “third-party doctrine” to cell-site location info.

Question 7

What was Baze v Rees (2008)?

Answer 7

• 7-2 decision, Stevens and Breyer siding with con judges.
• Held that Kentucky’s lethal injection scheme did not violate the 8th Amendment.

Question 8

What was Plessy v Ferguson (1896)?

Answer 8

• Ruled 7-1 that segregation is constitutional, provided it is equal.
• The Court held that state law was constitutional.
• The 14th Amendment intended to establish absolute equality for the races before the law but held separate treatment did not imply the inferiority of African Americans.

Question 9

What was Brown v Board (1953)?

Answer 9

• Overturned unanimously Plessy v Ferguson and paved the way for racial integration.
• Held the “separate but equal” facilities are inherently unequal and violate the protections of 14th Amendment.

Question 10

What was Roe v Wade (1973)?

Answer 10

• In first trimester, the state may not regulate abortion decision.
• In the second trimester, they may impose regulations that are related to maternal health.
• In third trimester, they may regulate abortions or prohibit entirely, so long laws contain exceptions to save health of the mother due to 14th Amendment stating “right to privacy” protecting a woman’s choice.
• The Texas law was challenged. 7-2.

Question 11

What was Obergefell v Hodges (2015)?

Answer 11

• Kennedy & lib 5-4.
• 14th amendment guarantees gay marriage.

Question 12

What was Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt (2016)?

Answer 12

• Upheld Roe v Wade and overturned Texas state regulations on abortions.
• HB2 imposes an undue burden on women seeking a legal abortion, and thus is unconstitutional.
• 5-3, ideology libs & Kennedy.

Question 13

What was US v Nixon 1974?

Answer 13

• Nixon said he was immune from the subpoena claiming executive privilege.
• Court held unanimously that neither the doctrine of separation of powers, nor the generalized need for confidentiality of high-level communications can sustain an absolute, unqualified, presidential privilege.
• They granted there was limited executive privilege in areas of military or diplomatic affairs.

Question 14

What was Clinton v City of New York 1998?

Answer 14

• Ruled the Line-Item Veto Act was unconstitutional as it gave the President power to amend leg passed by Congress.
• Court explained that under the Presentment Clause, leg that passes both Houses of Congress must either be entirely approved (signed) or rejected (vetoed) by the President.

6-3

Question 15

What was Bush v Gore 2000?

Answer 15

• Votes in Florida were close in the 2000 election.
• The Court ruled manually recounting a specific precinct was wrong, and the entire state must be recounted.

2-7

Question 16

What was National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) v Sebelius (2012)

Answer 16

• Court unanimously upheld Obama’s Affordable Care Act requiring Americans to purchase Health Insurance by 2014.
• Roberts ruled that a mandate to buy insurance was an exercise of Congress’ power to collect taxes, and thus Obamacare was passed.

Question 17

What was Shelby County v Holder (2013)

Answer 17

• 5-4 con removed Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act which required states to have preclearance from the federal government before changing voting laws in their states.
• Texas, Mississippi & Alabama passed strict voter photo ID laws, that were previously barred under preclearance.

Question 18

What was Trump v Hawaii (2018)?

Answer 18

• Ruled 5-4 con that EO 13769, which banned travel from certain (predominantly Muslim) countries, was legal.
• The court found the order did not favour or disfavour any religion.

Question 19

What was Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organisation (2022)?

Answer 19

• The majority held that abortion is not a constitutional right as the Constitution does not mention it and its substantive right was not “deeply rooted” in the country’s history, meaning that individual states have the authority to regulate access to abortion.

6-3

Question 20

What case unanimously upheld Obama’s Affordable Care Act, and ruled that a mandate to buy insurance was an exercise of Congress’ power to collect taxes?

Answer 20

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) v Sebelius 2012

Question 21

What case ruled that segregation is constitutional providing it is equal?

Answer 21

Plessy v Ferguson 1896

Question 22

What cases are under the first amendment?

Answer 22

• Engel v Vitale 1962
• Texas v Johnson 1989
• FEC v Citizens United 2010
• Snyder v Phelps 2011
• McCutcheon v FEC 2014
• Burwell v Hobby Lobby Stores 2014

Question 23

What was Fisher v Uni of Texas (2013 & 2016)?

Answer 23

• The University of Texas’ use of race as a consideration in the admissions process did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
• Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion for the 4-3 majority, citing an amicus curiae brief.

Question 24

What was West Virginia v Environmental Protection Agency 2022?

Answer 24

• Court said the Environmental Protection Agency did not have the authority to impose sweeping measures on the regulation of carbon dioxide emissions through the Clean Air Act Biden proposed on the states.

Question 25

What cases relate to Guantanamo Bay?

Answer 25

• Hamdan v Rumsfeld 2006
• Boumediene v Bush 2008

Question 26

What was Hamdan v Rumsfeld 2006?

Answer 26

• Detainees cannot be tried by a military commission, only a court.
• Congress passed the Military Commission Act 2006 to overcome this SC ruling.
  5-4 towards libs

Question 27

What was Boumediene v Bush 2008?

Answer 27

• Detainees have the right to have cases heard in US courts.
• The Military Commissions Act was unconstitutional.
  5-4 (Kennedy towards Libs)

Question 28

What was Arizona v US 2012?

Answer 28

• Arizona demanded immigrants to carry registered documents.
• The court ruled that states may not implement their own immigration laws.

Question 29

What was US v Texas 2016?

Answer 29

• Court issued a 4-4 decision
• The case challenged expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA).
• This challenged Obama’s EO.

Question 30

What was Schuette v Coalition to defend Affirmative Action 2014?

Answer 30

• Held that Michigan’s universities no longer considering race as part of its admissions process does not violate the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.
• This allowed Michigan to get rid of Affirmative Action.
• 6-2, Kagan wasn’t involved due to conflict of interest.

Question 31

What cases relate to campaign finance?

Answer 31

• Buckley v Valeo 1976
• Citizens United v FEC 2010
• McCutcheon v FEC 2014

Question 32

What was Buckley v Valeo 1976?

Answer 32

• Court ruled limiting the amount an individual or PAC could spend on a campaign was against the 1st Amendment.

Question 33

What was McCutcheon v FEC 2014?

Answer 33

• Ruled the limit on donations the 2002 McCain-Feingold set on how much you could spend in a two year election cycle was unconstitutional.

Question 34

What was Allen v Milligan 2023?

Answer 34

• Court striked down a gerrymandered congressional map in Alabama upholding section 2 of voting rights act.
• The majority republican state had diluted black voters by drawing congressional maps that left only one district with a majority black population despite the fact that black voters make up about ¼ of Alabama’s population, and were a majority of 7 states districts.
• Congressional maps shouldn’t be drawn in a racially motivated way.
• Shouldn’t be drawn in a racially motivated way. 6-3, Kavanaugh and Roberts sided with liberals.

Question 35

What was Snyder v Phelps 2011?

Answer 35

• A family accused Westboro Baptist church of defamation, invasion of privacy, and the intentional infliction of emotional distress for displaying signs that said, “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “Fag troops” at Snyder’s funeral.
• The Court affirmed the lower court’s decision
  upholding that the First Amendment shields those who stage a protest at the funeral of a military service member. 8-1