-
Gibbons v. Ogden
Does the Commerce Clause give Congress authority over interstate navigation? Famously expounded upon the powers of the commerce clause, setting the precedent of Congress's broad ability to regulate interstate and some intrastate commerce. The decision was 6-0. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
Was Dred Scott free or a slave? 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. The decision was 7-2. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Does the Separate Car Act violate the Fourteenth Amendment? Upheld a Louisiana state law that allowed for "equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races." This was a 7-1 decision. -
Korematsu v. United States
Did the President and Congress go beyond their war powers by implementing exclusion and restricting the rights of Americans of Japanese descent? The Supreme Court held that the wartime internment of American citizens of Japanese descent was constitutional. The decision was 6-3. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
Does the segregation of public education based solely on race violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment? The Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools based on race was unconstitutional. This overruled the Plessy v. Ferguson case. The decision was 9-0 -
Miranda v. Arizona
Does the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination extend to the police interrogation of a suspect? Ruled that an arrested individual is entitled to rights against self-incrimination and to an attorney under the 5th and 6th Amendments of the United States Constitution. This was a 5-4 decision. -
Roe v. Wade
Does the Constitution recognize a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy by abortion? A landmark decision of the SCOTUS ruled that the constitution of the United States generally protected the right to have an abortion. This was a 7-2 decision. -
United States v. Nixon
Is the President's right to safeguard certain information, using his "executive privilege" confidentiality power, entirely immune from judicial review? in which the Court unanimously ordered President Richard Nixon to deliver tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials related to the Watergate scandal to a federal district court. The decision 9-0. -
Texas v. Johnson
Did the Texas capital sentencing statute unconstitutionally preclude the jury from fully considering the mitigating effect of the petitioner's youth at the time of the crime? Johnson was arrested and convicted under a Texas state law. In an appeal, Johnson argued that burning the American flag was symbolic speech and protected by the First Amendment. The Texas appeals court agreed and overturned his conviction. The decision was 5-4. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? State bans on same-sex marriage and on recognizing same-sex marriages duly performed in other jurisdictions are unconstitutional under the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This decision was 5-4.