Supreme Court Cases

1803-- Marbury vs. Madison- the Supreme Court declares that it has the power of judicial review and exercises it. This is the first case in which the court holds a law of congress unconstitutional.

1824-- Gibbons vs. Ogden-the Supreme Court defines Congress's power to regulate commerce, including trade between states and within states if that commerce affects both states.

1833-- Barron vs. Baltimore-Supreme Court rules that Bill of Rights applies only to actions of the federal government, not to the states and local governments.

- John Barron was co-owner of a profitable wharf in the harbor of Baltimore. As the city developed and expanded, large amounts of sand accumulated in the harbor, depriving Barron of the deep waters which had been the key to his successful business. He sued the city to recover a portion of his financial losses.
- Issue: Does the Fifth Amendment deny the states as well as the national government the right to take private property for public use without justly compensating the property's owner?
- Decision: The Court announced its decision in this case without even hearing the arguments of the City of Baltimore. Writing for the unanimous Court, Chief Justice Marshall found that the limitations on government articulated in the Fifth Amendment were specifically intended to limit the powers of the national government. Citing the intent of the framers and the development of the Bill of Rights as an exclusive check on the government in Washington D.C., Marshall argued that the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction in this case since the Fifth Amendment was not applicable to the states.
- effect: the Bill of Rights applies only to the national government, not the states. Between 1880 and 1924, the Court rejected incorporation in 9 occasions, and stuck by the Barron rule.


1857-- Dred Scott vs. Sandford-Supreme Court denies that African Americans are citizens even if they happen to live in a "free state".

1865-- Thirteenth Amendment is ratified. Slavery is not allowed in the United States.

1868-- Fourteenth Amendment is ratified. All people born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens.

1896-- Plessy vs. Ferguson. Supreme Court uphelds a state law based on "separate but equal" facilities for different races.

1914-- Weeks vs. United States. Supreme Court establishes that illegally obtained evidence, obtained by unreasonable search and seizure, cannot be used in federal trials.

1925-- Carroll vs. United States. Supreme Court allows searches of automobiles without a search warrant under some circumstances.

1925-- Gitlow vs. New York. Supreme Court rules that freedom of speech and freedom of the press are protected from state actions by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Facts: Benjamin Gitlow was convicted in the Supreme Court of New York for having published and circulated, unlawfully, pamphlets and leaflets detrimental to the government. These advocated overthrowing organized government by violent and other unlawful means. Gitlow appealed the case through the Appellate Division and Court of Appeals of the New York system.
- Issue: Does the New York State Criminal Anarchy statute contravene the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?
- Decision: No. (vote 7-2) Reason: There is no absolute right to speak or publish, without responsibility, whatever one may choose. A state in the exercise of its police power may punish those who abuse this freedom by utterances inimical to the public welfare. Utterances such as the statute prohibited, by their very nature, involve danger to the public peace and to the security of the state. The statute was not arbitrary or unreasonable.
- This case has long been regarded as a "landmark" decision because here for the first time the Court held portions of the "Bill of Rights" applicable to the states by means of the Fourteenth Amendment. (incorporation!!!)
- By considering the case, they established incorporation. Henceforth, the court examines whether the individuals rights have been violated.


1931-- Near vs. Minnesota. Supreme Court rules that liberty of the press and of speech are safeguarded from state action.

1938-- United States vs. Darby Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act to regulate many aspects of employment including minimum wages, maximum weekly hours, and child labor. Corporations which engaged in interstate commerce or produced goods which were sold in other states were punished for violating the statute.
Question Presented

Was the act a legitimate exercise of Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce?

Conclusion

The unanimous Court affirmed the right of Congress to exercise "to its utmost extent" the powers reserved for it in the Commerce Clause. Relying heavily on the Court's decision in Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), Justice Stone argued that the "motive and purpose of a regulation of interstate commerce are matters for the legislative judgment . . . over which the courts are given no control." Congress acted with proper authority in outlawing substandard labor conditions since they have a significant impact on interstate commerce.

1947-- Everson vs. Board of Education. Supreme Court rules that government attempts to impose religious practices, the establishment of religion, is forbidden to the states.

1954-- Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. Supreme Court holds that segregation on the basis of race(in public education).

1958--NAACP vs. Alabama-Supreme Court rules that privacy of membership lists in an organization is part of the right to freedom of assembly and association.

1961--Mapp vs. Ohio-Supreme Court rules that illegally obtained evidenve must not be allowed in state criminal trials.

1962--Engel vs. Vitale-Supreme Court strikes down state sponsored school prayer, saying it is no bussiness of the government to compose official prayers as part of the a religious program carried by the government.

1963--Gideon vs. Wainwright-Supreme Court rules that the right of people accused of serious crimes to be representated by an appointed counsel applies to state criminal trials.

1965--Griswold vs. Connecticut-Supreme Court rules that there is a right to privacy in marriage and declares unconstitutional a state law baringthe use of or the giving of information about birth control.

1966--Miranda vs. Arizona-Supreme Court extends the protection against forced self-incrimination. Police have to inform people in custody to their rights before questioning them.

1969--Brandenburg vs. Ohio-Supreme Court rules that speech calling for the use of force or crime can only be probhibited if it is directed to bringing avout immediate lawless action and is likely to bring about such action.

1971--Pentagon Papers case-Freedom of the Press is protected by forbidding prior restraint.

1972--Furman vs. Georgia-Supreme Court rules that the death penalty (as it was then decided upon) is cruel and unusual punichment and therefore unconstitutional.

1973--Roe vs. Wade-Supreme Court declares that the right to privacy protects a women's right to end pregnancy by abortion under specified circumstances.

1976--Gregg vs. Georgia-Supreme Court rules that the death penaltu is to be allowed if it is decided upon in a consistent reasonable way, if the sentencing follows strict guidelines, and if the penalty is not required for certain crimes.