Important Supreme Court Cases

The Supreme Court was seemingly powerless during the early years of United States government. However, a petition by William Marbury in 1803, changed the judicial branch forever. With the Supreme Court's first declaration of something being unconstitutional, they established the concept of judicial review, which allows courts to oversee and nullify actions of another branch of government, thus promoting checks and balances in American government. Since 1803, the Supreme Court has used its power to shape American society with many landmark decisions.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

William Marbury had been appointed Justice of the Peace in the District of Columbia by President John Adams, but his commission had not been delivered. Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to force Secretary of State James Madison to deliver the documents, but the Supreme Court pronounced the basis for Marbury's claim was unconstitutional.

Chief Justice John Marshall proclaimed, it is the "duty of the judicial department to say what law is". With this decision the principle of judicial review was established and the door was opened for the Supreme Court to make decisions of constitutionality.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1816)

The state of Maryland attempted to impede the operation of a branch of the Second Bank of the United States by imposing a tax on all notes from out of state banks in Maryland. The Court cited the Necessary and Proper Clause in the Constitution, which allowed the federal government to pass laws not specifically stated in the Constitution as long as laws are useful in the furtherance of expressed powers.

This case was fundamental in granting Congress implied powers to implement the Constitutions expressed powers and also stated that a state's actions cannot invalidate constitutional exercises of power.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

The Supreme Court decided that a state cannot grant exclusive rights to navigate in its waters because it breaches Congress' right to regulate interstate commerce. With this case, the Supreme Court emphasized the importance of commerce between states and the technological advancement that enables commerce. Because of this the case is now known as the emancipation proclamation of American commerce.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

As the first Supreme Court case regarding the civil rights of African Americans, Dred Scott v. Sandford has always held a significant importance. Under leadership of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, the Supreme Court ruled that 1.) African Americans were not legal persons and could not obtain proper citizenship in the United States, 2.) the United States Congress had no right to prohibit slavery in expanding western territories, and 3.) slaves were private property could not be taken away from their owners without due process.

The passage of the 13^th Amendment of 1865, which abolished slavery, and the 14^th Amendment in 1868, which granted full rights and citizenship regardless of race, superseded the ruling of the Dred Scott case.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Homer Plessy was arrested in 1892 under the Louisiana Separate Car Act, which stated that African Americans could not ride in the same railroad car as White Americans. The decision was appealed and presented to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896, in which the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation in public accommodations under the doctrine of separate but equal.

Brown v. Board of Education (1952)

Separate but equal remained a standard principle in United States law until the 1954 Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The Supreme Court unanimously agreed segregated public schools denied black children an equal education and Chief Justice Earl Warren stated "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal". This decision was a huge victory for the rising civil rights movement of the time and paved the way for integration of public schools.

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Mapp v. Ohio addressed civil liberties, specifically the rights of accused. Police in a Cleveland suburb received a tip that a suspect in a bombing case and some illegal betting equipment could be found at the home of Dollree Mapp. Officers went to the Mapp household and were denied entry. Soon thereafter more officers came to the Mapp household with a paper they claimed to be a search warrant, but when Mapp asked to see it she was handcuffed for being belligerent.

Police arrested and charged Mapp using evidence they found during their search and when Mapp filed suit against the state of Ohio, the Supreme Court ruled that the 4^th Amendment protected citizens against unreasonable search and seizure and that if evidence obtained violating these terms could not be used in court. This was a landmark case in criminal procedure.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Families of public school students in New Hyde Park, New York complained the school prayer contradicted their religious ideals. These families filed suit and declared the presence of the prayer violated the principles of separation of church and state. The ruling was the first decision that discouraged prayer in public schools, by declaring it unconstitutional for state officials to require the recital of a prayer. In 1963, Abington Township School District v. Schempp, Supreme Court pronounced school sponsored Bible readings in public school were unconstitutional.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Clarence Gideon was arrested and charged for burglary, but upon his appearance in court, too poor to afford a lawyer. The previous court case of Powell v. Alabama, the famous case of the Scottsboro Boys in 1932 established the right of counsel was implied in the Bill of Rights as an essential civil liberty. Betts v. Brady in 1942 modified the right to counsel doctrine, determining that the requirement of a lawyer depended on the circumstances of the case.

Thus, when Gideon asked if the state to provide him counsel the court declared Gideon did not have the right to counsel because he was not charged with a capital offense. Gideon upon incarcerations took suit against Secretary to the Florida Dept. of Corrections L. L. Wainwright and the Supreme Court agreed that his 6^th Amendment had been violated, establishing the requirement of state appointed counsel for defendants unable to afford their own lawyers, regardless of their crime.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Miranda v. Arizona also addresses criminal procedure and civil liberties. Consolidated with Westover v. United States, Vignera v. New York and California v. Stewart, Miranda v. Arizona established safeguards for individuals in police custody. The Supreme Court decided that statements in response to interrogation of a defendant is only admissible at court if the prosecution can show proof that the defendant was informed of the right to consult an attorney and the right against self-incrimination prior to questioning.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1968)

John Ticker, his sister Mary Beth, and their friend Christopher Eckhardt decided to wear black armbands showing peace symbols to their schools in protest of the Vietnam War. The school board having heard rumors of this, passed a policy banning the wearing of armbands to school. The Tinkers and Eckhardt chose to violate the policy and where in turn suspended. With help from the Iowa Civil Liberties Union the Tinker and Eckhardt families decided to file a law suit.

The Supreme Court decided that because the students had not caused a disruption by wearing the armbands that they were constitutionally protected by the 1^st Amendment. In preceding cases, Bethel School District v. Fraser and Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, where the court ruled schools have the right to regulate, for legitimate educational reasons, students' free speech, limiting the Tinker ruling.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Roe v. Wade has remained through recent years one of the most controversial Supreme Court rulings in history. This landmark decision stated that most laws against abortion in the United States, specifically those in Texas where Roe resided, violated the right to privacy. The decision overturned all state and federal laws forbidding or limiting abortion. The Court ruled that a mother may abort her pregnancy for any reason up until the point a fetus reaches viability, explaining viability as the ability to live outside the womb. Roe v. Wade reshaped national politics dividing idealists around the nation into pro-choice and pro-life. The legalities of abortion are still a hot topic in political debate today.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1977)

After two rejections of admission to the Medical School of the University of California at Davis, Allen Bakke, a white male, filed an action in state court for mandatory relief to compel his admission to the university, alleging that the special admissions program operated to exclude him because of his race. The special admissions program operated as a racial quota, in which minority applicants were rated against other minorities.

Bakke's major argument was that if considered for the special program he would've gained admission, but because he was not a minority he could not be included in the special program. The Supreme Court ruled in Bakke's favor, declaring racial quotas for minorities discriminated against non-minority applicants and was therefore unconstitutional.