SCOTUS Paragraphs

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McCulloch v. Maryland

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Congress started a Bank of the United States and one of the banks was put in a state.  The state was not happy about that, so they taxed the bank.  The head of the bank refused to pay the tax, so Maryland took him to court.  The Constitutional Components argued by the head of the bank were the Supremacy Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the state argued the 10th Amendment.  The head of the bank won the case, and this case established the implied powers of Congress and protected Congress’ power to pass laws if they are Necessary and Proper.

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Schenck v. U.S.

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Congress passed the Espionage Act of 1917 that made it a crime to do anything that was seen as dangerous or disloyal to the country.  A man did not want to be forced to fight in WWI and didn’t think other men should be either, so he mailed thousands of fliers telling men how to dodge the draft for WWI.  He was convicted of violating the Espionage Act, so he sued saying sending the fliers was his 1^st Amendment Right to Freedom of Speech.  The court ruled for the United States because they said our right to free speech is NOT absolute and we cannot use dangerous speech that could hurt others or our country.  This established the “clear and present danger” test, which says that the Constitution does not protect speech that incites violence or chaos (ex: yelling fire in a crowded movie theatre).

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Brown v. Board of Education

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An African American girl wanted to go to school at the whites only school, but she was not allowed to because the schools were segregated.  He family sued the school district arguing that segregation goes against the Equal Protection Clause from the 14th Amendment.  The family won the case, and the court said separate but equal was not Constitutional and ended segregation in all schools.

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Baker v. Carr

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After WWII, many people moved from rural farming areas to the cities.  In Tennessee, however, they did not redraw the congressional districts when that happened, so a man from the city sued a state official because he was denied his 14^th Amendment Right to Equal Protection because he was receiving unequal representation in the larger city he lived in.  He won the case, and it clarified that no single vote should be more powerful than another one – known as “one man, one vote.”  This also allowed the Supreme Court to be able to rule on legislative redistricting.

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Engel v. Vitale

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A school official said a prayer over the intercom each day in school.  The students were not forced to say the prayer (it was voluntary) but everyone had to listen to it each day.  The prayer was approved by the state school board, so some parents sued the president of the school board because they said it violated their student’s 1^st Amendment Right to Freedom of Religion – specifically the Establishment Clause.  The Establishment Clause prevents the government from establishing (starting) an official religion and prohibits the government from favoring one religion over another.  The parents won the case, and the court said school-sponsored prayer is unconstitutional so school officials cannot lead prayer in schools.

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Gideon v. Wainwright

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A homeless man was arrested for committing a crime.  He couldn’t afford a lawyer, so when he went to court and asked the judge to provide him with a lawyer because the 6^th Amendment says you have the right to a lawyer.  The judge said states did not have to do that, so he lost his case and was sentenced to jail.   The man took the case to the Supreme Court and argued he was not given his 6^th Amendment Right to a Lawyer and 14^th Amendment Due Process rights.  He won his case, and this incorporated the 6^th Amendment of the Constitution to all states. 

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Tinker v. Des Moines I.S.D.

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Students decided to protest a war by wearing black armbands with peace signs on them to school, but the school suspended them from school.  The parents sued the school district because they said their children’s 1^st Amendment Freedom of Speech rights were violated.  The students won the case, and it gave students the right to free speech (both verbal and symbolic) in school unless it is illegal, against the school rules, or interrupts the learning environment. 

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New York Times v. U.S.

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Congress passed the Espionage Act of 1917 that made it a crime for anyone to share government secrets to hurt the United States or help another country.  A government official illegally copied classified reports and shared them with a newspaper, who printed them in the newspaper.  The President told his people to order the newspapers to stop printing the classified reports, but they printed them anyway and got in trouble.  The newspaper sued the U.S. government because they said they were violating their 1^st Amendment right to Freedom of the Press and that the President was overstepping what he was allowed to do according to Article II of the U.S. Constitution.  The newspaper won the case, and the court said freedom of the press is very important in this country and said that the government cannot restrict the freedom of the press with prior restraint. 

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Wisconsin v. Yoder

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A group of Amish and Mennonite (religions) families stated their religious beliefs led them to want to stop their children’s education after 8^th grade (the age of 14) even though students must go to school until they are 16.  The families pulled their students out of school anyway, so the state took them to court.  The case was appealed to the Supreme Court because the families said forcing their children to go to school even though it was against their religion took away their 1^st Amendment Right to Freedom of Religion – Free Exercise Clause and the 14^th Amendment – Due Process Clause.  The family won the case, and the court said leaving school early was not a big enough issue to take away someone’s freedom of religion.  This incorporated the Free Exercise Clause to the states and required states to give a reasonable cause for limiting the religious practices of their citizens.

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Shaw v. Reno

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After the census in 1990, North Carolina drew new congressional districts so that two of them were purposely drawn (gerrymandered) so most people in the district were African Americans.  Some white voters from the district sued because they said that it went against both the 14^th Amendment Equal Protection Clause and the 15^th Amendment (the right to vote cannot be denied based upon your race).  The white voters won the case because the court said drawing districts ONLY based on the race or ethnicity of a person is unconstitutional.  This case also provided majority groups with Equal Protection rights, just like minority groups.