John Jay 1789 – 1795 Appointed by George Washington
John Marshall 1801 – 1835 The Marshall Court Appointed by John Adams Marbury v. Madison (1803) McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) Worcester v. Georgia (1832) The Marshall Court Appointed by John Adams
CASES ISSUES DECISIONS The Marshall Court: Supreme Court Cases (1803-1824) CASES ISSUES DECISIONS (1803) Marbury v. Madison (1819) McCulloch v. Maryland (1824) Gibbons v. Ogden (1832) Worcester v. Georgia Can the Supreme Court declare a federal law unconstitutional? Declared the right of the Supreme Court to annul a law of Congress. Has Congress power to create a bank? Can the states tax such a structure? Accepted broad “implied” powers of Congress & sovereign power of the federal government. Is a charter to a corporation a contract, & is this beyond control of the state? The Supreme Court limited state powers over individuals & companies & protected contracts. What is “commerce” & to what extent can Congress regulate “commerce”? Enlarged the powers of Congress to control commerce. Is the Cherokee tribe a distinct political entity, separate from the state of Georgia? Native American tribes are distinct political communities in which state laws have no force. Federal Supremacy
CASES ISSUES DECISIONS Supreme Court Cases (1857-1886) CASES ISSUES DECISIONS (1857) Dred Scott v. Sandford Was Dred Scott slave or free? Can a slave sue? Can Congress prevent people from taking slaves into the territories? Scott was a slave, not a citizen, therefore he could not sue. Slaves were property and protected by the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. Held the Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional. (1877) Munn v. Illinois Can states regulate railroads for the benefit of farmers and consumers? States won the right to regulate the railroads. Established the right of the federal government to regulate private industry to serve the public interest. (1886) Wabash, St. Louis, & Pacific Railroad v. Illinois Do states have the power to fix rates on shipments of goods that pass beyond their borders? Restricted state control based on congressional control over interstate commerce. Roger Taney
CASES ISSUES DECISIONS Supreme Court Cases (1895-1904) CASES ISSUES DECISIONS (1895) United States v. E.C. Knight Co. Are holding companies violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act? The Sherman Antitrust Act does not apply to intrastate commerce. After Knight, few suits were filed against “monopolies” for restraint of trade. (1895) In Re Debs Was the conviction of Eugene Debs, who refused to follow a court injunction to end the Pullman Strike legal? The conviction was upheld since the injunction was legal under the Sherman Antitrust Act (power to remove obstacles to interstate commerce.) (1896) Plessy v. Ferguson Was segregation legal? Segregation is legal under the 14th Amendment as long as the facilities provided the races were legal. “Separate But Equal” doctrine. (1904) Northern Securities Co. v. United States Was Northern Securities Co. a violation of the federal antitrust act? The Court ruled that a holding company formed solely to eliminate competition between two railroad lines was a combination in restraint of trade, violating the federal antitrust act.
CASES ISSUES DECISIONS Supreme Court Cases (1904 – 1911) CASES ISSUES DECISIONS (1904) Northern Securities Co. v. United States Was Northern Securities Co. a violation of the federal antitrust act? The Court ruled that a holding company formed solely to eliminate competition between two railroad lines was a combination in restraint of trade, violating the federal antitrust act. (1911) Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States Did Standard Oil violate the Sherman Act? Standard Oil lost, but White, for the majority, managed to amend the language of the Sherman Act such that only "unreasonable" contracts and combinations in restraint of trade would violate the law. Heretofore, the Act made all contracts and combinations in retraint of trade into law violations. In this case, the record shows that the Standard Oil trust was unreasonable.
Supreme Court Cases (1908-1944) ISSUES DECISIONS (1908) Muller v. Oregon Did the hours women worked affect their health? The Court upheld a state law limiting the working hours of women. (1919) Schenck v. United States Was the Espionage Act of 1917 (during World War I) unconstitutional because it violated the First Amendment right to freedom of speech? The Court upheld the Espionage Act of 1917, maintaining that freedom of speech & press could be constrained if “the words used…create a clear and present danger…” (1935) Schechter Poultry Corporation v. United States Did FDR’s New Deal program, the National Industrial Recovery Act, give the president too much discretionary power? The Court ruled that Congress exceeded its authority to delegate legislative powers & to regulate interstate commerce, thus declaring the NRA unconstitutional. (1944) Korematsu v. The balance between government security and the civil liberties of the individual (during World War II). The Court upheld the government’s internment of Japanese citizens because the U.S. was at war, “…feared an invasion…,” and therefore was allowed “…to take proper security measures.”
