Important Supreme Court Cases
Chisholm v. Georgia (1793) 4 to 1 Chisholm sued Georgia about the state refusing to pay debts from the Amer. Rev. Ruling: States were not immune from lawsuits by individuals (later superseded) Lead to the creation of the 11th Amendment by Congress Marbury v. Madison (1803) 4 to 0 Marbury sues after new Sec. of State Madison refused to deliver appointment Ruling: Marbury, although correct in law, brought case to wrong jurisdiction (Supreme Court not constitutionally given right to oversee such cases, despite a law declaring otherwise – the Judiciary Act of 1789) In ruling, it establishes the right to declare any law unconstitutional, known as judicial review (“the constitution is higher than any law”) McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) 7 to 0 McCulloch refused to pay a tax placed on a branch of the national bank by Maryland Ruling: States have no right to interfere or limit Federal power (supremacy clause). In ruling, the “necessary and proper” clause of the constitution was used because even though a national bank is not mentioned in the document, it does give “economic policy” controls to Congress and not the states. Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) 7 to 0 Gibbons sued after New York State gave exclusive steamship rights to Ogden despite receiving a Federal permit to operate the waters in 1793 Ruling: In favor of Gibbons based on the commerce clause – which the court implied that the Constitution defined transportation as part of commerce Dred Scott v. Sandford (1856) 2 to 7 Dred Scott, a slave from Missouri, sued for his freedom on the grounds that his master had taken him into Illinois and the territory of Wisconsin, both of which prohibited slavery, for extended periods of time. Ruling: Since Dred Scott wasn’t a citizen he had no standing to bring the case (later superseded by the 13th amendment after the Civil War). In addition the Missouri Compromise, which limited slavery, was declared unconstitutional. Ex parte Milligan (1866) 7 to 0 Lambdin Milligan and four others were accused of planning to steal Union weapons and invade Union prisoner-of-war camps and were sentenced to hang by a military court during the Civil War Ruling: Suspension of habeas corpus is unconstitutional when civilian courts are still operating; the Constitution only provided for suspension of habeas corpus if civilian courts are actually forced closed. The Slaughterhouse Cases (1873) 4 to 5 Three similar cases from Louisiana in which the state government sought to centralize the slaughtering of animals in a centralized area of New Orleans. This would put existing butchers out of business by creating a monopoly run by the state. Ruling: The 14th amendment protects the rights of U.S. citizens from the federal government BUT does not establish what a state can define as the rights of a citizen in
that state. This, at least constitutionally, allowed for the growth of big businesses and trusts at the expense of smaller businesses and workers. Civil Rights Cases (1883) 1 to 6 Five similar cases dealing with Civil Rights of African Americans who had sued theaters, hotels and transit companies that had refused them admittance or excluded them from "white only" facilities were lumped together Ruling: Congress lacked the constitutional authority under the enforcement provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to outlaw racial discrimination by private individuals and organizations, rather than state and local governments. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) 1 to 8 Plessy, who was 1/8 African American, sat in the “whites only” cab of a New Orleans streetcar leading to his arrest Ruling: “Separate but equal” discrimination is protected by the Constitution because it doesn’t imply inferiority which would be a violation of the 13th and 14th amendments (later superseded by Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas) Northern Securities Company v. United States (1904) 4 to 5 The first and second largest railroads in the United States sought to combine, essentially creating a monopoly. President Theodore Roosevelt sued the companies using the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in an attempt to prevent the merger from occurring. Ruling: First case in which the good of the country outweighed the good of business by preventing a potentially “dangerous” monopoly in major sector of the American economy. Schenck v. US (1917), Debs v. US (1919), Gitlow v. New York (1925), and Whitney v. California (1927) 0 to 9 All convicted of “anti-American” activities. The first two against the American war effort during WWI, the second two for expressing the violent overthrow of the US government Ruling: Schenck established the “clear and present danger” test which was has been applied ever since to any 1 st amendment case. All cases applied to the “danger” even if only implied. Political action and radical speech were not protected under these rulings (later superseded by Brandenburg v. Ohio). Korematsu v. United States (1944) 3 to 6 Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the FDR issued Executive Order 9066, which gave the military the authority to exclude citizens of Japanese decent from areas “critical to the national defense or vulnerable to sabotage”. Fred Korematsu, a U.S. born college student, refused to report to a Seattle evacuation site and was arrested. Ruling: Need to protect society outweighed the need to protect individual rights. Created the “strict scrutiny” test of a law justified by a compelling government interest, the law is narrowly tailored, and be as least restrictive as possible. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) 9 to 0 Linda Brown had to travel a longer distance despite a school of similar standing (closed to African Americans) was nearby Ruling: Separate but equal schools were unconstitutional as it violated the 13th and 14th amendments. Later expanded to all establishments in Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US (1964) which held that segregation violated the commerce clause in the Constitution
