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- Marbury v. Madison, 1803 (4-0 decision) Established the Supreme Court's power of judicial review over Congress.
- McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819 (7-0 decision) Established the federal government's implied powers over the states.
- Dred Scott v. Sandford, 1857 (7-2 decision) Denied citizenship to African American slaves.
- Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 (7-1 decision) Upheld "separate but equal" segregation laws in states.
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In the United States, landmark court decisions come most frequently from the Supreme Court. United States courts of appeals may also make such decisions, particularly if the Supreme Court chooses not to review the case.
- The O.J. Simpson trial-Murder. Watch this video on YouTube. Simpson trial which took place in 1995, is one of the most well-known criminal prosecutions in American history.
- Madison v. Marbury 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137, 1803-Judicial Review. In this case, President John Adams appointed William Marbury to be a justice of the peace, but James Madison, the new secretary of state, refused to give him his appointment until President Thomas Jefferson assumed office.
- Donoghue v. Stevenson 1932 AC 562- Dead snail. Watch this video on YouTube. This case is regarded as a seminal one in the field of negligence law or tort depending on the jurisdiction of a country.
- Roe v. Wade 410 U.S. 113, 1973-Abortion rights. Watch this video on YouTube. In Roe v. Wade, one of the parties, Norma McCorvey, posing as “Jane Roe,” requested an abortion in Texas, United Statesbut was turned down because of state laws that forbade abortions other than those necessary to save the mother’s life.
- Marbury v. Madison
- Mcculloch v. Maryland
- Gibbons v. Ogden
- Dred Scott v. Sandford
- Schenck v. United States
- Brown v. Board of Education
- Gideon v. Wainwright
- Miranda v. Arizona
- Tinker v. Des Moines
- Roe v. Wade
Issue: Who can ultimately decide what the law is? Result: "It is explicitly the province and duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is." Importance: This decision gave the Court the ability to strike down laws on the grounds that they are unconstitutional (a power called judicial review).
Issue: Can Congress establish a national bank, and if so, can a state tax this bank? Result: The Court held that Congress had implied powers to establish a national bank under the "necessary and proper" clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Court also determined that United States laws trump state laws and consequently, a state could not tax the nat...
Issue: Can states pass laws that challenge the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce? Result: The Court held that it is the role of the federal government to regulate commerce and that state governments cannot develop their own commerce-regulating laws. Further, the Court created a wide definition for “commerce,” reasoning that the term...
Issue: In this pre-Civil War case, the question was whether Congress had the constitutional power to prohibit slavery in free territories. A second question was whether the Constitution gave African Americans the right to sue in federal court. Result: The 1857 Court answered no on both accounts: Congress could not prohibit slavery in territories, a...
Issue: Is certain speech, including sending antiwar pamphlets to drafted men, made in wartime and deemed in violation of the Espionage Act, protected by the First Amendment? Result: No. Although the defendant would have been able to state his views during ordinary times, the Court held that in certain circumstances, like this case the nation being ...
Issue: Do racially segregated public schools violate the Equal Protection Clause? Result: Yes. A unanimous Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and held that state laws requiring or allowing racially segregated schools violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court famously stated "separate educational facilities are inhe...
Issue: Does the Constitution require that any individual charged with a felony, but unable to pay for a lawyer, be guaranteed the free assistance of legal counsel? Result: Yes, according to a unanimous Supreme Court. The Court held that the Sixth Amendment right to assistance of counsel applies to criminal state trials and that "lawyers in criminal...
Issue: Are police constitutionally required to inform people in custody of their rights to remain silent and to an attorney? Result: Yes, the Court found that the Fifth and Sixth Amendments require police to inform individuals in custody that they have a right to remain silent and to be assisted by an attorney. According to the Court, if the police...
Issue: Does the First Amendment prohibit public school officials from barring students' from wearing black armbands to symbolize anti-war political protest? Result: According to the Court, yes. The Supreme Court held that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech…at the schoolhouse gate." Consequently, the Court found t...
Issue: Does the Constitution prohibit laws that severely restrict or deny a woman's access to abortion? Result: Yes. The Court concluded that such laws violate the Constitution's right to privacy. The Court held that, under the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause, states may only restrict abortions toward the end of a pregnancy, in order to pro...
Oct 11, 2012 · Supreme Court cases that changed America — Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Homer Plessy was arrested when he refused to leave a whites-only segregated train car, claiming he was 7/8 white and only 1/...
Sep 26, 2018 · From cannibalism to carbolic smoke balls, these are some of the fascinating cases that have made the law of England and Wales what it is today.
Apr 9, 2023 · The United States justice system is full of landmark cases that have shaped how we understand and apply the law. Let's explore 10 of the most critical.
