United States Supreme Court Scavenger Hunt

(You will find answers on P.792-797)

Place the Case title and year on the line provided!

1. This court decision ruled stated that “Native American nations were a distinct people with the right to have independent political communities and that only the federal government had authority over matters that involved the Cherokee.” President Andrew Jackson later responded to Chief Justice John Marshall, “He has made his decision now let him enforce it”. This led to the removal of the Cherokee from their native lands.

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2. This Supreme Court decision established one of the more important principles of American Constitutional Law. The Supreme Court held that it is the Court itself that has the final say on what the Constitution means. This is what is known today as Judicial Review. This means that the Supreme Court can decide if any of the branches of government has violated the Constitution.

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3. The Supreme Court held that a person in police custody cannot be questioned unless told that: 1) he or she has the right to remain silent, 2) he or she has the right to an attorney (at the government expense if the accused is unable to pay), and 3) anything the person says after stating that he or she understand these rights can be used as evidence of guild at trial. These rights have become known as the Miranda Warning. This warning will protect the accused from unknowingly give up their Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

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4. The Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation of public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. In other words, nothing can make racial segregated public schools equal under the Constitution because the very fact of separation marks the separated race as inferior. This court decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision and desegregated public schools in the United States.

______5. This court case challenged restrictive abortion laws in states such as Georgia and Texas. The Supreme Court ruled that females have the Constitutional right to decide whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. This decision legalized abortions in the U.S.

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6. The Supreme Court held that poor defendants in criminal cases have the right to a state paid attorney under the Sixth Amendment.

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7. In the late 1800’s an African American man was arrested for sitting on an all whites section of a rail car. This gentleman appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court stating that it was against his Constitutional rights to be separated due to his race. The Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment’s clause required only equal public facilities for the two races, not equal access to the same facilities. This decision created the “separate but equal doctrine” that dominated the U.S.

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8. The Supreme Court decided this case before the 14th Amendment had been added to the U.S. Constitution. The Court held that enslaved African Americans were property, not citizens, and thus had no rights under the Constitution. This case stated that “once a slave always a slave” and overturned the Missouri Compromise which outlawed slavery in areas of the U.S. This ruling forced all freed slaves to be returned to their owners in the Southern states thus leading the nation closer to Civil War.

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9. This case involved the taxation practices of the state of Maryland. To combat high inflation of the period the U.S. had created national banks across the nations. One state unparticular was Maryland. The state of Maryland began to tax the federal banks in the state. One Federal Bank branch manager refused to pay the tax and was taken to court. The Supreme Court ruled that the Maryland tax on Federal institutions was unconstitutional. This expanded the federal government’s authority over state governments. The Supreme Court ruled that the “necessary and proper “clause of the Constitution allowed Congress to pass laws that will help it to achieve its duties. ______

10. This court case involved state powers v. federal powers. The case was brought to the Supreme Court to decide who had the authority to regulate trade in the state of New York. One man had a license to operate his steam boat in international waters from the federal government and his opponent had a license to operate from the state of New York. The Supreme Court made a clear decision that the Constitution granted Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce. Prior to this decision it was thought that states could close their boarders to trade. After the decision it was clear that the state could only regulate trade within its borders but only Congress can regulate trade between states.

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11. During the Vietnam War students at a school in Iowa wore black armbands to protest the war. The administration of the school suspended all students who were involved in this protest stating the students were not following a dress code the school had adopted banning armbands days earlier. The Supreme Court decided that the students could wear the armbands since clothing is considered a form of speech that there first amendment protected their actions. The Supreme Court stated “it can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights of freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” It ruled that the students could not be suspended for wearing black armbands to protest the war in Vietnam.

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12. During WWII Congress decided that thousands of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast were a threat to national security and sent to internment camps in California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas. The prison-like conditions had cramped living spaces and poor food for the Japanese Americans. The case was brought before the Supreme Court based on the fourteenth amendments equal protection of the laws clause. The Supreme Court upheld the decision of Congress deeming the internment camps necessary and proper after the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

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13. This court case involved censorship of a document known as the Pentagon Papers by President Nixon. The New York Times began publishing the document that reported on government actions in Vietnam. After the president ordered the document to not be printed the New York Times took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court decision upheld the doctrine of prior restraint. Prior restraint protects the press from government attempts to block publication.

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14. This court decision ruled for the thirst time that the death penalty amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. The Court explained that the existing death penalty laws did not give juries enough guidance in deciding whether or not to impose the death penalty. This decision halted all execution in all states that still used the death penalty as a form of punishment. Since the decision these states have rewritten their death penalty laws to meet the new requirements set by the Supreme Court.

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15. This court decision made it clear that the president was not above the law. The Supreme Court held that only those presidential conversations and communications that relate to performing the duties of the office of president are confidential and protected from a judicial order of disclosure. The Supreme Court ordered the president to give up incriminating tapes. After this decision the president resigned from office.

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