Supreme Court Cases

Marbury v. Madison, 1803 (4-0)

Established the doctrine of judicial review - first time that the US Supreme Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.

Specifically, the Court held that the provision of 1789 Act that granted the Supreme Court the power to issue a writ of mandamus was unconstitutional. In a more broad scope, this case established that the Supreme Court had the authority (under the Supremacy Clause and Article III) to review legislative or executive acts and find them unconstitutional. Also cemented the Court’s status as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution.

Dred Scott v. Sandford, 1857 (7-2) - denied citizenship to African Americans

Dred Scott was a slave who resided in Illinois (a free state) and in an area of the Louisiana Territory, where slavery was forbidden by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. After returning to Missouri, Scott sued on the grounds that his residence in free territory made him a free man. Scott’s master claimed that no pure-blooded person of African descent and the descendant of slaves could be a citizen in the sense of Article III of the Constitution. The Court decided that no black, free or slave, could claim U.S. citizenship, and therefore blacks were unable to petition the court for their freedom.

Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 (7-1) - upheld “separate but equal” segregation laws in states

First major inquiry into the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection class, which prohibits states from deny “equal protection of the laws” to any person within their jurisdictions. Although the majority opinion did not explicitly state the phrase “separate but equal,” it gave constitutional sanction to laws that were designed to sanction racial segregation by means of separate and supposedly equal public facilities and services for African Americans and whites.

McCulloch v. Maryland, 1919 (7-0) - established the federal government’s implied powers over the states

The U.S. government created the first national bank in 1791, which was contreversial due to competition, corruption, and the public perception that the federal government was becoming too powerful. Maryland attempted to close the Baltimore Branch of the national bank that forced all banks that were created outside of the state to pay a yearly tax. James McCulloch, a branch employee, refused to pay the tax. The State of Maryland sued him,claiming that Maryland had the power to tax any business that resided within its borders nd that the Constitution does not give Congress the power to create a national bank. The Supreme Court determined that Congress has implied powers that allow it to create a national bank, even though it is not explicitly stated in the Constitution, and that Maryland’s taxing of the branches was unconstitutional.

Korematsu v. United States, 1944 (6-3) - supported internment of Japanese Americans and Japanese

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the military feared a Japanese attack on the US mainland and the American government feared that Americans of Japanese descent might aid the enemy, so in 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order forcing many West Coast Japanese and Japanese Americans into internment camps. Fred Korematsu, a Japanese American, avoided interment by claiming to be a Mexican-American, but was later arrested and convicted for violating an executive order. The government argued that the evacuation was necessary to protect the country. The Supreme Court agreed with the government and stated that the need to protect the country was a greater priority than the individual rights of the Japanese and the Japanese Americans.

Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 (9-0) - segregation in public schools is unconstitutional

Linda Brown and her family believed that the segregated school system violated the Fourteenth Amendment and took the case to court. Federal district decided that segregation in public schools was harmful to black children, but because all black schools and all white schools had similar buildings, transportation, and curricula, the segregation was legal. The Browns appealed their case with the Supreme Court, stating that even if the facilities were similar, segregated schools could never be equal to one another. The Court decided that state laws requiring separate but equal schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963 (9-0) - criminal defendants have a right to an attorney even if they cannot afford one

Clarence Earl Gideon had broken into a pool room in Panama City, Florida, but was too poor to afford a lawyer. He asked a judge to appoint one for him, arguing that the Sixth Amendment entitles everyone to a lawyer. The judge denied his request and he was made to represent himself, eventually being charged with breaking and entering and petty larceny. While serving his sentence in prison, he began to study law and handwrote a petition asking the Supreme Court to hear his case. The Court unanimously ruled in Gideon’s favor, stating that the Sixth Amendment requires state courts to provides attorneys  for criminal defendants who cannot otherwise afford counsel.

Roe v. Wade, 1973 (7-2) - women have a constitutional right to an abortion during the first two trimesters

Jane Roe, an unmarried and pregnant Texas resident, wanted an abortion, but Texas law made it a felony to abort a fetus unless “on medical advice for the purpose of saving the life of the mother.” Roe filed a suit against Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, contesting the statute on the grounds that it violated the guarantee of personal liberty and the right to privacy implicitly guaranteed in the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth amendments. The Court recognized constitutional right to privacy that extends to a woman’s right to make her own personal medical decisions (including the decision to have an abortion without interference from politicians).

Miranda v. Arizona, 1966 (5-4) - prisoners must be advised of their rights before being questioned by the police

Ernesto Miranda was arrested after a crime victim identified him, but police officers that arrested him did not inform him of his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination, or of his Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of an attorney. He confessed to the crime, but his attorney later argued that his confession should have been excluded from the trial. The Supreme Court agreed and held that the police had not taken the proper steps to inform Miranda of his rights.

Bush v. Gore, 2000 (5-4) - no recount of the 2000 presidential election was feasible in a reasonable time period

On December 8th, 2000, a local court in the state of Florida forced the city of Pal Beach to manually recount about 10,000 ballots because Florida had issues with their electronic voting machines as well as the manually punched ballots that voters may have not properly punched, which left a large number of ballots that did not reveal who the voter really intended to vote for. George W. Bush argued that the manual recount undermined the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the United States Supreme Court voted in favor of George Bush under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.