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Supreme Court Cases

Terms in this set (41)

Marbury v. Madison
Judicial review was established in this 1803 Supreme Court case
McCulloch v. Maryland
the 1819 Supreme Court case, which established the supremacy of the national government over the states, included both enumerated and implied powers of Congress
Barron v. Baltimore (1833)
In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that the Bill of Rights restrained only the national government and not the states and cities
Reynolds v. United States (1879)
a unanimous court, held that the state can punish criminal activity without regard to religious belief. The First Amendment protects religious belief, but it does not protect religious practices that are judged to be criminal such as bigamy
Gitlowv New York
In this case, the Court announced that freedoms of speech and press "were fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from impairment by the states"
Gibbons v. Ogden
the 1824 Supreme Court case which further expanded Congress' power to regulate interstate and international commerce by defining commerce very broadly to incorporate every form of commercial activity
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
The Supreme Court provided constitutional justification for segregation in this case, when it held that segregation in public facilities was not unconstitutional as long as the facilities were substantially equal "separate but equal"
Schenck v. United States (1919)
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes declared that government can limit speech if it provokes a clear and present danger of "substantive evils"
Near v. Minnesota (1931)
The Court has generally struck down prior restraint of speech and press (censorship that prevents publication) although the writer or speaker could be punished for violating a law or someones rights after publication
Powell v. Alabama & Gideon v. Wainwright
In 1932, the Supreme Court ordered states to provide an attorney for indigent defendants accused of a capital crime ( ______ ) and in 1963, the Court extended the same right to everyone accused of a felony ( ______ )
Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp
In both cases, the Court had observed that "the place of religion in our society is an exalted one, but in the relationship between man and religion, the State is firmly committed to a position of neutrality"
Korematsu v. United States (1944)
The Supreme Court upheld the internment as constitutional in this case, but Congress later provided benefits for the former internees (which still have not been distributed)
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
supreme court held that school segregation was unconstitutional
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
the Supreme Court incorporated the exclusionary rule within the rights that restrict the states as well as the federal government
Baker v. Carr (1962)
the Supreme Court ruled that redistricting was a justiciable issue, meaning that courts have jurisdiction over redistricting. The court also ruled that "as nearly as practicable, one man's vote would be equal to another's"
Engel v. Vitale
In 1962 and 1963 , the Court ruled that voluntary recitations of prayers or Bible passages, when done as part of classroom exercises in public schools, violated the establishment clause
New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)
Libel (the publication of statements known to be false that tend to damage a person's reputation) and slander (spoken defamation) are not protected by the First Amendment, but the Court has held that statements about public figures are libelous only if made with malice and reckless disregard for the truth. The right to criticize the government (which the Supreme Court termed "the central meaning of the First Amendment") is not libel or slander
Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States (1964)
was a landmark United States Supreme Court case holding that the U.S Congress could use the Constitution's Commerce Clause power to force private businesses to abide by the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Griswold v. Connecticut
The Supreme Court first referred to the idea that the Constitution guarantees a right to privacy in a 1965 case involving a Connecticut law that forbade contraceptives
Miranda v. Arizona (1966), Dickerson v. U.S (2000)
(_______) set guidelines for police questioning of suspects, whereby suspects must be informed of their constitutional rights. The more conservative Rehnquist Court made some exceptions to the Miranda rulings but the Court in (_______) made clear its continued support for the Miranda ruling
Tinker v. Des Moines School District (1969)
was a decision by the United States Supreme Court that defined the constitutional rights of students in U.S public schools, especially students 1st Amendment rights
New York Times v. United States (Pentagon Papers Case) (1971)
a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the First Amendment. The ruling made it possible for the New York Times and Washington Post newspapers to publish the then-classified Pentagon Papers without risk of government censorship or punishment.
