1. Important Supreme Court Cases
The Judicial Branch

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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