Supreme Court Major Cases

The Marshall Court ( ) Chief Justice: John Marshall Major Court Cases: Marbury v. Madison (1803) Fletcher v. Peck (1810) Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) Defining Characteristics: Establishment of Court’s role in governmental process Strong Court support for national powers (especially commerce) over states’ rights Use of “Opinions of the Court,” rather than seriatim practice Beginning of systematic reporting of Court opinions Despite the importance of its opinions interpreting the Constitution, the business of the Court continues to involve private law issues (maritime, property, contracts)

Taney and Civil War Courts ( ) Chief Justices: Roger Taney ( ); Salmon Chase ( ); Morrison Waite ( ) Major Court Cases: Munn v. Illinois (1877) Defining Characteristics: Continued assertion of federal power over states (with some accommodation for state police powers) Growing North-South splits on the Court Court showdowns with Congress at the set and conclusion of the Civil War Growth of Court’s caseload, with the majority of post-Civil War cases involving private law issues and war litigation Congress fixes Court size at nine

Conservative Court Eras ( ) Chief Justices: Melville Fuller ( ); Edward White ( ); William Howard Taft ( ); Charles Evans Hughes ( ) Major Court Cases: Schenck v. United States (1919) Gitlow v. New York (1925) Debs v. United States (1919) Schechter Poultry v. United States (1935) United States v. Butler (1933) Weeks v. United States (1914) Defining Characteristics: But for a brief period reflecting progressivism, the Courts of this era tended to protect business interests over governmental police powers Court sets “civil rights” policy of “separate but equal” Congress relieves justices of circuit-riding duty Congress, in 1925 Judiciary Act, gives Court greater discretion over it’s docket Some important construction of Bill of Rights guarantees (protection after WW I) Showdown with FDR over New Deal legislation: Court continues to strike down New Deal leading the president to propose a Court-packing plan

The Roosevelt and World War II Court Eras ( ) Chief Justices: Charles Evans Hughes ( ); Harlan Fiske Stone ( ); Fred Vinson ( ) Major Court Cases: Betts v. Brady (1942) Korematsu v. United States (1944) Defining Characteristics: With the “switch in time that saved the nine” the Court begins to uphold federal regulations under the Commerce Clause, as well as state use of police powers Expansion of rights and liberties, until WW II and ensuing cold war Increases in nonconsensual behavior (dissents and concurrences) among the justices

The Warren Court Era ( ) Chief Justices: Earl Warren Major Court Cases: Yates v. United States (1957) Baker v. Carr (1962) New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) Mapp v. Ohio (1961) Katz v. United States (1961) Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) Miranda v. Arizona (1966) Abington v. Schempp (1963) Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) Defining Characteristics: Expansion of rights, liberties, and criminal justice Establishment of the right to privacy Emergence of Court as national policy maker Continued increase in Court’s docket, with steady growth in the number of in forma pauperis petitions Growth in the percentage of constitutional cases on Court’s plenary docket First black (Thurgood Marshall) appointed to the Court

Republican Court Eras (1969- present) Chief Justices: Warren Burger ( ); William Rehnquist ( ); John Roberts (2005- ) Major Court Cases: Wallace v. Jaffree (1985) Lapides v. Board of Regents of the University of Georgia (2002) University of California Regents v. Bakke (1976) New Jersey v. TLO (1984) Hazelwood School District v. Kahlmeier (1988) NY Times v. United States (1971) United States v. Nixon (1974) Roe v. Wade (1973) United States v. Lopez (1995) Texas v. Johnson (1989) Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986) Defining Characteristics: Attempts in some areas (e.g., criminal law) to limit or rescind Warren Court rulings Expansion of women’s rights, including right to abortion Some attempt to increase state power Legitimacy of limited affirmative action policies Court increasingly called on to resolve intergovernmental disputes, involving separation of powers or the authority of one branch of government over another Appointment of first woman (O’Connor) to the Court Rejected state-imposed term limits for members of Congress Tightened standards for the creation of legislative districts designed to enhance minority representation

Questions 1. What is the name of the case? 2. What year was it decided? 3. What circumstances triggered the dispute? 4. What statute or action triggered the debate? 5. What provision of the Constitution is at issue? 6. What was the outcome? 7. How did the majority reach their decision? 8. What was the social and political environment during the time period when the decision was made?