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Salem Witch Trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of over twenty people, most of them women. -
Marbury V. Madison
The Marbury V. Madison supreme court case was the court case conducted under John Marshall who debated over the validility of the Federalists' last-minute expansion of the judiciary in 1801. This court case also led to a better understanding of the branches in the Federal Goverment. The Marbury V. Madison case was brought upon when James Madison refused to deliver several commissions for new justices. This complex decision led to the court to limit judicial power in the Supreme Court -
Dred Scott vs. Sandford
Dred Scott v. Sandford was a highly controversial case that intensified the national debate over slavery. The case involved Dred Scott, a slave, who was taken from a slave state to a free territory. Scott filed a lawsuit claiming that because he had lived on free soil he was entitled to his freedom. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney disagreed, ruling that blacks were not citizens and therefore could not sue in federal court. This case led to future conflict between African Americans and their rights. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was the infamous case that asserted that “equal but separate accommodations” for blacks on railroad cars did not violate the “equal protection under the laws” clause of the 14th Amendment. By defending the constitutionality of racial segregation, the Court paved the way for the repressive Jim Crow laws of the South. -
Cummins vs. County Board of Education
The Supreme Court's decision predicates its affirmance on economic arguments, among others. It claims that there are many more colored children than white children in the area, and that the Board could not afford to supply everyone with education. The court argued that there was a choice between educating 60 white children and educating no one.In deciding this case, the U.S. Supreme Court officially applied the "separate but equal doctrine" to public schools. -
Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka
Brown vs, Board od Education of Topeka was the court case where Linda Brown was denied admission to her local elementary school in Topeka because she was black. When, combined with several other cases, her suit reached the Supreme Court. they debated whether the "seperate but equal" doctrine of plessy vs, ferguson was constitutional. this court case invalidated racial segregation in schools and led to the unraveling of de jure segregation in all areas of public life. -
Gideon V. Wainwright
The Gideon V. Wainwright court case gave the defendants right to an attorney. The court denied Gideon an attorney and in result violated the 14th amendment due process clause. Gideon was given a new trial and appointed an attorney an was acquitted. The Gideon V. Wainwright case led to future court cases providing attorney and free counsel which was made mandatory. The mark made by this case gave way to the present practices made in a court today -
New York Times v. Sullivan
New York Times v. Sullivan extended the protection offered the press by the First Amendment. Sullivan a police commissioner in Alabama had filed a law suit against the New York Times for publishing inaccurate information. The case concluded that Sullivan did not have to prove he was harmed and won the case and 500,000 dollars. This case led to conflict between malicious intentions of the newspapers and press. -
Griswold V. Connecticut
Griswold v. Connecticut case said that Connecticut's ban on the use of contraceptives was against a couple's "right to marital privacy,". This ignited when couple's stated that this was an important right. The outcome came to rule against the law and could not be enforced on married couples. This led to future controversy consisting of contraceptives. -
Miranda vs. Arizona
this was the case where resident Ernesto Miranda of Phoenix was charged for rape and kidnapping and robbery. Miranda allegedly confessed to committing the crimes, which the police apparently recorded. Miranda later appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court, claiming that the police had unconstitutionally obtained his confession. From this case we have the right to an atorrney and the right to remain silent. -
Roe V. Wade
Roe, a Texas resident challenged the Texan abortion laws. The laws stated by Texas made it impossible for a mother to consider abortion unless life threatening. The evidence given at the case and later on led to abortion being practiced during first a trimester of a woman's pregnancy. The court case led to conflict with many faiths such as Roman Catholicism and also with the supreme court as the battle still rages in the 21st century.
