APUSH Review – Supreme Court Cases

Marbury v Madison (1803) Established judicial review - Supreme Court determines constitutionality of laws

Fletcher v Peck (1810) Sanctity of contracts; [the Yazoo land cases/1803]

Dartmouth College v Sanctity of contracts Woodward (1819)

McCulloch v Maryland (1819) States cannot tax the federal government; "the power to tax is the power to destroy;" confirmed the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States

Cohens v Virginia (1821) Right of the Supreme Court to review state court decisions in criminal cases

Gibbons v Ogden (1824) Affirmed the authority of the Congress to regulate interstate commerce

Worcester v Georgia (1832) Upheld Cherokee autonomy, but was ignored by Jackson

Commonwealth v Hunt (1842) State supreme court decision; labor unions are legal

Scott v Sanford (1857) Declared the Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional under the 5th Amendment right to property; Denied standing for slaves

Ex parte Merryman (1861) an attempt to counter federal violations of habeas corpus during the Civil War

Ex parte Milligan (1866) During war a civilian can only be held under military legal authority if there is an absence of civil authority

Texas v White (1869) Nature of the Union, Constitution does not provide for secession

Munn v Illinois (1877) Upheld Grange laws

Civil Rights cases of 1883 Legalized segregation with regard to private property

Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific State Grange laws that regulated interstate commerce unconstitutional Railway Co. v Illinois (1886)

Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Found that Grange law regulations were violations of 5th Amendment right to Paul Railroad Co. v Minnesota property (1890)

Pollock v The Farmers’ Loan Declared the income tax under the Wilson-Gorman Tariff to be and Trust Co. (1895) unconstitutional

In Re Debs (1895) Upheld the right of the court to make an injunction in a labor strike.

U.S. v E.C. Knight Co. (1895) Due to a narrow interpretation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Court undermined the authority of the federal government to act against monopolies

Plessy v Ferguson (1896) Legalized segregation in publicly owned facilities on the basis of "separate but equal"

"Insular Cases" (1901) Confirmed the right of the federal government to place tariffs on goods entering the U.S. from U.S. territories on the grounds that "the Constitution does not follow the flag"

Northern Securities Co. v U.S. Re-established the authority of the federal government to fight monopolies (1904) under the Sherman Antitrust Act

Lochner v New York (1905) Declared unconstitutional a New York act limiting the working hours of bakers due to a denial of 14th Amendment rights Muller v Oregon (1908) ("Brandeis Brief") Recognized a 10-hour work day for women laundry workers on the grounds of health and community concerns

Hammer v Dagenhart (1918) Declared the Keating-Owen Act (a child labor act) unconstitutional on the grounds that it was an invasion of state authority

Schenck v U.S. (1919) Declared that the 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech was not absolute; free speech could be limited if its exercise presented "a clear and present danger"

Adkins v Children’s Hospital Declared unconstitutional a minimum wage law for women on the grounds (1923) that it denied women freedom of contract

Gitlow v U.S. (1925) Ruled that the provisions of the Bill of Rights applied to the states in their ability to limit those rights. Allowed laws that criminalized advocating violent rebellion.

Schechter v U.S. (1935) Declared the National Recovery Act unconstitutional because Congress gave legislative powers to the President

U.S. v Butler (1936) Declared the AAA unconstitutional because it was based on a discriminatory tax

Korematsu v U.S. (1944) Court upheld the constitutionality of detention camps for Japanese during the Second World War

Ex parte Endo (1944) Court forbid the internment of Japanese-American born in U.S. (Nisei)

Brown v Board of Education Declared "separate but equal" unconstitutional of Topeka (1954)

Baker v Carr (1962) Allowed judicial intervention in re-apportionment cases

Gideon v Wainwright (1963) Extended to the defendant the right of counsel in all state and federal criminal trials

Escobedo v Illinois (1964) Affirmed the right to counsel before questions

Griswold v. Connecticutt Invalidated a state law prohibiting the use of contraception by married couples (1965)

Miranda v Arizona (1966) Court required that those subjected to in-custody interrogation be advised of their constitutional right to an attorney and their right to remain silent

Roe v. Wade (1973) Established a woman's right to abortion services based on her right of privacy

U.S. v Richard Nixon (1974) Court rejected the President’s claim of an absolutely unqualified privilege against any judicial process

Webster v. Reproductive Allowed states to prohibit the use of public employees, facilities, and funds for Health Services (1989) abortion services and counseling

Texas v. Johnson (1989) Court ruled that flag buring was an expression covered under the First Amendment

Planned Parenthood v. Casey A plurality decision. The Court upheld the State's 24 hour waiting period, (1992) informed consent, and parental notification requirements, holding that none constituted an undue burden

* Court cases in bold are those you must memorize; the others are suggested cases to know.