LANDMARK SUPREME COURT CASES

APUSH Exam Review

Marbury v. Madison

1803 John Marshall “Midnight

Judges” Judicial Review Established

Fletcher v. Peck 1810 John Marshall First Supreme Court case to rule a state law unconstitutional Yazoo River land case from GA legislature

Protects legal contracts

McCulloch v. Maryland

1819 John Marshall States cannot tax

the federal government Loose Construction Necessary & Proper

Clause

Implied Powers Federalist Influence???

• “the power to tax involves the power to destroy”

• “the power to create implies a power to preserve”

Dartmouth College v. Woodward 1819

John Marshall State of NH wants

to remove trustees from Dartmouth Court rules to

protect University charter b/c it is a contract

Later protects business from state interference but also restricts regulation

Alumnus Daniel Webster reportedly brought tears to Marshall’s eyes with his eloquent words about Dartmouth

Cohens v. Virginia 1821 John Marshall Illegal Lotto tickets sold in

VA The Supreme Court has the

power to review the decisions of state courts.

How does this give more power to the federal government?

Gibbons v. Ogden 1824 John Marshall The “Steamboat Case” – ferry

b/w NY & NJ Congress (Federal Gov’t) held

the right to regulate interstate commerce not individual states.

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia - 1831Worcester v. Georgia - 1832 Both John Marshall Both cases deal

with sovereignty of Indian Tribes in the U.S. Cherokee: Tribes

are dependent nations within the U.S. like a “ward to its guardian"

Worcester: basis for the Trail of Tears in 1838

"John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!“

Alleged words of President Andrew Jackson

Prigg v. Pennsylvania 1842 Roger Taney Fugitive Slave

Case Federal Fugitive

Slave Act takes precedence over a PA law protecting escaped slaves

Dred Scott v. Sanford 1857 Roger Taney Three rulings in

the Dred Scott Case:1.Slaves did not have

rights of citizens 2.Scott had no claim

to freedom b/c he was living in MO

3.MO Compromise was unconstitutional. Why?

Popular sovereignty also unconstitutional

Dred Scott

Plessy v. Ferguson 1896 Melville Fuller Homer Plessy & an

Louisiana Train Car “one drop rule” Est. “separate but

equal” Legalized segregation

in the United States

The Insular Cases 1901 – 1903 Melville Fuller Necessary b/c of what “splendid little

war”? Deals with Constitutional status of

Puerto Rico, the Philippines, & other island territories controlled by the U.S.

Do citizenship & the benefits thereof apply to territorial residents? Full constitutional rights do not automatically apply to residents of newly acquired territories

Does the Constitution follow the flag?

Muller v. Oregon 1908 Melville Fuller Supreme Court upheld Oregon law

limiting the number of hours a woman could work in one day Set precedent that progressive reforms

could effectively target long work hours & poor conditions

Basically overturns Lochner v. New York Lochner v. New York – Court rejects limits on

single day work hours

Schenck v. United States

1919 Edward D. White Socialist Schenck

convicted of violating the WWI era Espionage Act of 1917 Court rules the

circumstances of wartime permit greater restrictions on free speech than would be allowable during peacetime.

• Associate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. “Clear & present danger” majority opinion

Korematsu v. United States 1944 Harlan F. Stone Constitutionality of WWII

Japanese Internment Camps Supreme Court rules Executive

Order 9066 is constitutional b/c the need to protect against espionage outweighed the individual rights, of Japanese Americans.

Similarities to the Schenck case?

The Warren Court Chief Justice Warren

(1953 – 1969) greatly expanded individual freedoms Earl Warren

Brown v. Board of Education, perhaps most significant ruling.

Required criminal courts to provide free legal counsel (Gideon v. Wainwright)

Right to a lawyer during questioning

People must be read their Miranda rights before questioning (Miranda v. Arizona - 1966)

EQ: How did the Warren Court expand the individual rights of American citizens?

Brown v. Board of Education 1954 Earl Warren

Epochal Supreme Court ruling strikes down “separate but equal” overturning Plessy v. Ferguson

Court orders state compliance “with all deliberate speed”

Future Justice Thurgood Marshall argues before the court on behalf of the NAACP

"separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.“ – unanimous decision of the Warren Court

Mapp v. Ohio 1961 Earl Warren

Evidence gained without a legitimate search warrant is not permissible in court 4th Amendment

cited -protection from “unreasonable searches & seizures”

Gideon v. Wainwright 1963 Earl Warren

Per the 6th Amendment, state courts must provide legal counsel in criminal cases for defendants who cannot afford to retain a lawyer.

Miranda v. Arizona 1966 Earl Warren

Criminal suspects must be informed of their “right to remain silent” & the right to an attorney

Any evidence before a suspect is informed of these rights is impermissible

Ernesto Miranda

“Miranda Rights”

Tinker v. Des Moines 1969 Earl Warren Ruling defined

the constitutional rights of students in U.S. public schools Schools can only

limit speech when it is shown to be harmful to the educational process

Tinker siblingsCourt’s ruling leads to the “Tinker Test”

Roe v. Wade Warren Burger 1973 Perhaps the most

controversial Supreme Court case in U.S. History

Ignites religious, moral, & philosophical debates that still occur to this day Ruling disallows

many state restrictions on abortion

Roe v. Wade effectively legalizes most early term abortions in the U.S.

United States v. Nixon 1974

Warren Burger At the height of the Watergate

investigation the Supreme Court rules no person (even the President) is above the law The President cannot claim

executive privilege and withhold evidence that is relevant in a criminal trial.

The Supreme Court rejects President Nixon's claim to "an absolute, unqualified Presidential privilege of immunity from judicial process under all circumstances."

California v. Bakke 1978 Warren Burger In 1978 Allan Bakke

applied to University of California at Davis medical school. The school had a quota – based affirmative-action plan that reserved 16 out of 100 spots for minorities. Bakke sued for

admission arguing that he had been discriminated against based on his race.

In a 5 to 4 ruling the Supreme Court held that quotas were illegal and Bakke was admitted but…race could still be used as one of many factors for admission

Reverse Discrimination???