Lemon v. Kurtzman
In 1971, the Supreme Court declared that aid to church related schools must have a secular legislative purpose, cannot be used to advance or inhibit religion, and should avoid excessive government "entanglement" with religion
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
The Supreme Court has consistently maintained that people have an absolute right to believe what they want, but the courts have been more cautious about the right to practice a belief. (but in (_______) the Court did allow Amish parents to take their children out of school after the eighth grade)
Furman v. Georgia (1972)
the Court first confronted the question of whether the death penalty is inherently cruel and unusual punishment. A divided Court overturned Georgia's death penalty law because its imposition was "freakish" and "random" in the way it was arbitrarily applied (particularly with regard to factors such as race and income)
Roe v. Wade (1973)
Justice Harry Blackmun's majority opinion in ( ______ ) followed the practice of medical authorities in dividing pregnancy into three equal trimesters. The decision forbade any state control of abortions during the first trimester; permitted states to allow regulated abortions to protect the mother's health in the second trimester; and allowed the states to ban abortion during the third trimester except when the mother's life was in danger
Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
found that the death penalty is "an extreme sanction, suitable to the most extreme of crimes"
Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a federal law which set limits on campaign contributions. The court also riled candidates can five unlimited amounts of money to their own campaigns
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
the Supreme Court rejected a plan at the University of California at Davis that set aside 16 out of a total of 100 places in the entering class for "disadvantaged groups." The Court objected to the use of quota of positions for particular groups, but the Court said that a university could use race or ethnic background as one component in the admissions procedure
Hazelwood School District v. Kulmeier (1987)
was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, which held that public school curricular student newspapers that have not been established as forums for student expression are subject to a lower level of First Amendment protection than independent student expression or newspapers established (by policy or practice) as forums for student expression
Texas v. Johnson (1989)
When Gregory Johnson set a flag on fire at the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas to protest nuclear arms buildup, the Supreme Court decided that the state law prohibiting flag desecration violated the First Amendment
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989)
A clinic in St. Louis challenged the constitutionality of a Missouri law that forbade the use of state funds or state employees to perform abortions, but the Court upheld the law in (_______)
Oregon v. Smith (1990)
determined that the state could deny unemployment benefits to a person fired for violating a state prohibition on the use of peyote, even though the use of the drug was part of a religious ritual. Although states have the power to accommodate otherwise illegal acts done in pursuit of religious beliefs, they are not required to do so
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
In 1992, the Court changed its standard for evaluating restrictions on abortion from one of "strict scrutiny" of any restraints on a "fundamental right" to one of "undue burden" that permits considerably more regulation
United States v. Lopez (1995)
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals. It held that while Congress had broad lawmaking authority under the Commerce Clause, the power was limited, and did not extend so far from "commerce" as to authorize the regulation of the carrying of handguns, especially when there was no evidence that carrying them affected the economy on a massive scale
Miller v. California
In 1966, Congress passed the Communication Decency Act, banning obscene material and criminalizing the transmission of indecent speech or images to anyone under 18 years of age. The new law made no exception for material that has serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific merit as outlined in (________). In 1997, the Supreme Court overturned this law as being overly broad and vague and a violation of free speech
Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
the Court struck down the University of Michigan's system of undergraduate admissions in which every applicant from an underrepresented racial or ethnic minority group was automatically awarded 20 points of the 100 needed to guarantee admission
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004)
case in which the Court reversed the dismissal of a habeas corpus petition brought on behalf of Yaser Esam Hamdi, a U.S citizen being detained indefinitely as an "illegal enemy combatant." The Court recognized the power of the government to detain enemy combatants, but ruled that detainees who are U.S citizens must have the ability to challenge their enemy combatant status before an impartial judge
District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)
was a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects an individuals right to possess a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home and within federal enclaves
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations and unions
McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that determined whether the Second Amendment applies to the individual states. The Court held that the right of an individual to "keep and bear arms" protected by the Second Amendment is incorporated by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and apllies to the states. The decision cleared up the uncertainty left in the wake of District of Columbia v. Heller as to the scope of gun rights in regard to the states
THIS SET IS OFTEN IN FOLDERS WITH...