Supreme Court Cases

Front 1

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Back 1

Watershed case establishing the principle of one-person, on-vote, which requires that each legislative district within a state have the same number of eligible voters so that representation is equitably based on population.

Front 2

Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

Back 2

Decision that limited the application of the Bill of RIghts to the actions of Congress alone.

Front 3

Bradwell v. Illinois (1873)

Back 3

In this case, a woman argued that Illinois's refusal to allow her to practice law despite the fact that she had passed the bar, violated her citizenship rights under the privileges and immunities clause of the 14th Amendment; the justices denied her claim.

Front 4

Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)

Back 4

The Court fashioned the direct incitement test for deciding whether certain kinds of speech could be regulated by the government. This test holds that advocacy of illegal action is protected by the 1st Amendment unless imminent action is intended and likely to occur.

Front 5

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Back 5

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

Front 6

Brown v. Board of Education II (1955)

Back 6

Follow-up to Brown v. Board, this case laid out the process for school desegregation and established the concept of dismantling segregationist systems 'with all deliberate speed'.

Front 7

Brown University v. Cohen (1997)

Back 7

Landmark Title IX xase that put all colleges and universities on notice that discriminatino against women would not be tolerated, even when, as in the case of Brown University, the university had tremendously expanded sports opportunities for women.

Front 8

Chisholm v. Georgia (1793)

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The Court interpreted its jurisdiction under Article III, section 2, of the Constitution to include the right to hear suits brought by a citizen of one state against another state.

Front 9

Civil Rights Cases (1883)

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

Front 10

Clinton v City of New York (1998)

Back 10

The Court ruled that the line-item veto was unconsitutional because it gave powers to the president denied him by the U.S. Constituion.

Front 11

Dred Scot v. Sandford (1857)

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Concluded that the U.S. Congress lacked the constitutional authority to bar slavery in the territories; this decision narrowed the scope of national power while it enhanced that of the states. This case marks the first time since Marbury v. Madison that the Supreme Court found an act of Congress unconstitutional.

Front 12

Fletcher v. Peck (1810)

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The Court ruled that state legislatures could not make laws that voided contracts or grants made by earlier legislative action.

Front 13

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

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The Court upheld broad congressional power over interstate commerce.

Front 14

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Back 14

Granted indigents the right to counsel

Front 15

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Back 15

Supreme Court case that established the Constitution's implied right to privacy.

Front 16

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Back 16

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

Front 17

Martin v. Hunter's Lessee (1816)

Back 17

The Court's power of judicial review in regard to state law was clarified in this case.

Front 18

MuCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Back 18

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 19

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Back 19

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

Front 20

Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)

Back 20

An unsuccessful attempt to challenge Pennsylvania's restrictive abortion regulations.

Front 21

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Back 21

Plessy challenged a Louisiana statute 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 22

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Back 22

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