SUPREME COURT CASE STUDY LATEST 2026 STUDY GUIDE
WITH QUESTIONS & VERIFIED ANSWERS GUARANTEED PASS
GRADE A+
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
1. The Marbury v. Madison case established the right of
the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of
laws.
2. It provided a way to check the powers of Congress and
the president, and thus more effectively balanced the
powers of all three branches of the federal government.
3. On the one hand, Marshall declared the Judiciary Act
unconstitutional because the power for Congress to pass
such an act was not mentioned in the Constitution. Yet at
the same time he believed the Supreme Court had the
power to declare a law unconstitutional, even though this
power was not specifically mentioned in the Constitution.
,4. Students who favor the Court's power may say that it
provides a check on Congress and more equally balances
the power of the three branches of government.
Students who oppose the Court's power may say that
since Congressional representatives are elected, they
represent the will of the people, so the laws passed by
Congress should stand and not be subjected to a review
by a Court of appointed judges.
5. Students who think the influence of personal politics
on Court rulings is improper may say that legal opinions
should be based on a legal interpretation of the
Constitution law and not on politics. Students who accept
political influence on Court rulings as proper may say that
it often reflects the will of the majority.
McColloch v. Maryland (1819)
1. The McCulloch case established the principle that
Congress has implied powers not specifically stated in the
Constitution.
,2. The "necessary and proper" clause gives Congress the
authority to make any laws that are required to carry out
its enumerated tasks.
3. The Court ruled that the United States Bank was
immune to the Maryland tax because as an arm of the
federal government it is not required to pay state taxes.
4. Federalists believed in a strong national government,
and the McCulloch decision reflects that point of view in
that it limited the power of the states to tax any part of
the federal government.
5. The McCulloch decision greatly enlarged the powers of
the federal government by stating that it is "supreme
within its sphere of action," and has powers that are not
specifically set forth in the Constitution
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)
1. Dartmouth College remained a private institution and
was protected under Article I, Section 10 of the
Constitution from interference by the state. The trustees
were reinstated to administer the college, and the college
, records, the corporate seal, and other corporate property
were returned to the trustees by the state treasurer.
2. Chief Justice Marshall explained that if a state or other
sovereign—here the British crown—granted a charter of
incorporation, the charter has "every ingredient of a
complete and legitimate contract."
3. The Dartmouth case established that a corporate
charter granted by the state comes under the protection
of the contract clause that prohibits states from making
any laws which impair the obligation of a contract.
Therefore, businesses could flourish without being
subjected to interference by the state.
4. If states wanted to provide higher education, they had
to provide publicly funded institutions because the
Dartmouth decision prohibited the states from taking
over private institutions.
5. The Dartmouth decision weakened the power of the
states by ruling that even though states have the power
to charter corporations, corporations are protected from
interference by the states because they are protected
under the contract clause in Article 1, Section 10 of the
WITH QUESTIONS & VERIFIED ANSWERS GUARANTEED PASS
GRADE A+
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
1. The Marbury v. Madison case established the right of
the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of
laws.
2. It provided a way to check the powers of Congress and
the president, and thus more effectively balanced the
powers of all three branches of the federal government.
3. On the one hand, Marshall declared the Judiciary Act
unconstitutional because the power for Congress to pass
such an act was not mentioned in the Constitution. Yet at
the same time he believed the Supreme Court had the
power to declare a law unconstitutional, even though this
power was not specifically mentioned in the Constitution.
,4. Students who favor the Court's power may say that it
provides a check on Congress and more equally balances
the power of the three branches of government.
Students who oppose the Court's power may say that
since Congressional representatives are elected, they
represent the will of the people, so the laws passed by
Congress should stand and not be subjected to a review
by a Court of appointed judges.
5. Students who think the influence of personal politics
on Court rulings is improper may say that legal opinions
should be based on a legal interpretation of the
Constitution law and not on politics. Students who accept
political influence on Court rulings as proper may say that
it often reflects the will of the majority.
McColloch v. Maryland (1819)
1. The McCulloch case established the principle that
Congress has implied powers not specifically stated in the
Constitution.
,2. The "necessary and proper" clause gives Congress the
authority to make any laws that are required to carry out
its enumerated tasks.
3. The Court ruled that the United States Bank was
immune to the Maryland tax because as an arm of the
federal government it is not required to pay state taxes.
4. Federalists believed in a strong national government,
and the McCulloch decision reflects that point of view in
that it limited the power of the states to tax any part of
the federal government.
5. The McCulloch decision greatly enlarged the powers of
the federal government by stating that it is "supreme
within its sphere of action," and has powers that are not
specifically set forth in the Constitution
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)
1. Dartmouth College remained a private institution and
was protected under Article I, Section 10 of the
Constitution from interference by the state. The trustees
were reinstated to administer the college, and the college
, records, the corporate seal, and other corporate property
were returned to the trustees by the state treasurer.
2. Chief Justice Marshall explained that if a state or other
sovereign—here the British crown—granted a charter of
incorporation, the charter has "every ingredient of a
complete and legitimate contract."
3. The Dartmouth case established that a corporate
charter granted by the state comes under the protection
of the contract clause that prohibits states from making
any laws which impair the obligation of a contract.
Therefore, businesses could flourish without being
subjected to interference by the state.
4. If states wanted to provide higher education, they had
to provide publicly funded institutions because the
Dartmouth decision prohibited the states from taking
over private institutions.
5. The Dartmouth decision weakened the power of the
states by ruling that even though states have the power
to charter corporations, corporations are protected from
interference by the states because they are protected
under the contract clause in Article 1, Section 10 of the
