Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Marbury v. Madison (1803) A United States Supreme Court case in which the Court formed the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States under Article III of the Constitution. The landmark decision helped define the boundary between the constitutionally separate executive and judicial branches of the American form of government.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court held that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be American citizens and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court, and that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories acquired after the creation of the United States. Dred Scott, an enslaved African American man who had been taken by his owners to free states and territories, attempted to sue for his freedom. The Court denied Scott's request.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) A Supreme Court decision, upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal".

Korematsu v. United States (1944) A Supreme Court case concerning the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, which ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II regardless of citizenship. The Court sided with the government, ruling that the exclusion order was constitutional.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) A Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) A Supreme Court case. the Supreme Court ruled that state courts are required under the Fourteenth Amendment to provide counsel in criminal cases to represent defendants who are unable to afford to pay their own attorneys.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966) A Supreme Court decision. The Court held that statements made in response to interrogation by a defendant in police custody will be admissible only if the defendant was informed of the right to consult with an attorney and of the right against self-incrimination prior to questioning by police, and that the defendant not only understood these rights, but voluntarily waived them.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) One of the most groundbreaking trials in the history of the United States. The case involves 3 minors who were each suspended from their schools for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War. The court ruling allowed individual schools to prohibit students from protesting if the protest has the chance to influence a disruptive response.

Roe v. Wade (1973) A Supreme Court decision on the issue of abortion. The Court ruled that a right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion, but that right must be balanced against the state's two legitimate interests: protecting prenatal life & protecting women's health.

Regents of the U. of California v. Bakke (1978) A decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. It upheld affirmative action, allowing race to be one of several factors in college admission policy.

Texas v. Johnson (1989) A decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that invalidated prohibitions on desecrating the American flag enforced in 48 of the 50 states.