1. Landmark Decision Cases

2. What kind of cases does the U.S. Supreme Court hear?

5. Marbury v. Madison, 1803   Established judicial review-right of the Supreme Court to declare laws and actions of local, state and national governments unconstitutional

6. McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819

7. Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824  S.C. ruled Congress DOES have the right to REGULATE OR CONTROL interstate and foreign commerce  Used elastic clause, Article 1, Section 8

8. Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896   upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation even in public accommodations under the doctrine of " separate but equal ".

9. Brown v. Board of Education 1954  Overturned the “separate but equal doctrine” established in Plessy v. Ferguson  “began de-segregation of schools  14 th Amendment

11. Clarence Gideon ( Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963   ruled state courts are required under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution to provide counsel (a lawyer) in criminal cases for defendants who are unable to afford their own attorneys.

12. Ernesto Miranda ( Miranda v. Arizona, 1963   right against self- incrimination prior to questioning by police (protected by the 5 th Amendment)

13. Mary Beth and John Tinker Tinker v. Des Moines Iowa, 1969   Students do have freedom of speech ( symbolic ) rights under the 1 st Amendment

14. New Jersey v. T.L.O., 1985   “ Probable cause ” v. “ reasonable suspicion”   School officials do not need a search warrant as long as search is deemed “reasonable”   4 th Amendment

15. Mapp v. Ohio (1963)   “ Exclusionary Rule ”   Evidence obtained illegally can not be used in court   4 th and 14 th Amendment Dollree Mapp

16. “Good Faith Exception” Rule   If there is a legitimate or honest “mistake” made, courts will sometimes allow the evidence to be used

17. Dr. Sam Sheppard ( Sheppard v. Maxwell, 1966   Case examined the rights of freedom of the press as outlined in the 1st Amendment when weighed against a defendant's right to a fair trial as required by the 6th Amendment   Defendants have a right to a fair trial with impartial jury

18. Texas v. Johnson, 1989   Burning the American flag is protected by the 1 st Amendment- the act is considered “ symbolic speech”

19. Bush v. Gore, 2000   Stopped the re- counting of ballots during the Bush/Gore 2000 election in Florida- allowed George W. Bush to win the election in Florida and the PRESIDENCY

20. Minersville School District v. Gobitis, 1940  S.C. ruled that students must stand and recite the pledge of allegiance-1 st Amendment freedom of religion ( free exercise clause ) is not protected

22. West Virginia v. Barnette, 1943  Oops…we made a mistake! Three years later S.C. ruled making students stand and recite Pledge of Allegiance DOES violate the free exercise clause of 1 st Amendment (reversed West Viginia v. Barnette )

23. Clinton v. New York, 1998   Supreme Court ruled the line-item veto is unconstitutional- violates separation of powers

24. New York Times v. Sullivan, 1964   The First Amendment, as applied through the Fourteenth, protected a newspaper from being sued for libel in state court for making false defamatory statements about the official conduct of a public official, because the statements were not made with knowing or reckless disregard for the truth.

26. Barron v. Baltimore, 1833   S.C. ruled the Bill of Rights DOES NOT extend to the States  State governments are not bound by the Fifth Amendment's requirement for just compensation in cases of eminent domain

27. Gitlow v. New York, 1925   Oops…we made a mistake again… S.C. ruled that 1 st amendment is protected because of 14 th amendment-1 st time S.C. ruled Bill of Rights applies to the states   Though the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from infringing free speech, the defendant was properly convicted under New York's criminal anarchy law for advocating the violent overthrow of the government, through the dissemination of Communist pamphlets

28. Roe v. Wade, 1973   Texas law making it a crime to assist a woman to get an abortion violated her rights-based on the right to “privacy” implied by the 14 th and 9 th amendment

30. Baker v. Carr, 1962   The reapportionment of state legislative districts is not a political question, and thus is federal courts CAN hear cases   Remember, for many years S.C. refused to hear state reapportionment cases because they said it was a “state” issue

31. Wesberry v. Sanders, 1963   Constitution requires members of the House of Representatives be selected by districts composed, as nearly as is practicable, of equal population. Article 1, Section 2   14 th Amendment-Equal Protection Clause

32. Wisconsin v. Yoder, 1972   The Wisconsin Compulsory School Attendance Law (students have to go to school until they are 16 years old) violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment because required attendance past the eighth grade interfered with the right of Amish parents to direct the religious upbringing of their children..

33. U.S. v. Nixon, 1974 The Supreme Court does have the final voice in determining constitutional questions; no person, not even the President of the United States, is completely above law; and the president cannot use executive privilege as an excuse to withhold evidence that is 'demonstrably relevant in a criminal trial

34. Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)   Persons of African descent cannot be, nor were ever intended to be, citizens under the U.S. Constitution

35. Clinton v. Jones, 1996   The Constitution does not protect the President from civil litigation involving actions committed before he entered office.

36. Clinton v. Jones, 1997  Can you sue a “sitting” President?  Paula Jones sued U.S. President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment. Eventually, the court dismissed the lawsuit, before trial on the grounds that Jones failed to demonstrate any damages. However, while the dismissal was on appeal, Clinton entered into an out-of-court settlement by agreeing to pay Jones $850,000

37. U.S. v. Lopez, 1995   Possession of a gun near school is not an economic activity that has a substantial effect on interstate commerce. A law prohibiting guns near schools is a criminal statute that does not relate to commerce or any sort of economic activity.   Interpretation of “Commerce Clause,” Article I, Section 8