1. History of the U.S. Supreme Court
Chapter 16 (part 2)
AP U.S. Government

2. Court’s Roots
Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution creates the U.S. Supreme Court.
Article 3 also grants the ability of Congress to create “inferior courts as Congress saw fit”
Judiciary Act of 1789 helped set the guidelines for our court systems structure and created some guidelines.

3. Judiciary Act of 1789
Set the U.S. Supreme court judges numbers at 6 (later changed to 9 by Congress)
Established a system of federal trial courts with broader jurisdiction, thereby creating an arm for enforcement of national laws within each state.
Created the position of Attorney General (and later Congress added the Solicitor General) To represent the United States in the courts.

4. Jay, Rutledge and Ellsworth Courts (1789-1801)
The first Chief Justice of the United States was John Jay.
Most controversial of the Supreme Court's early decisions was Chisholm v. Georgia, in which it held that the federal judiciary could hear lawsuits against states. Soon thereafter, responding to the concerns of several states, Congress proposed the Eleventh Amendment, which granted states immunity from certain types of lawsuits in federal courts. The Amendment was ratified in 1795.

5. Marshall Court ( )
Landmark case Marbury v. Madison (1803), Marshall held that the Supreme Court could overturn a law passed by Congress if it violated the Constitution, legally cementing the power of judicial review.
Marshall was in the dissenting minority only eight times throughout his tenure at the Court, partly because of his influence over the associate justices.

6. Marshall Court (1801-1835) Other Key Cases:
McCulloch v. Maryland 1819 (National Bank Case)
This created the Necessary and Proper Clause
Gibbons v. Ogden 1824 (Steam boat case)
This created the Commerce Clause
Barron v. Baltimore 1833 (City lawsuit over a wharf)
This stated that the Bill of Rights did not apply to the states.
John Marshall

7. Taney Court (1836-1864) Limited powers of the Federal Government.
Key Cases:
Dred Scott v. Sanford 1857 (stated that blacks “being of an inferior order” could not be a citizen). Also stated that the Missouri Compromise, under which Congress prohibited slavery in certain territories that formed part of the Louisiana Purchase, was unconstitutional.
Roger Brooke Taney

8. Chase, Waite and Fuller Courts (1864-1910)
Key Cases:
Combining 5 different cases creating what was known as the “Civil Rights Cases” (1883)
The Court held that Congress lacked the constitutional authority under the enforcement provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to outlaw racial discrimination by private individuals and organizations, rather than state and local governments.

9. Chase, Waite and Fuller Courts (1864-1910)
Found the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Court under Chief Justice Melville Fuller determined that the equal protection clause did not prohibit racial segregation in public facilities, as long as the facilities were equal (giving rise to the infamous term "separate but equal").

10. White and Taft Courts (1910-1930)
Gitlow v. New York 1925, establishing the doctrine of incorporation, under which provisions of the Bill of Rights were deemed to restrict the states.
During the twentieth century, the Supreme Court held in a series of decisions the Fourteenth Amendment had the effect of applying some (but not all) provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states.

11. Hughes, Stone and Vinson Courts (1930-1953)
The Court continued to enforce a Federal laissez-faire approach, overturning many of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs.
President Roosevelt proposed the Judiciary Reorganization Bill (called the "court-packing bill" by its opponents), which would have increased the size of the Supreme Court and permitted the appointment of additional (presumably pro-New Deal) Justices. The bill, however, had many opponents and was defeated in Congress.

12. Warren Court ( )
Arguably one of the most significant in the history of the Court
Dealt with many social issues that had been avoided or swept under the carpet for decades.
Earl Warren

13. Warren Court (1953-1969) Key Cases:
Brown v. Board of Education (1954), in which the Court unanimously declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional, effectively reversing the precedent set earlier in Plessy v. Ferguson and other cases.
Engel v. Vitale (1962), the Court declared that officially sanctioned prayer in public schools was unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

14. Warren Court (1953-1969) Key Cases:
Abington School District v. Schempp (1963), it struck down mandatory Bible readings in public schools.
Mapp v. Ohio (1961), the Court incorporated the Fourth Amendment and ruled that illegally seized evidence could not be used in a trial.

15. Warren Court (1953-1969) Key Cases:
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) established that states were required to provide attorneys to indigent defendants.
Miranda v. Arizona (1966) held that the police must inform suspects of their rights (including the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney) before being interrogated.
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), which established that the Constitution protected the right to privacy. (known as the birth control law)

16. Burger Court (1969-1986) Key Cases:
Roe v. Wade (1973), which held that there is a constitutionally protected right to have an abortion in some circumstances.
Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), it established the "Lemon test" for determining if legislation violates the establishment clause.
"Miller test" for laws banning obscenity in Miller v. California (1973).

17. Burger Court (1969-1986) Key Cases:
Gregg v. Georgia (1976), holding up the rights of states to have death sentences.
United States v. Nixon (1974), the court ruled that the courts have the final voice in determining constitutional questions and that no person, not even the President of the United States, is completely above law.

18. The Rehnquist Court (1986–2005)
The Rehnquist Court generally took a limited view of Congress's powers under the commerce clause.
Key Cases:
United States v. Lopez (1995) (Gun free zone case)
Texas v. Johnson (1989), which declared that flag burning was a form of speech protected by the First Amendment

19. The Rehnquist Court (1986–2005)
Key Cases:
Grutter v. Bollinger which upheld affirmative action.
Bush v. Gore (2000), which ended election recounts in Florida following the presidential election of 2000.
William Rehnquist

20. Roberts Court (2005 to ??) Key Cases:
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is a U.S. constitutional law case dealing with the regulation of campaign spending by organizations. The United States Supreme Court held that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by a nonprofit corporation.

21. Roberts Court (2005 to ??) Key Cases:
Columbia v. Heller (2008) Supreme Court heard arguments concerning the constitutionality of a District of Columbia ban on handguns. The Supreme Court ruled that "The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.

22. Roberts Court (2005 to ??) Key Cases:
National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius which upheld that the law was within the guidelines of the Constitution since it is simply a tax to pay for healthcare for others. (Obamacare case)
John Roberts

23. Roberts Court (2005 to ??) Key Cases:
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2014), is a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court allowing closely held for-profit corporations to be exempt from a law its owners religiously object to if there is a less restrictive means of furthering the law's interest. It is the first time that the court has recognized a for-profit corporation's claim of religious belief.