Term
| Marbury v. Madison (1803) |
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Definition
| Adams (Federalist)=midnight judges, President Jefferson denied Marbury a justice of the peace of DC appt. Judiciary Act of 1801 gave court power to give orders to appointees, Court established three principles under the ruling. .Established the Supreme Courts power of judicial review. |
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Term
| Dred Scott v Sanford ( 1857 |
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Definition
| John Emerson, an army surgeon took enslaved Dred Scott to live at military posts in Illinois, a free state in 1834. By living in a state, Scott claimed his freedom. The court ruled that Scott was not a citizen of the US and could not sue in federal court. The court then ruled that taking a person into a free state did not make him free. Thus the case ruled that Congress could not prohibit slavery in US territories and that enslaved Americans and their 1857 descendents were not US citizens. |
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Term
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Definition
| Homer Plessy, 1/8 African-American boarded a LA train and challenged state law by sitting in a “whites only’ section. He was arrested, imprisoned, tried, and found guilty of violating segregation laws. The Plessy case challenged the constitutionality of Jim Crow practices basing the appeal on 13th and 14th ams. The court denied Plessy’s appeal ruling that 14th could not do away with racial distinctions or what we would define as discrimination today. Thus, the “Separate but Equal” doctrine making it ok to segregate based on race was established |
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Term
| Brown v. Board of Educ (1954) |
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Definition
| Linda Brown, all-white school district, board refused to admit her. NAACP took on the challenging the “separate but equal” doctrine. Court very loosely interpreted the Constitution by agreeing unanimously that separation of races “generates a feeling of inferiority” with a huge psychological impact on AA’s and their education. Thus, the court overturned previous “separate but equal” and made segregation illegal according to the “equal protection” clause of the 14th amendment. |
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Term
| West Virginia v. Barnette (1943) |
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Definition
| Jehovah’s Witness, refused to salute the flag. WV law required a salute. SC ruled students may not be forced to pledge allegiance to the flag in school, protected under the 1st and 14th Amendments. |
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Term
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Definition
| 112,000 (70,000 native born) Japanese-Americans sent to relocation centers after Pearl Harbor so the military could keep an eye on them. Korematsu refused to leave his home. SC ruled 6-3 that “hardships are part of war” and cited that many Japanese Amers refused to swear unqualified allegience to the US. Some even went back to Japan. Thus, the SC ruled that the Roosevelt’s executive order to intern Japanese-Americans during World War II was not unconstitutional. |
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Term
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Definition
| Police looking for a fugitive. Mapp refused entry, police later returned with a “warrant”, found no fugitive but found obscene materials. SC upheld the “exclusionary rule” by ruling that evidence to convict was illegally obtained and could not be used. |
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Term
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Definition
| States may not require prayers to be recited in schools even when the prayers are nondenominational and even if students are not required to stay in the room during the prayer. Establishment clause stuff, of course. |
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Term
| Gideon v. Wainright (1963) |
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Definition
| Earl Gideon, arrested for breaking into a poolroom in Panama City. Conducted his own defense, lost, then, from prison, petitioned the SC which overturned earlier Betts v Brady; Upheld the 6th amendment right to legal counsel during a trial for a person accused of any crime, not just capital crime as was previously the case. |
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Term
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Definition
| Disproportionate districts in Alabama. SC ruled “one person, one vote”; unequal representation violated 14th amendment. Required that voting districts be nearly equal in population |
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Term
| Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v US (1964) |
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Definition
| Motel refused to rent its rooms to African Americans. Because the motel solicited guests outside the state, the SC ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requiring it to serve all races was constitutional because Congress had the power to regulate interstate commerce. This is close to another ruling on the same day, Katzenbach v McClung dealing with a Birmingham restaurant that only served AA’s by takeout. Ordered to serve AA’s because discrimination hindered interstate travel. |
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Term
| Miranda v. Arizona (1966) |
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Definition
| Ernesto Miranda arrested and accused of kidnapping and rape. Was not advised of his rights to attorney or remain silent. Signed a confession and sentenced to 20-30 yrs. Appealed to SC which ruled that that police must tell suspects of their 5th and 6th amendment rights when arrested. |
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Term
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Definition
| on probation for stealing a wallet, was taken into custody for making obscene phone calls to neighbor, Parents come home, no Gerald. Police do not notify parents, no formal statement made, etc. SC ruled that juveniles accused of crimes possess the right to due process and legal counsel as protected by the 5th and 6th amendments |
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Term
| Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) |
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Definition
| Vietnam protests, armbands, principal claims the protests are inappropriate. SC ruled students have certain protection of free speech and expression in school |
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Term
| New York Times v. US (1971) |
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Definition
| Daniel Ellsberg, former DOD official, opposed Vietnam and released the Pentagon Papers to the NY Times to make the gov’t look bad. Feds believed it would give away some secrets. The SC Ruled that censorship of newspapers even if it revealed government secrets was unconstitutional unless the gov’t could prove serious and immediate harm to the nation. Court ruled in favor of NYT indicating that the govt had not effectively argued for prior restraint. |
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Term
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Definition
| Watergate, Prosecutors and Senate wanted Nixon’s Oval Office tape recordings. Nixon refused. Court ruled that Presidents can claim executive privilege in cases where national security is involved but could not use it to hide evidence of a crime |
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Term
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Definition
| burned US flag in front of Dallas City Hall in protest of Reagan administration policies. Tried and convicted under Texas law. Sentenced to 1 year and $2,000 fine. 5-4 decision that flag burning is protected under 1st Am mainly because it was a political statement even if the act is offensive |
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Term
| Swann v Charlotte-Meck BOE (1971) |
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Definition
| Charlotte man sued over segregated schools. Did the court have power to ensure that schools were integrating. Yes, the courts could even require busing. Swanns swim to school. |
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