1. Landmark Supreme Court Cases
Chapter 4
Landmark Supreme Court Cases

2. Tinker V. Des Moines Iowa School District (1969)
-Students wore armbands to protest the Vietnam War and were suspended.
-Court ruled that suspensions were unconstitutional, violated the 1st Amendment “akin to free speech”
Tinker V. Des Moines Iowa School District (1969)

3. -Dollree Mapp’s apartment was searched with a search warrant for a gambling operation. Police found illegal pornography and charged her with that instead. (not included in the search warrant)
-Court declared that evidence obtained through improper searches is unconstitutional
Mapp v. ohio (1961)

4. Miranda V. Arizona (1966)
-Ernesto Miranda was arrested for kidnapping, he signed a confession admitting guilt, but police never told him he had the right to remain silent or have an attorney during interrogation. He claimed 5th amendment was violated.
-Court decided a person must be read their rights when in police custody.

5. -Clarence Gideon accused of robbery, didn’t get a court appointed lawyer.
-Supreme Court held that poor defendants have the right to a state-paid attorney under the 6th Amendment.
-(only if punishment is more than 6th months)
Gideon V. Wainwright (1963)

6. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
-Dred Scott, a slave, worked for a doctor, he lived in both slave free and slave zones. When his master died they were in Missouri. He then sued for his freedom since he had lived in free states.
-Supreme Court said slaves were not citizens so he had not case

7. Plessy V. Ferguson (1896)
Homer Plessy challenged “separate but equal” by trying to ride on a whites only train car. He was arrested.
-Supreme Court decided that “separate but equal” doctrine was constitutional

8. Brown v. board of Education of Topeka Kansas (1954)
Schools were separate but equal
Court ruled this concept unconstitutional on grounds of 14th Amendment
Said that the fact that it’s separate makes it unequal
Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson
Brown v. board of Education of Topeka Kansas (1954)

9. Reed v. Reed (1971)
-mother and father of an adopted boy fought over dead son’s estate, court ruled for dad, simply because he was a man
-held that a state law that discriminated against women was unconstitutional

10. Marbury v. Madison (1803)
-President John Adams gave William Marbury a judgeship
-Thomas Jefferson ordered James Madison not to deliver the judges’ commissions
-Marbury sued
-established the most important principle of American Constitutional Law, that the Supreme Court had the final say on what the constitution says, “judicial review”

11. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
US set up a federal bank in Maryland and it gave competition to the bank of Maryland
Maryland passed laws taxing federal bank branches
-James McCulloch, head of the Baltimore federal bank, refused to pay
Court decided that the Maryland tax was unconstitutional and void
Necessary and proper clause gives Congress the power to set up a bank without being taxed.

12. State of New York licensed Robert Fulton and a partner to operate a steamboat monopoly
-they granted a license to Aaron Ogden for a ferryboat monopoly from NY to NJ
-Thomas Gibbons had a ferryboat license from the federal government?
Which license would prevail?
-court ruled that Gibbon’s license trumps Ogden’s because the federal government regulates interstate commerce
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

13. New Jersey v. T.L.O (1985)
-teacher caught a girl smoking, they searched her purse, found rolling papers, marijuana, a pipe, plastic bags, and names of students
Girl said that this was unconstitutional violated her 4th amendment rights
Court said that searches of student’s possessions are constitutional, that “warrant requirement is unsuited to the school environment.”

14. Bakke v. Regents of the University of California
Bakke applied to the University of California and was denied while other minorities were being accepted with lesser credentials
Univ. Calif. Said that they needed to meet a quota
Bakke took it to the Supreme Court, court decided Bakke was right, school could not discriminate to meet a quota if credentials were not the same

15. Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg Board of Education (1971)
Busing students, is it constitutional?
Court ruled that busing was an appropriate remedy for integrating schools

16. Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S. (1964)
-Heart of Atlanta Motel refused to rent rooms to African Americans
-court ruled that because of this was considered interstate commerce it gave the federal government control over this case
-forced motel to rent to African Americans
Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S. (1964)

17. Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986)
A student delivers an inappropriate speech using sexual metaphors
Teacher told him not to do it that it was inappropriate, he did it anyway
School suspended Fraser
Parents filed lawsuit
Court said this was not like Tinker in that it was obscene and offensive, suspension was upheld.

18. -Isn’t this a violation of their rights?
Korematsu v. U.S. (1944)
-Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps during WWII, simply because they were of Japanese descent.
-Isn’t this a violation of their rights?
-Court said that during circumstances of “emergency and peril” this act was constitutional

19. Roe v. Wade (1973)
Texas law prohibited abortions except to save the pregnant woman’s life. Roe sought an abortion and was denied.
Does the Constitution permit abortion?
Court said it fell under right to privacy protected by 14th Amendment
Abortion cannot be made illegal in any state during the first trimester.

20. -In 1989 Congress passed an anti-flag burning act
-was this constitutional?
-Court said no, it was freedom of speech
U.S. v. Eichman (1990)

21. Engle v. vitale (1962)
-State of NY authorized a short voluntary nondenominational prayer at the start of each school day.
-Does this violated the “establishment clause?” (1st amendment)
-Court said yes, teacher led prayer in schools is unconstitutional

22. Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
The state of Georgia had made treaties with the Cherokee nation but was continually violating them. It made white settlers register with the state of Georgia if they were living on Cherokee land. Those who failed to do so were arrested and put into labor camps. Supreme Court ruled that the state of Georgia had no jurisdiction on Native American Reservations. This however was ignored and subsequently many Cherokee were forced off of their land in the trail of tears.

23. Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988)
A school-sponsored newspaper was edited by a principal and some inappropriate articles were deleted. Students said this violated their 1st amendment right to free speech. Court said that because it was school-sponsored it could be censored.
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988)

24. -In 1984 Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag in protest of the Reagan administration’s policies.
-He was arrested and sent to jail for breaking flag desecration law in Texas.
-Supreme Court said Texas law was unconstitutional and violated 1st Amendment of free speech
Texas v. Johnson (1989)

25. Court ruled no, in a time of war certain things can be censored.
Schenck v. U.S. (1919)
Schenck published anti-war pamphlets during WWI. Government censored his publications. Is this a violation of 1st amendment free speech and freedom of the press?
Court ruled no, in a time of war certain things can be censored.

26. Gregg V. Georgia (1976)
Is the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment and therefore a violation of the 8th amendment?
Court ruled no

27. US v Nixon (1974)
President Nixon, who was involved in the Watergate scandal, was asked to turn over Whitehouse taped phone conversations. Nixon refused stating he was President and this was national security. Court ruled that Nixon must turn the tapes over, that no one was above the law, not even the President.

28. -Furman was burglarizing a home, tripped and fell, his gun went off and killed a resident of the home. He was given the death penalty.
-Is this cruel and unusual punishment?
-Court ruled yes, placing a moratorium on the death penalty until state’s rewrote most of their death penalty laws to be more clear on who received the death penalty
Furman v. Georgia (1972)

29. New York times v. U.S. (1971)
-New York Times published the Pentagon Papers
-President Nixon said that this was a violation of National Security to stop printing these papers.
-Court ruled that this was a violation of freedom of the press and New York Times was allowed to print the Pentagon Papers.