Court Cases

Front 1

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

Back 1

Landmark SCOTUS case concerning the constitutionality ofexecutive order 9066, which ordered Japanese-Americans into internment campsduring World War II. In a 6-3 decision, the court sided with the government, rulingthat the exclusion order was constitutional.

Front 2

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

Back 2

Unanimous decision declaring “separate but equal “unconstitutional

Front 3

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Back 3

Evidence illegally gathered by the police may not be used in atrial. Created the “exclusionary rule”.

Front 4

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Back 4

There may not be prayer in public schools

Front 5

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Back 5

Extends to the defendant the right of counsel in all stateand federal criminal trials regardless of their ability to pay

Front 6

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

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The court ruled that those subjected to in-custody interrogation be advised of their constitutional right to an attorney and their right to remain silent. Created "Miranda rights"

Front 7

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

Back 7

Although the First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press, it was long possible for government officials to silence the press by filing lawsuits over stories that carried inaccuracies, even if the inaccurate statements occurred by mistake. In 1962 LB Sullivan, a city commissioner in Montgomery Alabama, filed a libel suit against the New York Times for publishing an advertisement alleging misdeeds by the Montgomery police. Although the descriptions of the police actions were in accurate, the Supreme Court ruled in the New York Times versus Sullivan that the first amendment protects even untruthful stories about the government and government officials, unless the stories are written or published with "actual malice"-that is, with knowledge of the story's falsity or reckless disregard for the likelihood that it is false

Front 8

New York Times v. United States (1970)

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The ruling made it possible for the New York Times and Washington Post newspapers to publish the then classified Pentagon papers without risk of government censure. The court held that the government did not overcome the "heavy presumption against" prior restraint of the press in this case.

Front 9

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Back 9

The court legalized abortion by ruling that state laws could not restricted during the first three months of pregnancy. Based on the fourth amendment rights of a person to be secure in their persons

Front 10

Bakke v. Regents of the University of California (1978)

Back 10

Quota systems are not constitutional, but affirmative action programs that use race as criteria for overall mission are okay

Front 11

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

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There may not be a law to ban flag-burning

Front 12

Oregon v. Smith (1990)

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Determined that the state could deny unemployment benefits to a person fired for violating a state prohibition on the use of peyote, even though the use of the drug was part of the religious ritual.

Front 13

Boy Scouts v. Dale (2000)

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A private organization may ban gays from its membership

Front 14

Bush v. Gore (2000)

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This decision stopped the recount of votes in Florida in the contested 2000 US presidential election. A majority of justices found that continuing to recount votes in selected counties would violate the 14th amendment "equal protection clause" for voters in the rest of the state, so ordered the recount to stop. This resulted in the George W. Bush presidency.

Front 15

Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Boullinger (2003)

Back 15

Numerical benefits cannot be used to admit minorities into college, but race can be a "plus factor" in making those decisions. Involved U of M's affirmative action policy.

Front 16

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

Back 16

State law may not ban sexual relations between same-sex partners.

Front 17

Roper v. Simmons (2005)

Back 17

If then the execution of prisoners for crimes they committed as minors, ruling that these executions violated the eighth amendment ban on "cruel and unusual punishment". The courts decision was influenced by international law as well as a 1958 president that "evolving standards of decency" can change the application of the eighth amendment.

Front 18

Van Orden v. Perry (2005)

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This ruling determined that a monument engraved with 10 Commandments and placed outside the Texas State Capitol did not constitute an establishment of religion and thus not violate the separation of church and state. On the same day, the court ruled in McCreary County versus ACLU that it was unconstitutional to display the text of the 10 Commandments inside a courthouse.

Front 19

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

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This decision overturned a DC handgun ban, that the second amendment protects individuals right to bear arms for self-defense, and those rights were not restricted to individuals serving in a state run militia. Dick Heller was a private security guard who brought the case before the court after hearing about Adrian Plesha, a homeowner who was arrested for owning the pistol he used to shoot a burglar he caught in his house

Front 20

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

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Citizens United is a conservative nonprofit that have produced a documentary critical of Hillary Clinton during the 2008 primaries, which the FEC had regulated as in "electioneering communication", spending on which by corporations or unions was restricted. This ruling held that the First Amendment prohibits the restriction of these expenditures, opening the door to unlimited campaign spending by so-called super PACs.