Term
Gideon v. wainwright (1963)
Gideon was accused of robbery. He was denied the right to council and was forced to defend himself. Was the court wrong to deny him of council and make him defend himself? |
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Definition
| The court was wrong in making him defend himself. This was a violation of the 6th Amendment (the right to council) and a violation of the 14th Amendment equal protection clause). |
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Term
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
Does the police practice of interrogating individuals without notifying them of their right to council and self incrimination violate the 5th Amendment? |
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Definition
| The court decided that this was a violation of the 5th Amendment. They decided that the police needed to specifically outline the warnings/rights of the accused. |
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Term
Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
In Pennsylvania and Rhode Island the state funds were paying for teachers at non-public schools. Does this violate the 1st Amendment clause of the seperation of church and state? |
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Definition
| Cheif Justice established a three-part lemon test. Direct state aid could not be used for religious instruction. |
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Term
United States v. Nixon (1974)
During the Watergate affair the grand jury used tapes of conversations recorded of Nixon in the Oval office as evidence. Nixon claimed that the evidence couldn’t be used because of executive privilege. |
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Definition
| The court decided their were limits on executive privledge in areas of military or diplomatice affairs. |
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Term
Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
Did the limits placed on electoral expenditures by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, and the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, violate the First Amendment's freedom of speech and association clauses? |
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Definition
| restrictions on individual contributions to political campaigns and candidates did not violate the First Amendment.The limitation on total campaign expenditures did violate the First Amendment. |
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Term
Webster v. Reproductive Heath (1989)
Missouri placed a number of restrictions on abortion. Do those restrictions unconstitutionaly infringe on the right to privacy and equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment? |
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Definition
| The court upheld a Missouri statute that banned the use of public hospitals or other taxpayer supported facilites from performing abortions. |
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Term
Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)
Pennsylvania amended its laws against abortion in 1988-89. This required a 24 hrs. waiting period. Consent from parents, if she is a minor, and consent from husbands. Does this violate the rights of Roe v. Wade? |
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Definition
| Yes. The Roe v.Wade decision upheld in court. This violated the womans right to privacy. |
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Term
Roe v. Wade (1973)
Roe Texas resident wanted an abortion, but Texas law denied it. Does the constitution give a woman the right to terminate a pregnancy? |
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Definition
| The court decided that abortion fell under the privacy clause of the 14th Amendment. The woman received the right to decide to terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester. |
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Term
Dredscott v. Sanord (1856)
Dredscott left his state and fled to a free state. Is a person property? Is a slave free or are they property? |
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Definition
| The court decided that Dredscott was not a free man, he was a slave, and slaves are property. If a slave fled and was caught they must be returned to their owner. |
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Term
Gitlow v. New York (1923 )
Gitlow published a manifesto concerning a socialist form of government. Her property was seized and he was convicted of anarchy. Did New York Violate the free speech clause of the 1st Amendment? |
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Definition
| The manifestos violated the Constitution's 1st and the 14th Amendments. Gitlow was found guilty of clear and present danger. |
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Term
Palko v. Conn (1937)
Palko was tried of 1st degree murder, but convicted of 2nd degree murder and was sentenced to death. Does the section conviction violate the 5th Amendment of double jeopardy? |
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Definition
| Judge Cordozo found him guilty and double jeopardy is not a fundamental right. |
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Term
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
dorlee Mapp was convicted of having adult magazines in her home. Were the confiscated magazines protected by the 1st Amendment? May materials gained during an illegal search by used in court? |
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Definition
| The courts decided that all materials not on a search warrant could not be used for state evidence. |
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Term
Engeil v. Vitale (1962)
Board of alliance regents of New York authorized a short prayer at the beginning of each school day. Does the reading of a generic prayer violate the 1st Amendment establishment of religion clause? |
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Definition
| Yes, the court decided that this is a violation of church and state. Prayer is not allowed in schools. |
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Term
Abington v. Schempp (1963)
Students are required to read the bible and recite the Lord's prayer. Did Penn law and school privacy violate the protection clause and establishment of religion? |
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Definition
| Yes, the school was wrong it encroched on both clauses. |
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Term
Plessy v. Ferguson
Homer Ferguson was 1/8 African American boarded a train and was asked to leave the white car and board on the black car. Was this a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment? |
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Definition
| No, this did not violate the equal protection clause because separate but equal facilities are not a violation. |
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Term
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
Does school segregation violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment? |
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Definition
| Public school segregation violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The following year the court said desegregation had to be done with all deliberate speed. |
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Term
Westbury v. Sanders
There was improper apportionment in the state of Georgia.This meant voting did not matter because the votes did not count evenly. Did this violate the 14th amendment; does everyone’s vote count equally? |
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Definition
| The Supreme Court concluded that the apportionment scheme misrepresented the voters. "No right is more precious...than that of a vote." |
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Term
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Does the Supreme Court have the power to determine if a federal or state law is unconstitutional? |
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Definition
| Yes the Supreme Court can declare any law, federal or state, or policy unconstitutional. This also created another way for the branches government to check one another (checks and balances). |
