📚 Constitutional Cases Overview
Brief Overview
This note covers Constitutional law and was created from PDF of 7 pages, 2817 words. It
covers landmark Supreme Court decisions on privacy, free speech, gun rights, voting age,
and marriage equality.
Key Points
Landmark amendments: Roe, Heller, Obergefell, and others
Core doctrines: judicial review and the exclusionary rule
Federal authority: Necessary and Proper Clause, election disputes
Civil rights evolution: From Plessy to Brown and beyond
📜 Amendments‑Related Cases
Roe v. Wade (1973) – Right to Privacy & Abortion
Facts: Jane Roe sought an abortion in Texas, where state law prohibited it
except in limited circumstances.
Issue: Whether Texas abortion restrictions violated a woman's constitutional
right to privacy.
Holding: Supreme Court held that the right to privacy, derived from the Due
Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, protects a woman's decision to
terminate a pregnancy.
“A woman's right to choose to have an abortion is protected under the constitutional
right to privacy.”
Result: Abortion became legal nationwide, though states may impose certain
regulations.
Texas v. Johnson (1989) – First Amendment (Free Speech)
Facts: Gregory Johnson burned an American flag during a 1984 protest at the
Republican National Convention; Texas law criminalized flag desecration.
Issue: Whether flag burning constitutes protected symbolic speech.
Holding: Court ruled flag burning is expressive conduct protected by the
First Amendment.
“Even unpopular or offensive forms of expression are safeguarded by the Constitution.”
District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) – Second Amendment (Right to Bear
Arms)
Facts: D.C. law banned handgun possession in the home and required firearms
to be inoperable. Dick Heller challenged the law.
Issue: Whether the law infringed on an individual's right to possess a firearm for
self‑defense.
Holding: Supreme Court affirmed an individual's right to keep a handgun at
home for self‑defense.
“The Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for
self‑defense within the home.”
Oregon v. Mitchell (1970) – Voting Age & the 26th Amendment
Facts: Oregon kept the voting age at 21 for state/local elections while the
federal voting age was set at 18 by the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970.
Issue: Whether Congress could set voting age for state and local elections.
Holding: Congress may set voting age for federal elections only; states retain
authority over state/local elections.
Consequence: Prompted the 26th Amendment, establishing 18 as the minimum
voting age for all elections.
United States v. Windsor (2013) – Fifth Amendment (Equal Protection) &
DOMA
Facts: Edith Windsor, widowed after her same‑sex spouse’s death, faced a
federal estate tax because DOMA defined marriage as heterosexual.
Issue: Whether Section 3 of DOMA violated the Fifth Amendment’s Equal
Protection Clause.
Holding: Court struck down DOMA’s definition as unconstitutional.
“DOMA imposed inequality and stigma upon same‑sex couples, contrary to
equal‑protection principles.”
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) – Fourteenth Amendment (Equal Protection
& Due Process)
Facts: Same‑sex couples in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee sought
recognition of their marriages.
Issue: Whether states must license and recognize same‑sex marriages.
Holding: Supreme Court required all states to license and recognize same‑sex
marriages.
“Denying same‑sex couples the right to marry violates their fundamental right to marry
and equal‑protection rights.”
Case Amendment(s) Involved Core Holding
Roe v. Wade 14th (Privacy) Right to abortion protected
Texas v. Johnson 1st (Speech) Flag burning is protected
speech
D.C. v. Heller 2nd (Arms) Individual right to handgun
for self‑defense
Oregon v. Mitchell 26th (Voting Age) Federal voting age set at
18; states control local
ages
U.S. v. Windsor 5th (Equal Protection) DOMA’s same‑sex
marriage ban
unconstitutional
Obergefell v. Hodges 14th (Equal Protection & Nationwide legalization of
Due Process) same‑sex marriage
⚖️ Judicial Cases
Marbury v. Madison (1803) – Judicial Review
Facts: William Marbury sued James Madison for failing to deliver his
commission.
Issue: Whether the Supreme Court could declare an act of Congress
unconstitutional.
Holding: Declared the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional, establishing
judicial review.
“The Court has the authority to interpret the Constitution and invalidate conflicting
laws.”
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) – Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel
Facts: Clarence Gideon, unable to afford counsel, represented himself in a
felony case.
Issue: Whether states must provide counsel to indigent defendants.
Holding: Supreme Court required states to provide legal counsel under the
Sixth Amendment applied through the Fourteenth Amendment.
Miranda v. Arizona (1966) – Fifth & Sixth Amendments (Miranda Rights)
Facts: Ernesto Miranda was interrogated without being warned of his rights.
Issue: Whether police must inform suspects of their rights before custodial
interrogation.
Holding: Established Miranda warnings: right to remain silent and right to
counsel.
🗳️ Civics & Redistricting Cases
Baker v. Carr (1962) – “One Person, One Vote” (Legislative
Apportionment)
Facts: Charles Baker challenged Tennessee’s outdated district maps.
Issue: Whether federal courts can review apportionment.
Holding: Federal courts have jurisdiction; established principle of equal
representation.
Reynolds v. Sims (1964) – Legislative Equality
Facts: Alabama’s unequal districts were challenged.
Holding: State legislative districts must be roughly equal in population.
Mapp v. Ohio (1961) – Fourth Amendment (Exclusionary Rule)
Facts: Dollree Mapp’s home was searched without a proper warrant.
Holding: Illegally obtained evidence is inadmissible in state courts.
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) – Right to Privacy
Facts: Estelle Griswold and Dr. C. Lee Buxton challenged a law banning
contraceptives.
Holding: Recognized a constitutional “right to privacy” within the “penumbras”
of several amendments.
Case Amendment(s) Key Principle
Baker v. Carr 14th (Equal Protection) Federal courts can enforce
equal representation
Reynolds v. Sims 14th (Equal Protection) “One person, one vote” for
state legislatures
Mapp v. Ohio 4th (Search & Seizure) Exclusionary rule applies to
states
Griswold v. Connecticut 1st, 3rd, 4th, 9th, 14th Constitutional right to
privacy
🏛️ Federal Power & Election Cases
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) – Necessary and Proper Clause
Facts: Maryland taxed the Second Bank of the United States; James McCulloch
refused payment.
Issue: Scope of Congress’s implied powers and state interference.
Holding: Congress may create institutions under the Necessary and Proper
Clause; states cannot tax federal entities.
Bush v. Gore (2000) – Election Dispute & Equal Protection
Facts: Florida’s manual recount of presidential votes was contested.
Issue: Whether the recount violated the Equal Protection Clause.
Holding: Supreme Court halted the recount due to lack of uniform standards,
effectively awarding the presidency to George W. Bush.
✊ Slave & Civil Rights Cases
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) – “Separate but Equal” Doctrine
Facts: Homer Plessy challenged Louisiana’s segregation law on railcars.
Holding: Upheld segregation if facilities were “equal,” legitimizing racial
segregation.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – Overturning “Separate but Equal”
Facts: African‑American families sued over segregated public schools.
Holding: Declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional; “separate is
inherently unequal.”
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) – Citizenship & Missouri Compromise
Facts: Enslaved Dred Scott sued for freedom after residing in free territories.
Holding: Declared that African Americans could not be citizens and that the
Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.
Case Era Main Outcome
Constitutional
Issue
Plessy v. Ferguson Reconstruction 14th (Equal Upheld segregation
Protection) –
“Separate but
equal”
Brown v. Board Civil Rights 14th (Equal Declared
Protection) – segregation
School segregation unconstitutional
Dred Scott Antebellum Citizenship & Denied citizenship;
v. Sandford federal power over invalidated Missouri
slavery Compromise