Supreme Court Cases

Front 1

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Back 1

Watershed case establishing the principle of one person, one 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

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Back 2

Supreme Court 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 US.

Front 3

Bush v. Gore (2000)

Back 3

Controversial 2000 election case that made the final decision on the Florida recounts, and thus determined the result of the 2000 election.

Front 4

Clinton v. City of New York (1998)

Back 4

The Court ruled that the line-item veto was unconstitutional because it gave powers to the president denied him by the US Constitution

Front 5

Miller v. California (1973)

Back 5

Case wherein the Supreme Court began to formulate rules designed to make it easier to regulate obscene materials and to return to communities a greater role in determining what is obscene

Front 6

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

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Concluded that the US 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 1st time since Marbury v. Madison that the Supreme Court found an act of Congress unconstitutional.

Front 7

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

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Incorporated the free speech clause of the 1st Amendment, ruling that the states were not completely free to limit forms of political expressions

Front 8

Gregg v. Georgia (1976)

Back 8

Overturning Furman v. Georgia, the case ruled that Georgia's rewritten death penalty statute is constitutional

Front 9

Griswold v. Conneticut (1965)

Back 9

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

Front 10

Hamdi et al v. Rumsfield (2004)

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The government does not have the authority to detain a US citizen charged as an enemy combatant in the war on terrorism without providing basic due process protections under the 5th Amendment

Front 11

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

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The Court reversed its 1986 ruling in Bowers v. Hardwick by finding a Texas statute that banned sodomy to be unconstitutional

Front 12

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

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Incorporated a portion of the 4th Amendment by establishing that illegally obtained evidence cannot be used at trial

Front 13

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

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Case in which the Court first asserted the power of judicial rewiew in finding that a congressional statute extending the Court's original jurisdiction was unconstitutional

Front 14

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

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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 15

New York Times Co v. US (1971)

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Also called the Pentago Papers case; the Supreme Court ruled that any attempt by the gov't to prevent expression carried "a heavy presumption" against its constitutionality

Front 16

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

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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 17

Roe v. Wade (1973)

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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 18

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Back 18

Court overturned the conviction of a Texas man found guilty of setting fire to an American flag

Front 19

US v. Miller (1939)

Back 19

The last time the Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of the 2nd Amendment; ruled that the amendment was only intended to protect a citizen's right to own ordinary militia weapons

Front 20

US v. Nixon (1974)

Back 20

In a case involving Richard M. Nixon's refusal to turn over tape recordings of his conversations, the Court ruled that executive privilege does not grant the president an absolute right to secure all presidential documents