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Term
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Does the national government have the implied power under the necessary and proper clause to charter a bank and contribute capital to it? If the bank was constitutional could a state tax it? |
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Definition
| John Marshall established that a national bank aided the government in the exercise of its designated powers, and then the authority to set up a bank could be implied. Marshall also determined that a state could not tax the national bank. |
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Term
Shaw v. Reno (1993)
U.S. Attorney General rejected a North Carolina congressional reapportionment plan because it only had one black majority district, so they created a second. Does this violate the 14th amendments equal protection clause? |
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Definition
| Yes. The courts decided that the district reshaping separated voters into different districts based on race |
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Term
Clinton v. City of New York (1998)
A hospital and two health care unions challenged the Presidents cancellation of a provision in the Balance Budget Act of 1997. Did the president violate the presentment clause of article 1 by canceling portions of bills |
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Definition
| Yes the Court concluded, violated the "finely wrought" legislative procedures of Article I as envisioned by the Framers.ston |
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Term
Bush v Gore (2000)
In the 2000 election Florida ordered that every county in Florida must manually recount all the ballots that did not indicate a vote for president. Did Florida Supreme Court violate Article 2 Section 1 Clause 2 of the Constitution? |
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Definition
| The Supreme Court stated that it was unconstitutional for a state to make a new election law. They also stated that the recounting of the ballots was unfair because there was not a set standard. Although the constitution does require that all votes be counted. |
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Term
Zelman v Simmons-Harris (2002)
Ohio set up a scholarship program for Cleveland City School District students. Tuition money could be used toward religious or public schools. Ohio tax payers sued stating that the program violated the Establishment Clause? |
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Definition
| This does not violate the Establishment Clause of the first Amendment. The government only aids in this by individuals deciding which school to go to. The government only gives them the tuition it is up to them where to use it. |
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Term
Ashcroft v. American Civil Libertied Union (2002)
Is the Child Online Protection Act's requirement that online publishers prevent children from accessing "material that is harmful to minors" likely to violate the First Amendment by restricting too much p |
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Definition
| Yes. The court decided that the methods the Child Online Protection Act did not make any requirements that were more effective than others that have been made. If they allowed the COPA to enforce their requirements it would put restraints on what publishers could publish. |
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Term
Lawrence and Garner v. Texas (2003)
Huston police entered into Lawrence’s apartment and saw him engaging in a sexual act with another man (Garner). Police arrested them in violation of the Texas law saying that two persons of the same sex cannot engage i |
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Definition
| Texas law stating two persons of the same sex cannot engage in sexual acts does violate the due process clause."Their right to liberty under the Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government," wrote Justice Kennedy. "The Texas statute furthers no legitimate state interest which can justify its intrusion into the personal and private life of the individual," continued Justice Kennedy |
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Term
Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
The University of Michigan's College of Literature denied two students based on race. The school wanted a diverse range of students. The school mostly excepting African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. Does the Univer |
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Definition
| Yes.Chief Justice Rehnquist wrote, "because the University's use of race in its current freshman admissions policy is not narrowly tailored to achieve respondents' asserted compelling interest in diversity, the admissions policy violates the Equal Protection Clause." |
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Term
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
Barbra Grutter a white female applied to the UNiversity of Michegan Law school. Her application was denied based on race.Does the University of Michigan Law School's use of racial preferences in student admissions violate the |
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Definition
| No. Justice O'Connor wrote, "in the context of its individualized inquiry into the possible diversity contributions of all applicants, the Law School's race-conscious admissions program does not unduly harm nonminority applicants." |
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Term
U.S. v. Lopez (1995)
Alfonzo Lopez brought a gun to school with him. Lopez was arrested on the charge that you cannot bring weapons onto school grounds. The next day state charges were dismissed and federal agents charged Lopez with violating the Gun-Fre |
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Definition
| Yes. The possession of a gun in a local school zone is not an economic activity that might have a effect on interstate commerce. The law is a criminal statute that has nothing to do with "commerce" or any sort of economic activity. |
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Term
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
Bakke applied twice to the University of California and was denied both times. He took his case to California courts and to the Supreme Court. He said that he was not accepted because of him race. D |
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Definition
| No and Yes. Four justices stated that any racial quota system violated the fourteenth Amendment. Four other justices stated that it is constitutionally ok for higher education facilities to use race for criteria to be accepted. |
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Term
Griswald v. Connecticut (1965)
Griswald gave advice and counciling to married couples about birth control. She and her colleges were convicted under Connecticut law stating that it is illegal to council married people on birth control.Does the Constituti |
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Definition
| The right of privacy is not bluntly explained in the constitution. Together, the First, Third, Fourth, and Ninth Amendments, create a new constitutional right, the right to privacy in marital relations. |
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Term
Baker v. Carr (1962)
Baker's suit detailed how Tennessee's reapportionment efforts ignored significant economic growth and population shifts within the state. Did the Supreme Court have jurisdiction over questions of legislative apportionment? |
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Definition
| The Court held that there were no such questions to be answered in this case and that legislative apportionment was a justiciable issue. |
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Term
Schenck v. United States (1919)
Schenck mailed out circulars to draftees warning them not to abide by the government. Schenck was charged with conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act by attempting to cause insubordination in the military and to obstruct |
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Definition
| No. "The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent." |
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