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The Jay, Rutledge, and Ellsworth Courts
Court's first docketed case was Van Staphorst v. Maryland (1791), and its first recorded decision was West v. Barnes (1791). Perhaps the most controversial of the Supreme Court's early decisions was Chisholm v. Georgia, in which it held that the federal judiciary could hear lawsuits against states. -
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Timeline
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Calder v. Bull
Mr. and Mrs. Caleb Bull, the stated beneficiaries of the will of Norman Morrison, were denied an inheritance by a Connecticut probate court. When the Bulls attempted to appeal the decision more than a year and a half later, they found that a state law prohibited appeals not made within 18 months of the original ruling. The Bulls persuaded the Connecticut legislature to change the restriction, which enabled them to successfully appeal the case. -
The Marshall Court
http://supremecourthistory.org/timeline_court_marshall.html
Marshall skillfully asserted the Court's mightiest power and dignity in its first great crisis. In Congress, the lame-duck Federalists had passed a law to reduce the Court's membership to five. -
Anderson v. Dunn
Anderson attempted to bribe a member of Congress to receive favorable treatment from the government. The House order its sergeant-at-arms (Dunn) to arrest Anderson and bring him to the House where he was reprimanded by the Speaker for his contempt of Congress. -
Barron ex rel. Tiernan v. Mayor of Baltimore
Baltimore wharf owner John Barron alleged that construction by the city had diverted water flow in the harbor area. He argued that sand accumulations in the harbor deprived Barron of deep waters, which reduced his profits. He sued the city to recover a portion of his financial losses. The trial court awarded him $45,000 in damages, which the state appellate court struck down -
The Taney Court
Dred Scott, a slave from Missouri, sued for his freedom on the grounds that his master had taken him into Illinois and the territory of Wisconsin, both of which prohibited slavery, for extended periods of time. Taney, however, ruled that members of the African race were not and could never become citizens of the United States. Consequently, he ruled that Scott therefore had no standing to file the lawsuit. the Louisiana Purchase, was unconstitutional. -
Briscoe v. Bank of Commonwealth of Kentucky
Kentucky authorized a state owned and operated bank to issue bank notes that circulated as currency. The bank gave Briscoe the notes in exchange for a promissory note. Briscoe failed to repay, so the bank sued him. Briscoe claimed that the bank (and thus Kentucky) had violated the Constitution. -
The Chase, Waite, and Fuller Courts
Civil War Congress passed and the states ratified the Fourteenth Amendment, which, among other things, prevented states from abridging the "privileges and immunities of citizens," from denying due process of law, and from denying equal protection of the laws to any person. Many cases that came before the Court in the post–Civil War era involved interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment. -
The Warren Court
In Engel v. Vitale (1962), the Court declared that officially sanctioned prayer in public schools was unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Similarly, in Abington School District v. Schempp (1963), it struck down mandatory Bible readings in public schools. The Court also expanded and incorporated the rights of criminal defendants, on the basis of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. -
The Burger Court
The Burger Court is best remembered for its ruling in Roe v. Wade (1973), which held that there is a constitutionally protected right to have an abortion in some circumstances. The Court also made important decisions relating to the First Amendment. -
The Rehnquist Court
The Court made numerous controversial decisions, including Texas v. Johnson (1989), which declared that flag burning was a form of speech protected by the First Amendment; Lee v. Weisman (1992), which declared officially sanctioned, student-led school prayers unconstitutional; Stenberg v. Carhart (2000), which voided laws prohibiting late-term abortions -
The Roberts Court
On October 31, 2005, President George W. Bush announced that he was nominating Samuel Alito to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and Bush submitted the nomination to the Senate on November 10, 2005. Under Roberts the Court has drifted primarily to the right in areas like the death penalty (Kansas v. Marsh), abortion (Gonzales v. Carhart), the exclusionary rule for Fourth Amendment violations
