The 14 required Supreme Court cases for AP U.S. Government

Every case the course requires, with its facts and holding in a sentence and three questions on each: the clause at issue, the holding and reasoning, and how it applies to a new case. The SCOTUS Comparison on the exam asks you to explain one of these against a case you have not studied.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

The Court held part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional, establishing judicial review: courts can strike down laws that conflict with the Constitution.

Question 1

A new federal law lets any citizen sue a federal agency directly in the Supreme Court, skipping the lower courts. Relying on Marbury v. Madison, a court reviewing the law would most likely hold that

Question 2

In Marbury v. Madison (1803), William Marbury asked the Supreme Court to order Secretary of State James Madison to deliver his commission as a justice of the peace. The constitutional question the Court decided was whether

Chief Justice John Marshall, opinion of the Court, Marbury v. Madison, 1803

It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases, must of necessity expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each.

Question 3

In the excerpt, Chief Justice Marshall gives the reasoning for which power, established by the holding in Marbury v. Madison?

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Congress could create a national bank under the necessary and proper clause, and Maryland could not tax it, because federal law is supreme over state law.

Question 1

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) arose when

Question 2

In McCulloch v. Maryland, the Supreme Court unanimously held that

Question 3

Which statement accurately compares McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and United States v. Lopez (1995)?

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Upheld a conviction for distributing leaflets urging resistance to the World War I draft: speech creating a clear and present danger can be limited.

Question 1

During a war, a man hands out flyers urging workers at an arms factory to walk out and block the gates so that weapons cannot be shipped to the troops. Under the reasoning of Schenck v. United States, the government's strongest argument for punishing him is that

Question 2

Charles Schenck was convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917, and his case reached the Supreme Court in 1919, after he

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, opinion of the Court, Schenck v. United States, 1919

We admit that in many places and in ordinary times the defendants in saying all that was said in the circular would have been within their constitutional rights. But the character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done. . . . The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic. . . . The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.

Question 3

Which statement best describes the test the Court applies in the excerpt?

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

State laws segregating public schools by race violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.

Question 1

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) began when

Chief Justice Earl Warren, opinion of the Court, Brown v. Board of Education, 1954

We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 2

The excerpt shows that the Court in Brown v. Board of Education

Question 3

In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court upheld a Louisiana law requiring separate railroad cars for Black and white passengers, as long as the cars were equal. Which statement accurately compares Plessy with Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Challenges to how a state draws legislative districts are not political questions, so federal courts can hear them; this opened the way to one person, one vote.

Question 1

In a state, each rural legislative district holds about 20,000 people, while a city district holds about 200,000, because the lines have not changed in decades. City voters sue in federal court. Because of Baker v. Carr,

Question 2

Baker v. Carr (1962) involved voters who challenged

Question 3

The Supreme Court's holding in Baker v. Carr was that

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

A state-written prayer recited in public schools violates the Establishment Clause, even if it is nondenominational and students may stay silent.

Question 1

A public high school invites a member of the clergy, chosen by the principal, to lead a prayer at its graduation ceremony. A student sues. Which precedent most strongly supports the student, and why?

Question 2

Engel v. Vitale (1962) arose from

Justice Hugo Black, opinion of the Court, Engel v. Vitale, 1962

We agree with that contention since we think that the constitutional prohibition against laws respecting an establishment of religion must at least mean that in this country it is no part of the business of government to compose official prayers for any group of the American people to recite as a part of a religious program carried on by government.

Question 3

Based on the excerpt, the Court in Engel v. Vitale held that

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

The Sixth Amendment right to counsel applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment: a state must provide a lawyer to a defendant in a felony case who cannot afford one.

Question 1

A state charges a man who cannot afford a lawyer with felony theft. The judge tells him he must represent himself because the state's money for public defenders has run out, and he is convicted. Under Gideon v. Wainwright,

Question 2

Clarence Earl Gideon's case reached the Supreme Court because

Justice Hugo Black, opinion of the Court, Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963

Not only these precedents but also reason and reflection require us to recognize that in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him. This seems to us to be an obvious truth. Governments, both state and federal, quite properly spend vast sums of money to establish machinery to try defendants accused of crime. Lawyers to prosecute are everywhere deemed essential to protect the public's interest in an orderly society.

Question 3

The reasoning in the excerpt supports the Court's holding that

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)

Students wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War were protected symbolic speech; schools may limit speech only if it would substantially disrupt school.

Question 1

In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), students were suspended after they

Justice Abe Fortas, opinion of the Court, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 1969

It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. . . .

But, in our system, undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression. Any departure from absolute regimentation may cause trouble. Any variation from the majority's opinion may inspire fear. Any word spoken, in class, in the lunchroom, or on the campus, that deviates from the views of another person may start an argument or cause a disturbance.

Question 2

The excerpt supports the Court's holding that public schools

Question 3

In Morse v. Frederick (2007), the Supreme Court upheld a principal's punishment of a student who held up a banner at a school-supervised event that the principal reasonably read as promoting illegal drug use. Which statement accurately compares Morse with Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)?

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

The government could not stop newspapers publishing the Pentagon Papers: prior restraint carries a heavy presumption against it under the First Amendment.

Question 1

A state agency learns that a news website plans to publish leaked internal records showing the agency mismanaged a public program. The agency asks a court to forbid publication in advance. Based on New York Times Co. v. United States, the court would most likely

Question 2

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) arose when

Question 3

In the Pentagon Papers case, the Supreme Court held that

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Requiring Amish children to attend school past eighth grade violated the Free Exercise Clause; the parents' religious interest outweighed the state's interest.

Question 1

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) involved Amish parents who

Question 2

The Supreme Court ruled for the Amish families in Wisconsin v. Yoder because

Question 3

Which statement accurately compares Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) with Engel v. Vitale (1962)?

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

A congressional district drawn so oddly that it can be explained only by race can be challenged under the Equal Protection Clause.

Question 1

Shaw v. Reno (1993) arose when

Question 2

In Shaw v. Reno, a 5-4 Supreme Court held that

Question 3

Which statement accurately compares Baker v. Carr (1962) and Shaw v. Reno (1993)?

United States v. Lopez (1995)

Congress exceeded its commerce clause power with the Gun-Free School Zones Act: carrying a gun near a school is not economic activity that substantially affects interstate commerce.

Question 1

Congress makes it a federal crime to damage public school property anywhere in the country, citing its power to regulate interstate commerce. Based on United States v. Lopez, the strongest argument against the law is that

Question 2

United States v. Lopez (1995) began when a high school senior in San Antonio, Texas, who brought a handgun to school was charged under

Question 3

In United States v. Lopez, a 5-4 Supreme Court held that

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, an example of selective incorporation.

Question 1

McDonald v. Chicago (2010) arose when Otis McDonald and other residents challenged

Question 2

In McDonald v. Chicago, a 5-4 Supreme Court held that

Question 3

Which statement accurately compares McDonald v. Chicago (2010) with Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)?

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Independent political spending by corporations, labor unions and other groups is protected speech under the First Amendment, so the government cannot ban it.

Question 1

After Citizens United, a labor union wants to use money from its general treasury to pay for television ads urging viewers to vote against a Senate candidate. The union makes the ads without coordinating with any campaign. Under the ruling,

Question 2

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) arose when the nonprofit corporation Citizens United wanted to

Question 3

In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a 5-4 Supreme Court held that

Then write a SCOTUS Comparison

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