Supreme Court Highest court in the land Final

Supreme Court ► ► Highest court in the land ► Final interpretation of Constitution ► Judges appointed by president with senate approval! ► “Equal Justice Under the Law”

Who are these people? ► All have heavy experience with law ► Appointed for LIFE (hey, most are old) ► Youngest: John G Roberts (middle) ► Also the Chief Justice! ► Born in 1955 ►

Supreme Court ► Highest Appeals Court in US ► Hears 150/1000 s of appeals ► Led by Chief Justice and 8 associate justices: § Lifetime term ► Are laws and lower decisions constitutional?

Decisions are accompanied with a written opinion: ► ► Majority Opinion: opinion that represents over half of the justices ► Dissenting Opinion: opinion going against the majority ► Concurrent Opinion: opinions SHARED by both

Marbury v. Madison Issue: Power of judicial review ► 1803 ► Ruling: § Judicial Review: gave courts Power to declare a law or an act UNCONSTITUTIONAL § Supreme Court is final judge on constitutional issues. § Made Judicial branch = to the L & E branches!

--Mc. Culloch v Maryland --1819 the US had a Federal Bank, Bank of US. -- state of Maryland voted to tax all bank Biz not done with state banks, --so if you lived in MD but used a bank in another state you would be TAXED! --Mc. Culloch worked in the Baltimore branch of bank of US --he REFUSED to pay the TAX! -- State of Maryland sued Mc. Culloch!

► 1819 ► Ruling § Federal government is supreme over state government § Allowed for a broad interpretation of constitution: IMPLIED POWERS Mc. Culloch v. Maryland Issue: Implied Powers of National Government and Supremacy Clause

GIBBONS V OGDEN 1824

Gibbons v. Ogden ► 1824 ► Issue: Federal control over Interstate Commerce The key question in this case is who should have power to determine how interstate commerce is conducted: the state governments, the national government, or both? ► Congress has power to regulate interstate commerce § (trade b/w states) ► Broke up steamboat monopoly ► Supremacy Clause (Article VI)

Dred Scott v. Sanford ► 1857 ► Being a citizen of a state (slave or nonslave state) didn’t make a person a U. S. citizen ► Only Congress can grant American citizenship Issue: Federal attempts to control slavery

Plessy v. Ferguson Issue: 14 th Amendment and Segregation ► 1896 ► 14 th Does Treating People Equally Mean Treating Them the Same? amendment guarantees racial equality in legal terms, not social matters ► “separate but equal”

► 1919 ► Limited free speech when it presents a CLEAR and PRESENT DANGER defendant, Charles Schenck, a Socialist, circulated a flyer to recently drafted men. The flyer, which cited the Thirteenth Amendment's provision against "involuntary servitude, " exhorted the men to "assert [their] opposition to the draft, “ ► Schenck was charged with conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act of 1917 by attempting to cause insubordination in the military and to obstruct recruitment. ► Schenck v. US Issue: 1 st Amendment rights

Korematsu v. US Issue: Detainment of Japanese American citizens during WW II ► 1945 ► Japanese-American relocation camps were found to be constitutional!!

► 1954 ► Separate but equal was ruled UNconstitutional ►Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson ► School DEsegregation Brown v Board of Education Issue: Segregation and 14 th Amendment

Gideon v. Wainwright Issue: Right to an Attorney ► 1963 ► Accused has the right to be advised of their rights ► Accused will get a court-appointed attorney if he/she can’t afford one ► Freedom from selfincrimination (5 th)

Mapp v. Ohio ► 1961 ► 4 th Amendment ► Prohibition of unreasonable search and seizure ► States nor federal governments can use illegally obtained evidence Issue: Search Warrants

Abington Schools v. Schempp Issue: Religion in schools ► 1963 ► Declared school sponsored Bible reading in public schools UNCONSTIUTIONAL ► Favor of Edward Schempp

Reynolds v. Sims ► 1964 ► “One man, one vote” ► Reapportionment election districts of Issue: Equal Representation in State Government

Roe v. Wade ► 1973 ► Issue: first Jane Roe, unmarried and pregnant who wanted an abortion ► But texas law made it illegal to abort a fetus ► Filed a suit to challenge the law ► Abortion is legalized ► trimester (3 months) abortion is up to the woman and her physician ► Most controversial case

New Jersey v. TLO ► 1985 ► Teacher at a high school caught girls smoking in the bathroom ► Allowed to smoke in some areas but not broom ► One said (tlo) she was smoking the other said she wasn’t. Principal told TLO to give him her purse ► Found cigs and rolling papers ► Thought she was using… ► § Marijuana Decided to search her purse even more! ► Found weed, pipe, list of names ► Upheld 4 th amendment! § Appropriate Search and seizure applies to public schools too ►