Essential Supreme Court Cases for Constitutional Law

Landmark Supreme Court Rulings

• Marbury v. Madison: Established judicial review.
• McCulloch v. Maryland: Confirmed the right of Congress to utilize implied powers.
• Gibbons v. Ogden: Strengthened the power of the federal government to regulate interstate commerce.
• Engel v. Vitale: Struck down state-sponsored prayer in public schools.
• Lemon v. Kurtzman: Struck down state funding for private religious schools.
• Reynolds v. U.S.: Banned polygamy.
• Oregon v. Smith: Banned the use of illegal drugs in religious ceremonies.
• Schenck v. United States: Free speech is limited when it presents a clear and present danger.
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan: Ruled that public officials cannot easily sue for libel.
• Roth v. U.S.: Ruled that obscenity is not protected free speech.
• Tinker v. Des Moines: Protected some forms of symbolic speech.
• Texas v. Johnson: Ruled that flag burning is protected speech.
• Barron v. Baltimore: Ruled the Bill of Rights cannot be applied to states.
• Gitlow v. New York: Extended most requirements of the Bill of Rights to states.
• Weeks v. U.S.: Established the exclusionary rule in federal cases.
• Mapp v. Ohio: Extended the exclusionary rule to states.
• Gideon v. Wainwright: Sixth Amendment right to counsel provision.
• Dred Scott v. Sandford: Ruled that African Americans were not citizens.
• Plessy v. Ferguson: Established the separate but equal doctrine for public facilities.
• Brown v. Board of Education: Ruled that racially segregated schools violated the 14th Amendment.
• University of California v. Bakke: Ruled race could be used as a factor in college admissions.
• Grutter v. Bollinger: Upheld affirmative action policies.
• Griswold v. Connecticut: Ruled that criminalizing contraceptives violated the right to privacy.
• Baker v. Carr: Ordered state legislative districts to be as equal as possible.
• Wesberry v. Sanders: Established the "one person, one vote" principle in congressional districts.
• U.S. v. Nixon: Ruled that there is no absolute constitutional executive privilege.
• Buckley v. Valeo: Upheld federal limits on campaign contributions.