Constitutional precedents & Supreme court cases
This page is where I will post important cases most likely to appear on the AP examination. I will add to the list on occasion as new landmark cases (those establishing or overturning a precedent) are passed.
Constitutional Principles & Federalism
For these cases you will need to understand the importance of the Supremacy Clause (Article 6), the Necessary & Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8), and the Interstate Commerce Clause (also Article I, Section 8).
Judicial Review
Federalism
The next two cases are about federalism in general, and apportionment of representation specifically.
Civil Liberties
Civil Liberties: defined as enumerated liberties spelled out in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. They protect persons, opinions, or property. They serve as restraints on government.
For a summary breakdown of landmark Supreme Court cases click on the following link:
For a summary breakdown of landmark Supreme Court cases click on the following link:
Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Press
Freedom of Religion: Establishment
Freedom of Religion: Free Exercise
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Defendant Rights
The following cases encompass the firm establishment of defendant rights in law enforcement and legal practice.
Major Constitutional Principles:
Major Constitutional Principles:
- Bill of Attainder: Punishment without benefit of a trial - Article I, Section 10, Clause 1
- Ex Post Facto: Actions cannot be ruled illegal when they were legal when committed - Article I, Section 10, Clause 1
- Writ of Habeas Corpus: Jailers must provide adequate explanation for detentions of persons or release them - Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2
Right to Privacy
Privacy: defined as the right to be left alone; freedom to act without fear of governmental interference.
The following cases are all rooted in the right of privacy, which is nowhere explicitly written in the Constitution or its Amendments. Included in this list of cases is the controversial opinion, Roe v. Wade, which opened the door to the legalization of abortion procedures. Other cases involve the idea of legal consensual sexual behavior. The first case, Griswald v. Connecticut, established the precedent of the Constitutional right to privacy.
The following cases are all rooted in the right of privacy, which is nowhere explicitly written in the Constitution or its Amendments. Included in this list of cases is the controversial opinion, Roe v. Wade, which opened the door to the legalization of abortion procedures. Other cases involve the idea of legal consensual sexual behavior. The first case, Griswald v. Connecticut, established the precedent of the Constitutional right to privacy.
The next three cases surround the controversial topic of abortion. As you consider the cases remember that the principle of federalism is at work as well.
The link below is from OYEZ. It charts the history of the changing legality of abortion over time through a series of Supreme Court cases. This is an excellent resource for those seeking more information on the evolution of this controversial topic.
The two cases below consider the place of state law in the private sexual affairs between consenting individuals. Similar to the abortion cases above, they hinge on both privacy and federalism.
Civil Rights
Civil Rights: defined as positive government policies protecting individuals from arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government or individuals. Civil Rights applies to race, gender, age, and now sexual orientation. Civil rights policies can be statutory (written into law via act of congress - e.g. Civil Rights Act of 1964) or Constitutional (via formal amendment or through judicial review).
These cases depend largely on two clauses from the 14th Amendment: the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause. You also need to understand the historical timeline starting with the Dredd Scott decision before the Civil War, Post-Reconstruction politics of the South (establishment of Jim Crow) and finally the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Moreover, you will need a working understanding of Congressional interaction with the courts on these issues - most particularly the Civil Rights Cases of the 1960s. |
The Dredd Scott decision served as a legal bombshell to the already deeply divided north and south. It took a war and three Constitutional Amendments to right the wrongs of that decision. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments would come to serve as the bedrock foundation for future civil rights cases. Critically important are two clauses of the 14th Amendment: the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause. Through them, the guarantees of the Bill of Rights would gradually be applied to states as well as the nation (Incorporation Doctrine) through a series of legal precedents.
The cases below show the trajectory of civil rights beginning with their decline during the Jim Crow era as embodied in the Plessy case and culminating in the reversal of separate but equal in the Brown cases that follow.
The cases below show the trajectory of civil rights beginning with their decline during the Jim Crow era as embodied in the Plessy case and culminating in the reversal of separate but equal in the Brown cases that follow.
Affirmative Action. As you read through the following links, consider the overall impact of the courts on affirmative action policies in practice.
Homosexual Marriage. The following two cases are the landmark cases that served to legalize homosexual marriage. The first case ruled the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, which narrowly defined "spouse" and its related terms to signify a heterosexual couple in a recognized marriage, as unconstitutional. This paved the way for Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized homosexual marriage across the nation.
Transgender Rights to Public Facilities
In the fall of 2016, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving the right of a transgender student to use the restroom corresponding gender identity. The link below will take you to a brief interview conducted by NPR's Morning Edition in which the lawyers representing both sides of the issue discuss their legal understanding of the case. As you listen to the interview, note the focus of each lawyer on what Constitutional issues are at stake as well as how they frame the driving question.
In the fall of 2016, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving the right of a transgender student to use the restroom corresponding gender identity. The link below will take you to a brief interview conducted by NPR's Morning Edition in which the lawyers representing both sides of the issue discuss their legal understanding of the case. As you listen to the interview, note the focus of each lawyer on what Constitutional issues are at stake as well as how they frame the driving question.
Elections & Campaigns
The following cases are largely centered around the role of big money in the election process. There are several points of tension in play for you to consider as you read:
- At what point does wealth serve as an instrument to blunt or mute the voice of the people in a republican democracy?
- Do laws limiting the use of money in the election process hinder or violate free speech principles?
- Should the Courts strike down acts of congress that are a clear representation of the voice of the people?
- Related to the above, are there limits to individual/minority rights in the face of the voice of the people?
The next case does not deal with the topic of campaign finance, but rather the functioning of democracy and the workings of the Electoral College. Note as well that central to the case is the issue of federalism.
Presidential power
Consider the impact of each of the following cases on presidential power.