1. Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Issue: Judicial review
Impact: Created the Supreme Court’s power to void laws as unconstitutional.
2. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Issue: Federal power versus state power
Also read:
- https://swiftlawadvisor.com/20-constitutional-rights-you-might-not-know-you-have/
- https://swiftlawadvisor.com/30-essential-questions-about-constitutional-law-answered/
- https://swiftlawadvisor.com/40-insights-into-how-the-constitution-impacts-daily-life/
Impact: Ratified federal supremacy and the implied powers of Congress.
3. Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Issue: Commerce Clause
Impact: Broadened federal power to regulate interstate commerce.
4. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
Issue: Citizenship and slavery
Impact: Confirmed African Americans were not citizens; heightened the tensions that eventually led to the Civil War.
5. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Issue: Racial segregation
Effect: Upheld “separate but equal,” later overturned by Brown v. Board of Education.
6. Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Issue: School segregation
Effect: Held racial segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional.
7. Korematsu v. United States (1944)
Issue: Japanese-American internment
Effect: Held internment constitutional during WWII; widely criticized and later repudiated.
8. Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
Issue: Self-incrimination
Effect: Established the “Miranda rights,” where police must advise suspects of their rights.
9. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
Issue: Right to counsel
Impact: Vindicated a right to the attorney for every indigent defendant.
10. Roe v. Wade (1973)
Issue: Rights on abortion
Impact: Protected the right to an abortion from a woman on grounds of her right to privacy. Overturned in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022).
11. Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
Issue: Right to privacy
Impact: Repealed statutes prohibiting contraceptive sales, created a right of privacy in the affairs of the marriage.
12. Loving v. Virginia (1967)
Issue: Interracial marriage
Impact: Invalidated bans on interracial marriage.
13. Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
Issue: Same-sex marriage
Impact: Legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
14. United States v. Nixon (1974)
Issue: Executive privilege
Impact: Limited presidential privilege in the face of criminal investigations.
15. Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
Issue: Campaign finance
Impact: Allowed unlimited independent political spending by corporations and unions.
16. Bush v. Gore (2000)
Issue: Election recounts
Impact: Resolved the 2000 presidential election in favor of George W. Bush.
17. Shelby County v. Holder (2013)
Issue: Voting rights
Impact: Partially struck down the Voting Rights Act, resulting in a federal overhaul of voting election oversight.
18. District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)
Issue: Second Amendment
Impact: Established the right of the individual to carry firearms for protection.
19. Texas v. Johnson (1989)
Issue: Flag burning and free speech
Impact: Protected flag burning as symbolic speech under the First Amendment.
20. Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
Issue: Student free speech
Impact: Protected the rights of students to free speech in schools.
21. New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
Issue: Press freedom
Impact: Established that prior restraint was limited and the Pentagon Papers could be published.
22. Schenck v. United States (1919)
Issue: Free speech limits
Impact: Established the “clear and present danger” test for restricting speech.
23. Baker v. Carr (1962)
Issue: Redistricting
Impact: Established the principle of “one person, one vote.”
24. Engle v. Vitale (1962)
Issue: School prayer
Impact: Banned state-sponsored prayer in public schools.
25. Carpenter v. United States (2018)
Issue: Digital privacy
Impact: Mandated law enforcement to obtain warrants for cell phone location data.
