Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Marbury v. Madison

• West Virginia Board of Education required all pupils and teachers to salute the flag each day. Any who did not were expelled. Result: Requiring public school children to salute the flag is unconstitutional.
• The Supreme Court was recognized as having the power to review all acts of Congress where constitutionality was at issue, and judge whether they abide by the Constitution. This is Judicial Review
• People with disabilities have same protections from discrimination as minorities
• Political spending by corporations, associations, and labor unions is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment

Plessy v. Ferguson

• Discrimination based on race (segregation) was legal, as long as the separate accommodations are equal
• Congress can do more that what is expressly suggested in the Constitution because of the elastic clause
• It is within the government's power to monitor conversations between U.S. citizens and people in other countries for the purpose of national security.
• Death penalty did not violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. In extreme criminal cases, such as deliberately killing another, the careful use of the death penalty may be appropriate.

Brown v. Board of Education

• Political spending by corporations, associations, and labor unions is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment
• Both children and adults have a right to due process under the 14th Amendment.
• The Court ruled that 6th amendment rights were violated. They reasoned that the period between arrest and indictment was a critical stage at which an accused needed the advice of counsel perhaps more than at any other.
• Ended racial discrimination/segregation in schools - "separate is inherently unequal"

Gideon v. Wainwright

• The Court said the SFUSD was discriminating against students based on their national origin. Without basic English skills, students couldn't participate in or receive a fair public education. The Court added that the California Education Code required students to master English before graduating high school. They said this showed that it was the school's job to help students improve their language skills.
• The Court said the 14th Amendment didn't apply to those born on land that was not under U.S. jurisdiction. The Court said he needed to be naturalized before he could claim to be a citizen.
• You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot pay, the state will provide you one
• This ruling held that schools can search students with reasonable cause. This case lessens the Tinker doctrine and gives school officials greater latitude in disciplining students

Miranda v. Arizona

• It is within the government's power to monitor conversations between U.S. citizens and people in other countries for the purpose of national security.
• Slaves were not citizens and had no Constitutional rights
• 5th Amendment rights when you are detained; must be read rights before being detained or questioned
• This ruling held that schools can search students with reasonable cause. This case lessens the Tinker doctrine and gives school officials greater latitude in disciplining students

Tinker v. Des Moines

• This ruling held that schools can search students with reasonable cause. This case lessens the Tinker doctrine and gives school officials greater latitude in disciplining students
• The Court said the SFUSD was discriminating against students based on their national origin. Without basic English skills, students couldn't participate in or receive a fair public education. The Court added that the California Education Code required students to master English before graduating high school. They said this showed that it was the school's job to help students improve their language skills.
• Ended racial discrimination/segregation in schools - "separate is inherently unequal"
• Allowed students to wear armbands; "civil liberties do not end at the schoolhouse door"

Schenck v. U.S.

• No inciting people to ignore the draft
• The president does not have the power of "executive privilege" to keep things secret if the nation's interests are above those of the president's need for privacy
• Regulating interstate commerce is a power reserved to the federal government
• West Virginia Board of Education required all pupils and teachers to salute the flag each day. Any who did not were expelled. Result: Requiring public school children to salute the flag is unconstitutional.

United States v. Nixon

• Allowed students to wear armbands; "civil liberties do not end at the schoolhouse door"
• The president does not have the power of "executive privilege" to keep things secret if the nation's interests are above those of the president's need for privacy
• You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot pay, the state will provide you one
• A 1989 case in which the Supreme Court struck down a law banning the burning of the American flag on the grounds that such action was symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment.

McCulloch v Maryland

• Congress can do more that what is expressly suggested in the Constitution because of the elastic clause
• Jehovah's Witnesses were being forced to salute the flag in public school. The Court upheld the kids' suspensions. State can require pledge.
• The Court held that Alabama's passage of the prayer and meditation statute was not only a deviation from the state's duty to maintain absolute neutrality toward religion, but was an affirmative endorsement of religion. As such, the statute clearly lacked any secular purpose as it sought to establish religion in public schools, thereby violating the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.
• The Court said the SFUSD was discriminating against students based on their national origin. Without basic English skills, students couldn't participate in or receive a fair public education. The Court added that the California Education Code required students to master English before graduating high school. They said this showed that it was the school's job to help students improve their language skills.

Bush v. Gore

• Not hiring someone solely because they need a religious accommodation violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
• National security is more important than protection of civil liberties
• A divided Supreme Court ruled that the state of Florida's court-ordered manual recount of vote ballots in the 2000 presidential election was unconstitutional.
• Jehovah's Witnesses were being forced to salute the flag in public school. The Court upheld the kids' suspensions. State can require pledge.