Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Marbury v Madison, 1803• Midnight Appointments– Court Appointments by John Adams

• Established the power of Judicial Review• 1st time that something is declared

“unconstitutional”• Made the Judicial Branch equal in power with

the other two branches

Roe v Wade, 1973

• Legalized abortions for women who are in their 1st or 2nd trimester of a pregnancy.

• VERY controversial still• State’s have varying stipulations that they put on

the procedure. (i.e. later-term abortions, methods, etc.)

• “Right to privacy under the due-process clause of the 14th Amendment”

Tinker v Des Moines, 1969

• Students were wearing black arm bands to protest the war in Vietnam.• Free Speech – 1st Amendment – can be

limited in the school-setting – IF it might “interfere with the requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school."

Miranda v Arizona, 1966

• Rights of the Accused• You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court

of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense.

• Suspect signed plea without knowing his rights in the Constitution

• Basis: 5th (self-incrimination) / 6th (right to counsel) Amendments• Miranda was retried (w/o the signed confession)

and still found guilty – went to jail; was paroled – then he was stabbed in a bar fight

• THIS CHANGED LAW-ENFORCEMENT FOREVER

Regents of University of Calf. v Bakke, 1978

• Used to combat reverse discrimination

• Bakke was a qualified candidate for medical school but was rejected so that a minority (with lesser credentials) could be selected

• Supreme Court ruled (under the 14th Amendment (equality under the law) that schools could not make decisions based on skin color.

Plessy v Ferguson, 1896

• Allowed for segregation in public places

• As long as the facilities are “equal” they can be “separate.”

• “Separate but equal” was overturned by Brown in 1954.

Brown v BOE Topeka, 1954• Overturned Plessy v Ferguson (separate but equal)• Said that under the 14th Amendment (equal

protection clause) that schools for black students and schools for white students were not Constitutional

• Ended racial segregation in public schools (legally, did not end it in actuality)

• TRIVIA – Thurgood Marshall argued this case for Brown)

Texas v Johnson, 1989

• Johnson was burning a flag outside the RNC in 1984.

• Big Deal: 1st Amendment reached to NON-speech…their interpretation was that demonstrations/actions are form of expression

• Numerous amendments have been proposed, none have passed

New Jersey v T.L.O., 1985• TLO was caught smoking, a search led to finding

marijuana and drug paraphernalia• She claimed that her 4th amendment was violated • COURT SAID: A child's legitimate expectation of privacy

and the school's interest in maintaining order and discipline may differ – in that situation the school comes out on top.

• According to school officials, they do require a "reasonable suspicion" to perform a search.

• Milton can search if they "have reasonable grounds to believe that a student possesses evidence of illegal activity or activity that would interfere with school discipline and order."