Important Supreme Court Cases The Judicial Branch

Marbury v. Madison, 1803 What: Decision: Incoming President Madison withheld several commissions by Adams. Marbury lost his appointment and went straight to Supreme Court under the Judiciary Act of 1789. Decision: Supreme Court decided against Marbury (4-0) Declared Judiciary Act unconstitutional. Cases must go through proper channels. Supreme Court now has power of Judicial Review to determine if laws and actions are constitutional.

Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 What: Amendment: Decision: Segregation of whites and blacks was everywhere Laws and intimidation limited freedoms of blacks Protesting of segregation led to incident on train between segregated train cars Amendment: 14th Amendment: Segregation violated equal protection and limited African Americans Decision: Judges voted in a 7-1 majority in favor of segregation Supreme Court declared segregated facilities were legal as long as they were offered to both races Established “Separate But Equal” idea

Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 What: Schools were segregated between Whites and Blacks. Oliver Brown’s daughter was forced to walk over an hour to her “Black School.” Sued for the right to attend a white school less than a mile away. Amendment: 14th Amendment: Equal Protection Clause Decision: Supreme Court voted 9-0 in favor of Brown. Officially ended segregation. (Forced Integration) Violated Equal Protection Clause. Segregation was not equal

Korematsu v. United States, 1944 What: Following the attack on Pearl Harbor during WWII, President issued Executive Order 9066. Japanese citizens were forcibly relocated to interment camps for fear of Japanese spies. Frank Korematsu sued citing exclusion of races was unconstitutional. Decision: Supreme Court ruled in 6-3 decision sided against Korematsu. Only confirmed the validity of Executive Orders and decisions.

Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963 What: Amendment: Decision: Gideon was a poor man seen leaving the scene of robbery and break in. Unknown who actually broke in. Lawyers were only provided in Capital Offenses in Florida. Gideon was denied a lawyer. Sued under a petition to the Supreme Court Amendment: 5th Amendment: Right to fair trial 6th Amendment: Right to trial by jury and appointed lawyer 14th Amendment: Equal protection under the law for all citizens Decision: Supreme Court (9-0) voted in favor of Gideon citing all citizens have the right to fair trial and council. Set up the public defender system and all accused of crimes have the right to an attorney.

Miranda v. Arizona, 1966 What: Amendment: Decision: Ernesto Miranda was arrested for sexual assault and kidnapping Questioned for over 2 hours with out knowledge of rights Signed his own confession for police. Sued saying he wasn’t aware of his rights. Police argued that he should be aware of his rights because he was arrested before. Amendment: 5th Amendment: No self-incrimination Decision: In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court sided with Miranda All accused must be made aware of their rights Must be Mirandized: Read your rights

Tinker v. Des Moines, 1969 What: Amendment: Decision: Students protesting the Vietnam War wore black arm bands. School suspended students arguing that it violated the school dress code Students and ACLU sued citing that the dress code violated speech/protest Amendment: 1st Amendment: Argued that freedom of speech, expression and petition was being infringed Decision: In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court sided with Tinker Argued that dress code must show that the issue is causing a classroom disruption. Cannot dress code for mere controversy

New Jersey v. T.L.O., 1985 What: Amendment: Decision: 2 students were smoking in the bathroom Teacher searched bag after finding rolling papers Student confessed to possession of marijuana Sued for unreasonable search Amendment: 4th Amendment: Unreasonable search and seizure Decision: In a 6-3 ruling the Supreme Court sided against TLO saying the search of her purse was reasonable Differentiated between “reasonable suspicion” and “probable cause” Schools only need reasonable suspicion to search students personal property