U.S. Supreme Court Cases

• Here are concise study notes on the U.S. Supreme Court cases provided:

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

• Established judicial review, allowing the Supreme Court to declare a law unconstitutional.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Affirmed that the federal government has the power to establish a federal bank.
• States cannot tax the federal government.

Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

• Ruled that the Bill of Rights applies only to the federal government, not state governments.
• The Fifth Amendment does not apply to the states.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

• Upheld racial segregation laws under the "separate but equal" doctrine.
• Racial segregation did not violate the U.S. Constitution if facilities were equal in quality.

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

• Freedoms of speech and press are fundamental rights protected from impairment by states, via the Fourteenth Amendment.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

• Declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
• Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, stating that "separate but equal" facilities are inherently unequal and violate the Fourteenth Amendment.

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

• Evidence obtained illegally, without a search warrant, is inadmissible in state court criminal prosecutions.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

• Defendants have a right to an attorney, even if they cannot afford one.
• The Sixth Amendment applies to criminal defendants in state court via the Fourteenth Amendment.

NY Times v. Sullivan (1964)

• First Amendment protections limit the ability of public officials to sue for defamation.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

• A married couple has a right to privacy that cannot be infringed upon by a state law banning contraceptives

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

• Established Miranda warnings, informing suspects of their rights:
  • The right to remain silent.
  • The right to consult with an attorney prior to questioning.
  • The right to have an attorney present during questioning.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

• A woman’s right to choose to have an abortion falls within the right to privacy.
• Governments can interfere to some degree depending on which trimester the mother is in.

Bakke v. Board of Regents (1978)

• Racial quotas in college admissions are unconstitutional.
• Colleges can consider race as one factor in admissions decisions.

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

• Flag burning is protected expression under the First Amendment.

Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)

• Upheld the right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade.
• Introduced the "undue burden" standard for abortion restrictions.

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

• Laws criminalizing same-sex sexual conduct are unconstitutional.
• Consensual sexual intimacy between adults is a fundamental right.

Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)

• The Equal Protection Clause does not prohibit using race in university admission plans to promote student diversity.

Morse v. Frederick (2007)

• Schools can limit student speech to maintain safe and non-disruptive environments.

Heller v. District of Columbia (2008)

• The Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms for self-defense in the home.
• The right to bear arms is not unlimited.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

• The Second Amendment applies to state and local governments.
• States and local governments cannot violate an individual's right to bear arms for self-defense.

United States v. Jones (2012)

• Installation of a GPS tracking device on a vehicle without a warrant is an unlawful search under the Fourth Amendment.

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

• Same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses.

B.L. v. Mahoney (2021)

• Public schools cannot discipline students for exercising their free speech rights.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022)

• The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, so states can regulate or ban abortions.
• Overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.