American Government CLEP : Major Supreme Court Cases Study Guide

Marbury vs. Madison (1803) -->Supreme Court decision in which the court first exercised the power of judicial review. Fletcher vs. Peck (1810) -->First Supreme Court case in which a state law was ruled unconstitutional McCulloch vs. Maryland (1819) -->Federal organizations couldn't be taxed by state institutions (Maryland could not tax national bank) Trustees of Dartmouth College vs. Woodward (1819) -->Private charters are protected by the Constitution. Cohens vs. Virginia (1821) -->Supreme Courts have Jurisdiction to review all cases involving powers/rights of the Federal Government. Gibbons vs. Ogden (1824) -->Rules that only the Federal Government can control interstate commerce, not individual states. Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia (1831) -->Declared the Cherokee a dependent domestic nation possessing some Sovereignty. Worcester vs. Georgia (1832) -->Ruled that Georgia had no right to interfere with Cherokee territory, only the Federal Government. Commonwealth vs. Hunt (1842) -->Declared that labor unions were lawful organizations and that the strike was a lawful weapon. Workers have the right to organize. Dred Scott vs. Sandford (1857) -->Rules that slaves were property and remained slaves, even when taken to free territories/states. They had no rights in court and were not citizens. Ex Parte Milligan (1866) -->Ruled that a civilian cannot be tried in military courts while civil courts are available during wartime. Munn vs. Illinois (1877) -->Allowed states to regulate certain businesses that affected public interest within their borders when federal policy is absent. Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway Co. vs. Illinois (1886) -->Declared that state- passed Granger laws regulating interstate commerce were unconstitutional. Only the Federal Government can. U.S. vs. E. C. Knight Co. (1895) -->Manufacturing is not the same as commerce. (First case under Sherman Antitrust Act) Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) -->Supreme Court ruling that allowed local and state governments to pass and enforce segregation laws. Established "separate but equal" segregation doctrine between the races. Northern Securities Co. vs. U.S. (1904) -->A holding company owning stock of competing railroads violates the Sherman Antitrust Act. Lochner vs. New York (1905) -->Supreme Court ruled that states could not restrict ordinary workers' hours. "Right to free contract". Muller vs. Oregon (1908) -->Upheld the law stating women could only work for 10 hours per day. Schenck vs. United States (1919) -->Case involving limits on free speech. Established the "clear and present danger" principle. No freedom is absolute.