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