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Marbury v. Madison
Created the doctrine of judicial review and set up the Supreme Court of the United States as chief interpreter of the Constitution -
McCulloch v Maryland
Supreme Court held that Congress has implied powers and the “Necessary and Proper” Clause gave Congress the power to establish a national bank -
Gibbons v Ogden
Supreme Court case that famously expounded upon the powers of the commerce clause, setting the precedent of Congress's broad ability to regulate interstate and some intrastate commerce -
Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railroad v. City of Chicago
The Court held that the Due Process clause required the states to award just compensation when taking private property for public use -
Gitlow v. New York
Supreme Court decision applying the First Amendment's free speech protections to abuses by state governments -
Near v. Minnesota
Supreme Court held that prior restraint on publication violated the First Amendment (freedom of the press) -
Powell v. Alabama
Supreme Court established that the right to counsel was made binding on state governments as a requirement of the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause -
Hamilton v. Regents of the University of California
The decision in this case determined that the Free Exercise Clause extended to state governments, in addition to the federal government (free exercise of religion) -
Palko v. Connecticut
Protection against double jeopardy was not a fundamental right and established the principal of selective incorporation -
DeJonge v. Oregon
Supreme Court that held that the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause protects freedom of assembly from state statutes (freedom of assembly) -
Hague v. Committee for Industrial Organization
Court said that the public has long used streets and parks to assemble and transmit ideas and speech on issues of public concern and it was unconstitutional to prevent groups from meeting there -
Cantwell v. Connecticut
Supreme Court applied First Amendment freedom of religion rights to the states via the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment -
Skiriotes v. Florida
The Court held that the states, under the authority of the Tenth Amendment, have the authority to govern their citizens' conduct in the sea, when not in conflict of federal law -
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
Supreme Court held that the Free Speech Clause protects students from being forced to salute the American flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance in public school -
Everson v. Board of Education
Supreme Court found that the United States government cannot promote religion (nonestablishment of state religion) -
Dennis v. United States
Upheld the constitutionality of the Smith Act, which made it a criminal offense to advocate the violent overthrow of the government -
NAACP v. Alabama
Supreme Court formally recognized the freedom of association as a right protected by the First Amendment -
Mapp v. Ohio
Evidence seized unlawfully, without a search warrant, could not be used in criminal prosecutions in state courts (exclusionary rule) -
Robinson v. California
Established that the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment applies to state court criminal proceedings -
Gideon v. Wainwright
Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Gideon, guaranteeing the right to legal counsel for criminal defendants in federal and state courts -
Escobedo v. Illinois
Court case holding that criminal suspects have a right to counsel during police interrogations under the Sixth Amendment -
Malloy v. Hogan
Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment secures defendants against self-incrimination and compels officials to establish guilt by evidence that is independent of a suspect's or witnesses' statements -
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan
The Court held that the First Amendment protects the publication of all statements, even false ones, about the conduct of public officials except when statements are made with actual malice -
Griswold v. Connecticut
Ruling that a married couple has a right of privacy that cannot be infringed upon by a state law making it a crime to use contraceptives -
Loving v. Virginia
A unanimous Court struck down state laws banning marriage between individuals of different races -
Miranda v. Arizona
Supreme Court ruled that detained criminal suspects, prior to police questioning, must be informed of their constitutional right to an attorney and against self-incrimination -
Benton v. Maryland
Overruled Palko, holding that the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment as applied to the states is an element of liberty protected by Due Process -
Tinker v. Des Moines
Supreme Court ruling that cemented students' rights to free speech in public schools -
New York Times Co. v. United States
Supreme Court defended the First Amendment right of free press against prior restraint by the government -
Roe v. Wade
Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the United States -
Plyler v. Doe
Led to the decision that states cannot deny students access to education on account of their immigration status -
Bowers v. Hardwick
The fundamental right to engage in sodomy with homosexuals is not protected in the due process clause in the fifth and fourteenth amendment -
United States v. Lopez
Supreme Court ruled that Congress had exceeded its constitutional authority under the Commerce Clause when it passed a law prohibiting gun possession in local school zones -
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union
Court established that speech on the Internet is entitled to the same high degree of First Amendment protection extended to the print media as opposed to the reduced level given the broadcast media -
United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc.
Struck down a portion of the 1996 Telecommunications Act that required cable TV companies to limit the availability of sexually explicit programming to late-night hours -
Lawrence v. Texas
Made same-sex sexual activity legal in every State and United States territory -
District of Columbia v. Heller
Supreme Court said that the Second Amendment applies to federal enclaves and protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense in the home -
Citizens United v. FEC
The Citizens United ruling represented a turning point on campaign finance, allowing unlimited election spending by corporations and labor unions -
McDonald v. City of Chicago
Incorporated the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms to the states, meaning states cannot severely limit or infringe on private citizens' rights to own firearms through local and state legislation -
United States v. Jones
The Court rejected the government's argument that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a person's movement on public thoroughfares -
Maryland v. King
Held that a cheek swab of an arrestee's DNA is comparable to fingerprinting and therefore, a legal police booking procedure that is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment -
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby
Supreme Court confirmed the rights of corporations to deny healthcare coverage on the basis of religious objections -
Riley v. California
Court ruled that the warrantless search and seizure of the digital contents of a cell phone during an arrest is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Same-sex couples have the right to marry, which extended legal marriage recognition across the United States -
Timbs v. Indiana
Court held that the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against “excessive fines” applies to the states under the Due Process clause -
Ramos v. Louisiana
Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires that guilty verdicts be unanimous in criminal trials -
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
the Court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion and that those rights should instead come to the decision of the individual states themselves -
Kennedy v. Bremerton
Supreme Court strengthened First Amendment protection for religious speech by government officials and discontinued the Lemon Test