Major Court Cases American Government CLEP
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Marbury v. Madison
(1803) - Established Judicial Review; "midnight judges"; John Marshall; power of the Supreme
Court.
McCulloch v. Maryland
(1819) - Established national supremacy; established implied powers; use of elastic clause; state
unable to tax fed. Institution; John Marshall; "the power to tax the power to destroy."
Gibbons v. Ogden
(1824) - Established a broad interpretation of the Commerce Clause; determined Congress'
power encompassed virtually every form of commercial activity.
Plessy v. Ferguson
(1896) - Established "separate but equal." Gave Supreme Court approval of Jim Crow laws.
Weeks v. U.S.
(1914) - Established the "Exclusionary Rule" at the federal level; illegally obtained evidence
cannot be used in court.
Schenck v. U.S.
(1919) - Clear and present danger test; shouting "fire" in a crowded theater; limits on speech,
especially in wartime.
Gitlow v. New York
, (1925) - Established precedent of federalizing Bill of Rights (applying them to the states); states
cannot deny freedom of speech, protected through due process clause of Amendment 14.
Near v. Minnesota
(1931) - Held that the 1st Amendment protects newspaper from prior restraint.
Palko v. Connecticut
(1937) - Provided test for determining which parts of the Bill of Rights should be federalized,
those which are implicitly or explicitly necessary for liberty to exist.
Korematsu v. U.S.
(1944) - Upheld as constitutional the internment of Americans with Japanese descent during
WWII.
Brown v. Board, 1st
(1954) - School segregation unconstitutional; segregation psychologically damaging to blacks;
overturned "separate but equal"; use of 14th Amendment.
Brown v. Board, 2nd
(1955) - Ordered schools to desegregate "with all due and deliberate speed."
Roth v. United States
(1957) - Established that "obscenity is not within the area of constitutionally protected speech
or press."
Mapp v. Ohio
(1961) - Established the "Exclusionary Rule" at the state level; illegally obtained evidence cannot
be used in court.
Extensive Exam Preparation Pack | Fully Solved Questions, Practice Tests, and
Expert Answer Guides
Marbury v. Madison
(1803) - Established Judicial Review; "midnight judges"; John Marshall; power of the Supreme
Court.
McCulloch v. Maryland
(1819) - Established national supremacy; established implied powers; use of elastic clause; state
unable to tax fed. Institution; John Marshall; "the power to tax the power to destroy."
Gibbons v. Ogden
(1824) - Established a broad interpretation of the Commerce Clause; determined Congress'
power encompassed virtually every form of commercial activity.
Plessy v. Ferguson
(1896) - Established "separate but equal." Gave Supreme Court approval of Jim Crow laws.
Weeks v. U.S.
(1914) - Established the "Exclusionary Rule" at the federal level; illegally obtained evidence
cannot be used in court.
Schenck v. U.S.
(1919) - Clear and present danger test; shouting "fire" in a crowded theater; limits on speech,
especially in wartime.
Gitlow v. New York
, (1925) - Established precedent of federalizing Bill of Rights (applying them to the states); states
cannot deny freedom of speech, protected through due process clause of Amendment 14.
Near v. Minnesota
(1931) - Held that the 1st Amendment protects newspaper from prior restraint.
Palko v. Connecticut
(1937) - Provided test for determining which parts of the Bill of Rights should be federalized,
those which are implicitly or explicitly necessary for liberty to exist.
Korematsu v. U.S.
(1944) - Upheld as constitutional the internment of Americans with Japanese descent during
WWII.
Brown v. Board, 1st
(1954) - School segregation unconstitutional; segregation psychologically damaging to blacks;
overturned "separate but equal"; use of 14th Amendment.
Brown v. Board, 2nd
(1955) - Ordered schools to desegregate "with all due and deliberate speed."
Roth v. United States
(1957) - Established that "obscenity is not within the area of constitutionally protected speech
or press."
Mapp v. Ohio
(1961) - Established the "Exclusionary Rule" at the state level; illegally obtained evidence cannot
be used in court.
