Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Search and Seizure

• US v. Weeks (1914) Supreme Court held unanimously that illegal seizure of items from a private residence constitutes a violation of the Fourth Amendment (also set forth the exclusionary rule that prohibits admission of illegally obtained evidence in federal courts)

Abortion

• Roe v. Wade (1973) -- Laid down what states can and cannot control in regards to abortions

Slavery

• Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) -- Slaves were classified as property

Segregation

• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) -- Laid the groundwork for the "separate but equal doctrine" that limited the rights of minorities for decades
• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) -- A step in the direction of equal rights for all citizens

Important Cases

• Marbury v. Madison (1803) -- established Judicial Review
• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) -- The state government was declared subordinate to the Federal government when laws conflict
• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) -- Gave Congress a wide definition to "regulate commerce... among the several states."
• Schenck v. United States (1919) -- "Clear and Present Danger" established in this case as an acceptable reason for the limiting of free expression
• Gitlow v. New York (1925) -- The Supreme court began to identify rights protected by the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
• Powell v. Alabama (1932) -- The right to counsel was required by law in death penalty trials
• NAACP v. Alabama (1958) -- Freedom of association (the right to assemble in groups)
• Mapp v. Ohio (1961) -- The exclusionary rule was applied to state and local criminal prosecutions
• Abington School District v. Schempp (1963) -- Prayer in classrooms was determined to be in violation of the First Amendment
• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) -- Free legal counsel was established to be necessary when the defendent in any criminal case cannot afford it
• Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) -- The Supreme Court declared that each person's vote carries equal measure
• Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) -- Marital privacy (specifically, the use of contraceptives) was protected by this case.

• Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966) -- Poll taxes were made illegal for state elections
• Miranda v. Arizona (1966) -- The rights of the accused were upheld by this ruling
• United States v. Nixon (1974) -- The President's "Executive Priviledge" was limited by this case
• Regents of the University of California at Davis v. Bakke (1978) -- Affirmative action was dealt a blow by this case