Landmark Supreme court cases

1. Landmark Supreme court cases

2. Marbury v. Madison • 1803 • DECISION • Established the concept of Judicial Review: the Supreme court has the final authority to find acts of government unconstitutional

3. New Jersey v. T.L.O. • What happened • 2 students caught smoking in bathroom, sent to VP, asked to open purses, VP found rolling paper used for marijuana, asked students to dump out purses, found money, marijuana, and list of people owing her money • DECISION • Schools are only required to have “reasonable suspicion” to search students • 4th Amendment (1985)

4. Tinker v. Des Moines • What happened • Students wore black arm bands protesting Vietnam War, they were suspended • DECISION • A student does not shed his rights at the door. Black armbands to protest the Vietnam War can be worn since they are not disruptive. • 1st Amendment (1969)

5. McCulloch v. Maryland • What happened • Maryland tried to put a tax on a branch of the Bank of the US • DECISION • A state cannot tax a federal institution • Supremacy Clause (1819)

6. Gibbons v. Ogden • What happened • Ogden had NY state license to ferry people from NYC to NJ, Gibbons also ferried people but had no state license but did have a federal coasting license • DECISION • The Federal government has the power over the state to regulate interstate commerce. Federal ferry license prevails over a State Ferry License (no NY monopoly) • Supremacy Clause (1824)

7. Dred Scott v. Sanford • What happened • Sandford lived in MO (a slave state) took Dred Scott to IL (a free state) and Scott said he was now free • DECISION • States cannot deprive a person of his right to property • 5th Amendment (1857)

8. Plessy v. Ferguson • What happened • Plessy (1/8 of African decent) sat in white only train car, would not move when asked • DECISION • Established the concept of “separate but equal” in public facilities • 14th Amendment (1896)

9. Brown v. Board of Education • What happened • Mr. Brown wanted his daughter to attend the neighborhood school (she was black and the school was for whites) • DECISION • Schools were desegregated. Separate is unequal. Separate but equal has no place • Integrated schools • Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson • 14th Amendment (1954)

10. Korematsu v. United States • What happened • Mr. Korematsu said it is not Constitutional for people of Japanese decent to be forced to move to internment camps • DECISION • Justices ruled for US government saying that times of national hardship and extreme times can allow some individual rights to be taken away • Court upheld the military order presented by the circumstances of WW II – “Pressing public necessity may sometimes justify the existence of restrictions which curtail the civil rights of a single racial group” • 5th Amendment – Due Process (1944)

11. Gideon v. Wainwright • What happened • Gideon charged with crime, at that time in FL lawyers only given for death penalty and insanity cases, he had no money to pay a lawyer and was found guilty • DECISION • All accused persons are entitled to a lawyer, even if they cannot afford one. • Right to Counsel • Person must have counsel provided, regardless of the charges filed against them • Gideon Rule • 6th Amendment (1963)

12. Miranda v. Arizona • What happened • Miranda arrested but not told his right to not confess to the crime, he signed a confession and was convicted • DECISION • A person must be read his or her rights before being arrested. • When Ernesto Miranda was arrested and questioned and signed a confession that listed that he had “full knowledge of his legal rights”, he was not made aware of his rights to counsel and the confession was illegally gained. • 5th Amendment (1966)

13. Mapp v. Ohio • What happened • Police searched Mapp’s house with a fake warrant and found illegal material • DECISION • Illegally obtained evidence cannot be used in court. • Illegal Evidence and Due Process Clause • No illegal search and seizures applied to all states • Before this rule not every state incorporated excluding evidence gained through an illegal search • Exclusionary Rule • 4th and 14th Amendment (1962)

14. Engel v. Vitale • What happened • School board required students to say a prayer at beginning of each day • DECISION • A school cannot require students to pray. This court case upheld separation of church and state. • Establishment Clause • Eliminated prayers in school • Students cannot be forced to recite a prayer because it violates their 1st Amendment right to freedom of religion • 1st Amendment (1962)

15. Texas v. Johnson • What happened • Texas had a law against desecrating the Flag, Mr. Johnson burned a Flag in protest • DECISION • The Government cannot limit a citizen’s right to burn the US Flag • This case protected the rights of individuals to freedom of expression, even if in this case that expression is the burning of the American flag • 1st Amendment (1989)

16. Roe v. Wade • What happened/Decision • A state cannot take away a woman’s right to an abortion • 4th Amendment (1973)

17. Schenck v. US • What happened • Anti-Vietnam leader who urged men to resist the draft • DECISION • Free speech is limited during times of war and 1st Amendment rights are not absolute • 1st Amendment (1919)

18. Regents of the University of California • What happened • A white student was not accepted in to the school and several minority students with lower scores were • DECISION • Schools cant use admissions quotas and admit students solely based on race • 14th Amendment (1978)