Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Supreme Court Cases

Multiple Choice

Students at a high school were recently suspended for wearing religious symbols on their clothing. What Supreme Court case could the students use to defend their position?

• Plessy v. Ferguson

• Tinker v. Des Moines

• Bush v. Gore

• Gideon v. Wainwright

​4th Amendment

Exclusionary Rule

• ​This rule holds that if police violate your constitutional rights in order to obtain evidence, they cannot use that evidence against you.

​5th/6th Amendment

​In Miranda v. Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination is not limited to in-court testimony, but also applies when a person is taken into police custody for questioning. The Court also rules that criminal suspects must be told of their Sixth Amendment right to an attorney. Once a person “indicates in any manner that he does not wish to be interrogated,” the police must stop asking questions – even if the person has answered questions up to that point, the Court says.

​6th Amendment

​In Gideon v. Wainwright, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously extends to state court trials the rule it established for federal court trials nearly 30 years earlier in Johnson v. Zerbst: The Sixth and 14th Amendments guarantee indigent defendants the right to have an attorney appointed, at the government’s expense, if they are charged with a serious crime.

​8th Amendment

In Ingraham v. Wright, the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to find that the Eighth Amendment bars punishment of schoolchildren by “paddling.” Based on the amendment’s history and its language, the Court concludes that the amendment applies only to punishment of criminal offenses, not civil offenses such as breaking school rules.

Multiple Choice

This ruling held that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment protection against "unreasonable searches and seizures" must be excluded from criminal prosecutions in state courts, as well as federal courts.

• Mapp v. Ohio, 1961

• Miranda v. Arizona, 1966

• McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819

• Marbury v. Madison, 1803

Multiple Choice

Which court case stated that suspects must be read their rights when arrested or anything said is inadmissible in court?

• Plessy v Ferguson

• Texas v Johnson

• Tinker v Des Moines

• Miranda v. Arizona

Multiple Choice

Which court case expressed that all individuals have the right to an attorney for any criminal charge?

• Lemon v Kurtman

• Gideon v Wainwright

• US v Nixon

• Brown v Board of Ed

Multiple Choice

This Supreme Court case established that states and local districts can decide whether schools can use corporal punishment - 19 states still allow it.

• Ingraham v. Wright

• Tinker v. Des Moines

• Vernonia School District v. Acton

• Westside Community School v. Mergens

Multiple Choice

Which of these incidents led to the New Jersey v. TLO case?

• A school principal censored articles from the school newspaper

• A school district used public transportation to segregate students by race

• School authorities searched a student’s bag without a warrant

• School authorities suspended students for wearing black armbands as a protest

Multiple Choice

Which of these statements best explains why school officials are allowed to search a student’s locker without a search warrant?

• It is illegal for police officers to enter school property

• All constitutional rights are denied to students who are under 21 years of age

• School officials are part of local police departments

• It is considered necessary for protection of other students

Multiple Choice

According to the Supreme Court’s decision in New Jersey v. TLO, a school administrator can legally

• Search the locker of a student who brags about stealing a wallet

• Prevent a student from peacefully expressing an opinion

• Suspend a student without an explanation of the offense

• Prevent a student from performing in a controversial, privately sponsored play

Marbury v. Madison (1803) Argued: February 11, 1803 Decided: February 24, 1803 

In the early 1800s, the Constitution was still very new. There were a lot of questions about what it meant and what powers it gave to the different branches of the government. This was true when it came to the powers of the Supreme Court. Many of the powers the Supreme Court has today, like the power to declare laws unconstitutional, did not yet exist. This case is important because it explains how the Supreme Court got that power.