Landmark SCOTUS Cases Timeline

  • McCulloch v. Maryland

    McCulloch v. Maryland
    Does the Constitution give Congress power to create a bank? And could individual states ban or tax the bank? The court decided that the Federal Government had the right and power to set up a Federal bank and that states did not have the power to tax the Federal Government.
  • Dred Scott v. Sanford

    Dred Scott v. Sanford
    The question at hand is Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. The decision made was the U.S. Supreme Court stated that enslaved people were not citizens of the United States and, therefore, could not expect any protection from the federal government or the courts.
  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    Plessy v. Ferguson
    A supreme court ruling in 1896 that was for racial segregation laws " separate but equal". The Court decided that state laws ordering racial segregation didn't harm or cause trouble with the fourteenth amendment's equal protection. The decision made allowed effective legalized racial segregation as well as the beginning of the Jim Crow laws.
  • Korematsu v. United States

    Korematsu v. United States
    The question at hand is Did the President and Congress go beyond their war powers by implementing exclusion and restricting the rights of Americans of Japanese descent? The courts decision was ruled 6-3 against Korematsu and upheld that the order was constitutional and legal.
  • Mapp v. Ohio

    Mapp v. Ohio
    The high court said evidence seized unlawfully, without a search warrant, could not be used in criminal prosecutions in state courts.
  • Brandenburg v. Ohio

    Brandenburg v. Ohio
    the Supreme Court held that the Ohio law violated Brandenburg's right to free speech. The decision was made that the Ohio law violated Brandenburg's right to free speech.
  • Texas v. Johnson

    Texas v. Johnson
    The question at hand is whether his conviction is consistent with the First Amendment. The decision made was held that flag burning constitutes a form of "symbolic speech" that is protected by the First Amendment.
  • Bush v. Gore

    Bush v. Gore
    a decision of the United States Supreme Court as it allowed the vote certification made by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris to stand, giving Bush Florida's 25 electoral votes.
  • District of Columbia v. Heller

    District of Columbia v. Heller
    open range guns violated the Second Amendment rights of individuals who are not affiliated with any state-regulated militia, but who wish to keep handguns and other firearms for private use in their homes was the question at hand. The decision was the Second Amendment includes the right of individuals to bear arms for self-defense.
  • Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission

    Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission
    The decision was the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations, including nonprofit corporations, labor unions, and other associations.