Major Supreme Court Cases

Front 1

Marbury v. Madison

(1803)

Back 1

Supreme court case in which the Court first asserted the power of judicial review in finding that a congressional statue extending the Court's original jurisdiction was unconstitutional.

Front 2

McCulloch v. Maryland

(1819)

Back 2

Supreme Court upheld the power of the national government and denied the right of a state to tax the bank. The Court's broad interpretation of the necessary and proper clause paved the way for later rulings upholding expansive federal powers.

Front 3

Gibbons v. Ogden

(1824)

Back 3

The Court upheld broad congressional power over interstate commerce.

Front 4

Civil Rights Cases

(1875)

Back 4

Name attached to five cases brought under the Civil Rights Act of 1875. In 1883 the Supreme Court decided that discrimination in a variety of public accommodations, including theaters, hotels, and railroads, could not be prohibited by the act because it was private and not state discrimination.

Front 5

Plessy v. Ferguson

(1896)

Back 5

Plessy challenged a Louisiana statue requiring that railroads provide separate accommodations for blacks and whites. The Court found that separate but equal accommodations did not violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

Front 6

Brown v. Board of Education

(1954)

Back 6

U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that school segregation is inherently unconstitutional because it violates the 14th amendment's guarantee of equal Protection; marked the end of legal segregation in the United States.

Front 7

New York Times Co. v, Sullivan

(1964)

Back 7

Supreme Court decision ruling that simply publishing a defamatory falsehood is not enough to justify a libel judgment. "Actual malice" must be proved to support a finding of libel against a public figure.

Front 8

Miranda v. Arizona

(1966)

Back 8

The 5th Amendment requires that individuals arrested for a crime must be advised of their right to remain silent and to have counsel present.

Front 9

Roe v. Wade

(1973)

Back 9

The Supreme Court found that a woman's right to an abortion was protected by the right to privacy that could be implied from specific guarantees found in the Bill of Rights and the 14th amendment.

Front 10

United States v. Nixon

(1974)

Back 10

There is no constitutional absolute executive privilege that would allow a president to refuse to comply with a court order to produce information needed in a criminal trial.

Front 11

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha (1983)

Back 11

Legislative veto ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.