The Warren Court Earl Warren 1953 – 1969 Appointed by Eisenhower Brown v. Board of Ed. (1954) Watkins v. United States (1957) Mapp v. Ohio (1961) Baker v. Carr (1962) Engel v. Vitale (1962) Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) Escobedo v. Illinois (1964) Miranda v. Arizona (1966) Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) The Warren Court Appointed by Eisenhower
CASES ISSUES DECISIONS The Warren Court: Supreme Court Cases (1954-1962) CASES ISSUES DECISIONS (1954) Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas Was the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson correct? Was segregation legal? (1957) Watkins v. United States The balance between government security and individual rights. (1961) Mapp v. Ohio Privacy versus police powers; warrantless searches (1962) Baker v. Carr Reapportionment and equal protection under the 14th Amendment (voting rights.) Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and ruled that “separation” is inherently unequal. Segregation violated the equal protection guarantee of the 14th Amendment The Court finally denied HUAC the authority to punish uncooperative witnesses who refused to “name names” of former Communist party members, etc. The Court ruled that evidence obtained in violation of the 4th Amendment guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure must be excluded from use at state as well as federal trials. Unequal reapportionment issues could be resolved by federal courts; “One man, one vote” protected by 14th Amendment.
CASES ISSUES DECISIONS The Warren Court: Supreme Court Cases (1962-1964) CASES ISSUES DECISIONS (1962) Engel v. Vitale Does the reading of a nondenominational prayer at the start of the school day violate the "establishment of religion" clause of the First Amendment? (1963) Gideon v. Wainwright Should a poor defendant be guaranteed the assistance of counsel in order to receive a fair trial? Rights of the accused; right to counsel. (1964) Escobedo v. Illinois Do suspects have a right to remain silent? Yes. Neither the prayer's nondenominational character nor its voluntary character saves it from unconstitutionality. By providing the prayer, New York officially approved religion. The Court ruled that state and federal defendants charged with serious crimes must have access to an attorney, at state expense if necessary. The court had already recognized a right to counsel after indictment in Gideon v. Wainwright. Extending that precedent, it interpreted the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of a right to counsel from the moment that someone becomes a primary suspect.
CASES ISSUES DECISIONS The Warren Court: Supreme Court Cases (1966-1969) CASES ISSUES DECISIONS (1966) Miranda v. Arizona Rights of the accused; self-incrimination. (1969) Tinker v. Des Moines Student symbolic speech. In colleges around the country, students were occupying and barricading buildings, holding vigils, and disrupting university procedures; 101 demonstrations in the first 6 months of 1968 alone. The Court ruled that, under due process, suspects in custody, before being questioned, must be informed that they have the right to remain silent, that anything they say may be used against them, and they have the right to counsel. The Court found high school antiwar protests (Vietnam), including the wearing of black armbands, to be protected free speech, holding that students do not shed their freedom of expression “at the schoolhouse gate.”
Warren Burger 1969 – 1986 The Burger Court New York Times v. U.S. (1971) Roe v. Wade (1973) United States v. Nixon (1974) New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985) The Burger Court Appointed by Richard M. Nixon
CASES ISSUES DECISIONS The Burger Court: Supreme Court Cases (1971-1985) CASES ISSUES DECISIONS (1971) New York Times Co. v. United States Freedom of the press versus executive power in the case involving publication of the Pentagon Papers which revealed “…the workings of the government that led to the Vietnam War…” (1973) Roe v. Wade Abortion rights; right to privacy. (1974) United States v. Nixon Separation of powers; confidentiality of presidential communications; executive privilege. (1985) New Jersey v. T.L.O. Students’ 4th Amendment rights. Denied power of the President to halt the publication of news (prior restraint) which violated the 1st Amendment. The Court ruled that the fetus was not a person with constitutional rights; right to privacy in the 14th Amendment’s due process guarantee of personal liberty protected a woman’s right to choose. The Court ruled that the President could not justify an absolute executive privilege of immunity from judicial demands for evidence in a criminal trial. The Court ruled that school officials needed only “reasonable suspicion” (not probable cause) to search students suspected of unlawful conduct.
William Rehnquist 1986 – 2005 Appointed by Ronald Reagan
John Roberts 2005 – Present Appointed by George W. Bush