AP U.S. Government & Politics: Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Group 1

• It established the principle of judicial review.

• It declared that the federal government could not regulate interstate commerce.

• It ruled that separate but equal facilities were constitutional.

• It upheld the constitutionality of the national bank.

• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Schenck v. United States (1919)

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

• Engel v. Vitale (1962)

• Whether the Espionage Act violated the First Amendment right to free speech.

• Whether the government could regulate child labor.

• Whether the federal government could impose taxes on state banks.

• Whether school prayer is constitutional.

• It declared that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

• It upheld the constitutionality of school prayer.

• It ruled that the right to counsel is fundamental.

• It determined that flag burning is protected speech.

• Engel v. Vitale (1962)

• Baker v. Carr (1962)

• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

• Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

• Whether federal courts could intervene in redistricting cases.

• Whether the right to counsel is fundamental.

• Whether symbolic speech is protected by the First Amendment.

• Whether the government could censor the press during wartime.

• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

• Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

• New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

• Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

• Whether students have free speech rights in public schools.

• Whether the government could censor the press during wartime.

• Whether school-sponsored prayer is constitutional.

• Whether racial segregation in public schools was constitutional.

• The government could not prevent their publication, as it would violate the First Amendment.

• The government could censor the press to protect national security.

• The press had to obtain government approval before publishing classified information.

• The publication of the Pentagon Papers was considered treason.

• The Court ruled that Amish children could not be forced to attend school past the eighth grade.

• The Court upheld the constitutionality of school prayer.

• The Court ruled that students have free speech rights in public schools.

• The Court declared that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

• Shaw v. Reno (1993)

• United States v. Lopez (1995)

• McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

• Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

• It limited the power of Congress under the Commerce Clause.

• It upheld the constitutionality of campaign finance restrictions.

• It expanded the right to bear arms to state and local governments.

• It ruled that racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional.

• The Second Amendment right to bear arms is applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

• The federal government could regulate firearms under the Commerce Clause.

• The right to an attorney is fundamental for state trials.

• The government could not prevent the publication of classified documents.

• The Court ruled that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited under the First Amendment.

• The Court upheld restrictions on corporate campaign spending.

• The Court ruled that the government could limit the publication of classified information.

• The Court decided that racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional.

• Baker v. Carr (1962)

• Engel v. Vitale (1962)

• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

• Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

• Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

• Engel v. Vitale (1962)

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Whether Congress had the authority to establish a national bank.

• Whether the federal government could regulate interstate commerce.

• Whether the right to bear arms applied to state governments.

• Whether the government could censor the press during wartime.

• New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

• Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

• Schenck v. United States (1919)

• Shaw v. Reno (1993)

• Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

• Engel v. Vitale (1962)

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

• Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

• Whether restrictions on independent political expenditures by corporations and unions violate the First Amendment.

• Whether the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments.

• Whether racial gerrymandering is constitutional.

• Whether the government could limit the publication of classified information.

Group 2