Mapp v. Ohio (1961) 6 to 3 Mapp’s home was searched illegally in pursuit of a bombing suspect. Obscene material was found during the search, possession of which was against Ohio law Ruling: Because the evidence was obtained illegally it was not valid to be used in a criminal trial (known as the exclusionary rule) Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) 9 to 0 Gideon was denied legal representation at his trial, which led to a guilty verdict Ruling: The court ruled specifically that no one, regardless of wealth, education or class, should be charged with a crime and then be forced to face his accusers in court without the guidance of counsel. Gideon was found innocent in his second trial. Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) 7 to 2 Griswold was fined for using contraceptives, against the law in Connecticut Ruling: The court broadened the 1st amendment stating that people had a “right to privacy” and that states had no right to interfere in “marital affairs.” Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 5 to 4 Miranda, who was arrested for robbery, kidnapping, and rape, was interrogated by police during which he confessed to the crime. However, he was never informed of his legal rights before he confessed which were used against him in his trial. Ruling: The court held that the accused had to be made aware of their right to an attorney and their right to remain silent prior to police interrogation. In his retrial, Miranda was found guilty a second time using other evidence. Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) 9 to 0 Brandenburg, a member of the Ku Klux Klan in Ohio, was convicted following a KKK rally in which numerous hateful speeches were made, as well calling for a march on Washington D.C. claiming that the "President, Congress, and Supreme Court, continue to suppress the white, Caucasian, race." He violated Ohio's Criminal Syndicalism statue because he "advocated the duty to perform a crime, sabotage, violence, or terrorism as a means to bring about political reform. Ruling: In favor of Brandenburg, the court overruled the previous standard set in Whitney v. California. "Eminent Lawless Action" must take place in order for free speech to be limited. Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) 7 to 1 Pennsylvania state law passed in 1968 allowed the state to reimburse Catholic schools for teacher salaries and supplies using tax dollars Ruling: Established the Lemon test to decide whether an action violates the Establishment Clause in the Constitution. New York Times v. United States (1973) 6 to 3 The New York Times obtained a copy of a classified Pentagon report regarding the U.S. role in Vietnam and began publishing stories based on “the Pentagon Papers”. The Nixon administration sought to prevent the story from being published, stating that secrecy trumped freedom of the press, particularly given the classified nature of the report. Ruling: The government could not prevent the paper from running the story without showing that it would cause “grave and irreparable danger”. Maintains the right of the media to investigate the government so long as it doesn’t impair the national interest.
Roe v. Wade (1973) 7 to 2 Roe, seeking an abortion, couldn’t receive one because Texas state law prevented doctors from doing so Ruling: Criminalizing abortion violated a women's Fourteenth Amendment right to choose whether to continue a pregnancy. Miller v. California (1973) 5 to 4 Miller used the postal system to advertise obscene material that he was selling through his business Ruling: Created the Miller test to decide whether material could be deemed obscene. Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) 4 to 5 The case involved the University of Calif., Davis, Medical School and Allan Bakke, a white applicant who was rejected twice even though there were minority applicants admitted with significantly lower scores than his. Ruling: A closely divided Court ruled that while race was a legitimate factor in school admissions, the use of rigid quotas was not permissible. Imposed limitations on affirmative action to ensure that providing greater opportunities for minorities did not come at the expense of the rights of the majority. In other words, affirmative action was unfair if it lead to reverse discrimination. Texas v. Johnson (1989) 5 to 4 Protesting President Reagan’s policies, Johnson burned an American flag. Although no one was physically injured or threatened with injury, several witnesses were seriously offended by the flag burning. Ruling: A Texas statute that criminalized the desecration of the American flag violated the First Amendment because it didn’t meet the “clear and present danger test” Bush v. Gore (2000) 5 to 4 During the 2000 Presidential Election, the vote was extremely close in Florida, leading a state mandated recount. Bush was awarded the victory (and therefore the election) but Democratic supporters fought for a manual recount of the ballots in order to challenge (uncounted) discarded votes. Ruling: Any manual recount of votes would be unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment since no statewide standard for counting had been established. (Bush would have won the manual recount using the rules set by the Gore campaign based on the recount done by the Miami Herald and USA Today in 2001). Kelo v. New London (2005) 4 to 5 The city of New London, CT sought to condemn existing property in order to redevelop the waterfront into a residential/commercial area using the principle of eminent domain. Ruling: The court found that if an economic project creates new jobs, increases tax and other city revenues, and revitalizes a depressed (even if not blighted) urban area, it does qualify as a public use and does not violate a person’s Fifth Amendment rights. District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) 4 to 5 In order to battle gangs and crime in Washington, the district’s government passed a law in 1975 that restricted residents from owning handguns (with limited exceptions). Ruling: Clarifies that the 2nd Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for private use.