I'm William and I'm gonna teach you about Supreme Court cases

Marbury v. Madison

1803

I'm Thomas Jefferson and I just won the presidential election but, John Adams passed the Judiciary Act and added lots of new courts and judges.

Marbury had been appointed Justice of Peace but his commission wasn't delivered so he petitioned.

This case established Judicial Review which checks an acts of Congress ensuring that they are constitutional

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McCulloch v. Maryland

1819

I'm the state of Maryland and I'm gonna tax the federal bank

Maryland's courts deemed the federal bank unconstitutional because nothing in the constitution commented on a federal bank  

This case established implied constitutional powers for congress. Also known as the Necessary and Proper Clause which means congress has powers that are not explicitly stated in the constitution. It also confirmed national supremacy over states

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Schenck  v. The US

1919

Resist the draft! Avoid at all costs!

This isn't a protest this is avoidance. Schenck is causing harm to others with his resistance.

This case resulted in the Espionage Act which outlawed any hindrances to military recruitment. It also established the governments right to infringe upon free speech during war times

Brown v. Board of Education

1954

Is this what a school looks like?

I don't wanna go to school with her

I just wanna go to school with everyone else

After a long legal battle the separate but equal doctrine was overturned and it was deemed a violation of the 14th amendment to have separate facilities

Engel v. Vitale

1962

Separation of Church and State is a big deal in the US

I don't wanna pray

You need a note from your parents to opt out

Class it is time for our daily prayer

This mandated prayer was deemed a violation of the 1st amendment's establishment clause which prohibits establishment of religion

Baker v. Carr

1962

My rural votes count more than my urban votes which is causing issues with reapportionment

This case led the Supreme Court to be able to rule on legislative reapportionment and established a one person, one vote doctrine making everybody's vote count equally

Gideon v. Wainwright

1963

I'm only in jail because I didn't have a lawyer 

In the state of Florida Gideon was not appointed a lawyer and in turn had no representation

The Supreme Court ruled that the 6th amendment did apply to states. This entitles everybody to representation in court 

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

1969

We're protesting the Vietnam war but we got suspended

The Supreme Court determined this was a violation of the students first amendment right to free speech 

This case did set parameters around free speech on school campuses but it was determined vulgar speech was not the same as political speech

New York Times Co. v. US

1971

I'm President Nixon and I'm looking into the US involvement in the Vietnam War but someone working on the report leaked the report to the New York Times

I work for the NYT and the report confirmed our suspicions that the government is lying to us but President Nixon is trying to restrain us from printing the story

The court ruled that Nixon's restraint was unconstitutional because it was not a matter of national security. This was a victory against censorship! 

Wisconsin v. Yoder

1972

I'm an Amish person and I stopped going to school in 8th grade because in my culture we don't believe school is necessary after 8th grade

Wisconsin said that they were looking after the kids best interest by requiring the kids to stay in school. It was ruled a constitutional violation of the Amish rights to freedom of religion