Supreme Court Cases: Marbury v. Madison & Citizens United

Controversial Supreme Court Decisions

• The Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade demonstrated a perspective on rights not explicitly stated in the Constitution.

Marbury v. Madison

• John Adams appointed Federalist judges before Thomas Jefferson took office to impede Jefferson's agenda.
• Jefferson instructed James Madison to withhold the remaining judicial commissions.
• William Marbury sued, demanding his commission be delivered.
• Chief Justice John Marshall established judicial review, allowing courts to invalidate unconstitutional laws.
• The Constitution is actual law
• The legitimacy of Marshall's reasoning is still debated among legal scholars.

Citizens United

• The ruling centered on the question of free speech versus the influence of wealthy special interest groups.
• Citizens United, a conservative non-profit, wanted to air a film critical of Hillary Clinton before the 2008 Democratic primary.
• The Supreme Court struck down restrictions on corporate spending for political campaigns in a 5-4 decision.
• Dissenting Justice John Paul Stevens argued it undermined self-government by allowing undue corporate influence.
• Republican Senator Mitch McConnell supported the decision as a restoration of First Amendment rights.
• President Barack Obama claimed it opened doors for unlimited special interest money in politics.

Lochner v. New York

• The case concerned the state's power to regulate maximum work hours for businesses.
• Bakery owner Joseph Lochner was charged for violating a New York law limiting bakers' work hours.
• Lochner argued the law infringed upon the freedom to contract for labor, protected by the 14th Amendment.
• The Supreme Court sided with Lochner, stating the law interfered with individual liberty to contract.
• Justice Holmes dissented, arguing the majority imposed a specific economic theory on the Constitution.
• Lochner era: The Supreme Court invalidated multiple statutes regulating working conditions.
• Connected to Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), which struck down a federal law regulating child labor.

District of Columbia v. Heller

• Washington D.C. passed Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975.
• The act effectively banned individual gun ownership.
• The Supreme Court affirmed individuals' right to own guns in 2008, striking down D.C.'s handgun ban and safety rules.
• Followed by a 2010 ruling that the right to bear arms is enforceable against the states.
• In 2022, the Court affirmed the right to possess pistols in public.
• New York City Mayor Eric Adams condemned the decision, saying it makes everyone less safe.

Miranda v. Arizona

• Established the requirement for the Miranda warning: informing suspects of their rights.
• Ernesto Miranda was convicted of kidnapping and rape based on a confession during interrogation.
• Miranda's lawyer argued the confession was involuntary because Miranda wasn't informed of his rights.
• The Supreme Court favored Miranda based on the Fifth Amendment's self-incrimination clause.
• 2022 ruling in Vega v. Tico Police can't be sued for failing to administer the warning, as it's a requirement for evidence, not a constitutional right.

Bush v. Gore

• The 2000 presidential election was extremely close, hinging on the results in Florida.
• George W. Bush led Al Gore by a small margin, triggering a machine recount.
• Bush's margin was reduced after the machine recount.
• Gore demanded manual recounts in select counties.
• The Supreme Court halted the recount, arguing different counties had different counting standards.
• Justice Antonin Scalia asserted posing "irreparable harm" to Bush
• The court declared the recounts violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.

Obergefell v. Hodges

• Marked a significant step in the fight for same-sex couples' rights.
• 1986: The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a law against sodomy in Georgia.
• 1996: Congress's Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages.
• 2003: The Supreme Court overturned its ruling on sodomy laws.
• 2013 (United States v. Windsor): Struck down section 3 of DOMA.
• Obergefell v. Hodges: Required all states to recognize same-sex marriages.
• Texas Senator Ted Cruz called the ruling "illegitimate and lawless."

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

• Reconstruction era: Congress abolished slavery and passed acts to protect African Americans' rights.
• 1883 Civil Rights Cases: The Supreme Court ruled that Congress couldn't outlaw racial discrimination by private individuals.
• 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson: The court decided that segregation was constitutional if facilities were equal.
• 1954 Brown vs board - The Surpreme Court Overturned Plessy vs Ferguson, ruling against segregation in public schools.
• Faced intense resistance from white residents, particularly in the Deep South.

Roe v. Wade

• Addressed the divisive issue of abortion rights in the U.S.
• Plaintiff Jane Roe sued District Attorney Henry Wade, challenging Texas's anti-abortion laws.
• The right to privacy includes the right to abortion.
• Regulation was permitted to protect a pregnant person's health from the second trimester and prenatal life in the third.
• In 1992, the trimester framework shifted to fetal viability at 24 weeks.
• 2022: the 6-3 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was extremely controversial.

Dred Scott v. Sanford

• The Supreme Court's ruling is considered one of its worst decisions.
• Dred Scott, an enslaved man, argued he was freed because his owner took him to territories where slavery was illegal.
• The court ruled against Scott, stating the Constitution didn't grant citizenship to people of African descent.
• Chief Justice Roger Taney: Enslaved African Americans weren't citizens of the United States.
• Chief Justice Roger Taney: struck down the Missouri Compromise.
• The decision pleased slave-holding states but angered others, contributing to the American Civil War.

Explore landmark Supreme Court decisions like Marbury v. Madison, which established judicial review, and Citizens United, concerning corporate spending in elections. Understand the historical context, legal arguments, and ongoing debates surrounding these controversial rulings and their impact on American law and politics.