American Government Court Cases Study Guide – Flashcards

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Abington School District v. Schempp
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1963 Court case ruled that the recitation of the Lord's Prayer in school violated the first amendment's establishment clause
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Barron v. Baltimore
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the 1833 Supreme Court decision holding that the bill of rights restrained only the national government, not the states and cities.
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Brown v. Board of Education
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1954 - The Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated.
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Bush v. Gore
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5-4 Supreme Court declared that Florida vote recount violated equal protection clause (some votes would be examined more closely than others); ended Gore's challenge to 2000 election results. Power of judicial review (effectively decided 2000 election).
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Dred Scott v. Sandford
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1857 Supreme Court decision that stated that slaves were not citizens; that living in a free state or territory, even for many years, did not free slaves, denouncing the right of a slave to sue, since a slave was property and not a citizen; and declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitional
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Engel v. Vitale
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1962 case banned formal prayer in schools, government would not make any religion the 'official' religion.
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Furman v. Georgia
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(1972) Death penalty is cruel and unusual if carried out in "an arbitrary, discriminatory, and capricious manner".
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Gibbons v. Ogden
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(1824) U.S. Supreme Court decision reinforcing the "commerce clause'' (the federal government's right to regulate interstate commerce) of the Constitution; Chief Justice John Marshall ruled against the State of New York's granting of steamboat monopolies.
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Gideon v. Wainwright
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1963 ruling that a defendant in a felony trial must be provided a lawyer free of charge if the defendant cannot afford one.
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Gitlow v. New York
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the 1925 supreme court decision holding that freedoms of press and speech are "fundamental personal rights and liberties" protected by the 14th Ammendment
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Gregg v. Georgia
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The 1976 Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty, not believing that the death penalty was an unusual form of punishment
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Griswold v. Connecticut
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1965 decision that the Constitution implicitly guarantees citizens' right to privacy; legalizing sexual contraceptives as a form of birth control as a marital right to privacy.
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Lemon v. Kurtzman
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1971 defining government actions in dealing with religion--must not inhibit or advance religion and does not entangle the government with religion.
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Miller v. California
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(1973) A first amendment case. The Court defined obscenity.
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Miranda v. Arizona
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1966 case ruling that the accused must be notified of their rights before being questioned by the police
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Plessy v. Ferguson
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1896 Supreme Court decision which legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal
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Roe v. Wade
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(1973) legalized abortion on the basis of a woman's right to privacy
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Texas v. Johnson
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A 1989 case in which the Supreme Court struck down a law banning the burning of the American flag on the grounds that such action was symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment.
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United States v. Nixon
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1974 Supreme Court decision that required President Nixon to turn White House tapes over to the Courts.
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