Landmark United States Supreme Court Cases

U.S. History & the Constitution CPEnd-of-Course Review

• The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the country.

• Court receives approximately 10,000 petitions each year, butonly grants & hears oral argument in about 75-80 cases.

• Over the years, many cases to date have established a new legal principle, changing the interpretation of an existing law.

- Here are 12 EOC specific landmark cases in Supreme Court history.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

- Case was the result of a petition by William Marbury who was appointed Justice of Peace, but he didn't receive commission.

- He petitioned that James Madison should deliver the documents, but the petition was denied.

- Court ruling: formed the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the U.S. & was the first time in history a court invalidated a law by declaring it unconstitutional.

- The decision helped define the boundary between the constitutionally separate executive & judicial branches.

McCullough v. Maryland (1819)

- In 1818, the state of Maryland passed legislation to impose taxes on the Second Bank of the United States.

- James W. McCulloch, the cashier of the Baltimore branch of the bank, refused to pay the tax.

- Court ruling: Congress had the power to incorporate the bank & Maryland could not tax instruments of the national government employed in the execution of constitutional powers.

- Chief Justice Marshall said Congress possessed legal powers not explicitly outlined in the Constitution & noted that while the states retained the power of taxation, the constitution & the laws are supreme.

- New York state law gave two individuals the right to operate steamboats within state jurisdiction, but required out-of-state boats to pay a fee of navigation rights.

- A steamboat owner challenged the monopoly, forcing him to get a special operating permit to navigate on state waters.

- Court ruling: New York's licensing requirement was found to be inconsistent with a congressional act, & was invalid by virtue of the Supremacy Clause.

- Chief Justice Marshall developed a definition of the word commerce, & gave meaning to the phrase "among the several states" in the Commerce Clause.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

- Georgia law required whites living on Cherokee Indian territory to obtain a state permit.

- Seven missionaries were arrested & sentenced to four years hard labor, followed by exile from Georgia for failing to comply.

- The missionaries stated they didn't seek a state license because they believed their petition would be refused.

- Court ruling: Georgia was not entitled to regulate the Cherokee nor invade their lands = Cherokee won recognition as a distinct political community.

- President Andrew Jackson refused to abide by the Supreme Court decision.

- 1838 = Cherokee “Trail of Tears” (Van Buren administration).

Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)

- Dred was a slave from Missouri that lived in Illinois, an area of the Louisiana Territory where slavery was forbidden.

- When he returned to Missouri, he sued unsuccessfully for his freedom & claimed his residence in a free territory made him a free man.

- Scott's master argued that no one but a citizen of the U.S. could be a citizen of a state & only Congress could discuss national citizenship.

- Court ruling: no person who was an American slave was ever a citizen & could not sue in federal court.

- The court also noted that Congress had no right to ban slavery from U.S. territories.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

- Louisiana law required a separate railway car for blacks & whites.

- Homer A. Plessy (7/8 Caucasian) was arrested for refusing to move from the "whites only" car to the car reserved for blacks. - Court ruling: it upheld state-imposed racial segregation, basing their decision on the separate-but-equal doctrine.

- Separate facilities satisfied the 14th Amendment as long as they were equal. 

- Court conceded the 14th Amendment was intended to establish absolute equality for the races before the law, but segregation itself doesn't constitute unlawful discrimination. 

- By defending the constitutionality of racial segregation, the case paved the way for the Jim Crow laws of the South. 

- During WWI, Schneck circulated pamphlets telling men to avoid the draft.

- The pamphlets were seen as being harmful to the gov’t.

- Schneck said he was able to distribute pamphlets thanks to the 1st amendment.

- Court ruling: Schneck’s freedom of speech was not protected during time of war b/c it could have been harmful to the US.

Schneck v. United States (1919)

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

- World War II: Japanese Americans were compelled to move into relocation camps.

- Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American man, decided to stay in San Leandro, California & knowingly violated U.S. Army exclusion orders.

- He argued that the executive exclusion order was unconstitutional & it violated the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

- He was arrested & convicted.

- No question was raised as to Korematsu's loyalty to the U.S.

- Court Ruling: Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction, & the Supreme Court Court sided with the government, ruling that the exclusion order was constitutional.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954)

- Public schools attended by white children denied admission of black children, citing laws permitting segregation according to race.

- Schools approached equality through buildings, curricula, qualifications, & teacher salaries.

- Court ruling: invalidated racial segregation in schools, & ultimately led to the unraveling of de jure segregation in all areas of public life. 

- Court declared separate but equal had no place in public education, citing there were signs of inferiority. 

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

- Gideon was charged in a Florida state court for breaking & entering, but couldn't afford a lawyer.

- The court refused to appoint an attorney, citing they were only obligated to do so in capital cases.

- Court Ruling: court overturned Gideon's conviction, noting the state's denial to appoint an attorney violated the 14th Amendment's due process clause.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

- Ernesto Miranda was arrested in connection to the kidnapping & rape of an 18-year-old woman.

- After 2 hours of interrogation, Miranda signed a confession, but was never told of his right to counsel, nor of his right to remain silent or his statements could be used against him.

- At trial, Miranda's attorney noted the confession wasn't voluntary & should be excluded.

- An appeal was filed; the AZ Supreme Court that that Miranda didn't request an attorney.

- Court ruling: prosecutors couldn't use statements stemming from interrogation of defendants unless they secure the privilege against self-incrimination.

- The court outlined the necessary actions of police warnings to suspects, which are known today as the Miranda Rights.

- Texas resident Norma McCorvey discovered she was pregnant with her third child & was advised to claim she was raped.

- The plan failed; she attempted to obtain an illegal abortion, but found the unauthorized site was closed down by police.

- McCorvey's attorneys filed suit on her behalf & Attorney Henry Wade represented the State of Texas.

- The district ruled in favor of McCorvey, & the case ultimately legalized abortion.

- Court Ruling: a woman has the right to an abortion without government interference during the first trimester, but states can intervene in the second & third trimesters of pregnancy.

Roe v. Wade (1973)