AP Government Landmark Court Cases

Background: WWI, Schenck passed out circulars to convince others draft was wrong. Question: Protected by first Amendment?Ruling: No, shows clear and present danger during wartime. Famous example of "fire" in a theatre.

Background: Gitlow, a socialist, was arrested for distributing copies of a "left-wing manifesto" in NY. Question: Does the NY law law punishing the advocacy of overthrowing the government violate 1st amendment? Ruling: Incorporates 1st Amendment, but states can use the "dangerous tendency" test. Gitlow's conviction was upheld.

Background: Palko found guilty of 2nd degree murder, then Connecticut appealed and found him guilty of 1st degree and sentenced him to death. Question: Does his conviction violate the 5th Amendment (double jeopardy) and does the 5th Amendment apply to the states?Ruling: The Supreme Court upheld Palko's second conviction. The 5th Amendment was not a fundamental right. Overturned by Benton v. Maryland 1968.

Background: Two Jehovah's Witness school children were forced to salute the flag. Question: Does this violate the establishment clause in the First Amendment?Outcome: Ruled in favor of school district because national unity was more important that the students' rights. Overturned by West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette three years later.

Background: Everyone required to honor the flag. Question:Did the compulsory flag-salute for public schoolchildren violate the First Amendment?Outcome: Yes it does, overturned Minersville v. Gobitis.

Background: Mapp was convicted of possessing obscene materials after an admittedly illegal police search of her home for a fugitive. She appealed her conviction on the basis of freedom of expression.Question: Were the confiscated materials protected by the First Amendment? (May evidence obtained through a search in violation of the Fourth Amendment be admitted in a state criminal proceeding?)Outcome: 1st Amendment is ignored. Incorporates 4th Amendment's rights to privacy leading to the exclusionary rule.

Background: Engle, who was Jewish, discovered his son praying in school. Question: Does this violate the establishment clause?Outcome: Prayer sponsored by a public school does violate the 1st amendment.

Background: Full page ad was put in the NYT claiming MLK's arrest for perjury was an effort to stop integration. Parts of the ad had factual errors. L. B. Sullivan, the Montgomery city commissioner, won a 500,000 dollar judgment. Outcome: Even though there are factual errors, you have to prove malice. Sullivan loses.

Background: The defendants were virtually cut off from the world during interrogation, and were not read their rights, which led to discussion-based admissions from all of them.Question: Does the police practice of interrogating individuals without notifying them of their right to counsel and their protection against self-incrimination violate the Fifth Amendment?Outcome: Yes it does. The Court specifically outlined the necessary aspects of police warnings to suspects, including warnings of the the right to remain silent and the right to have counsel present during interrogations. Miranda Rights.

Background: Three students were suspended from their school for wearing black arm bands protesting Vietnam.Question: Does this violate freedom of speech?Outcome: Students do have freedom of speech in schools and the principals had failed to show that the forbidden conduct would substantially interfere with appropriate school discipline.

Background: In what became known as the "Pentagon Papers Case," the Nixon Administration attempted to prevent the New York Times and Washington Post from publishing materials belonging to a classified Defense Department study regarding the history of United States activities in Vietnam. The President argued that prior restraint was necessary to protect national security. Question: Did this violate the First Amendment?Outcome: Yes, it did. Since publication would not cause an "inevitable, direct, and immediate event imperiling the safety of American forces, prior restraint was unjustified."

Background: Miller, after conducting a mass mailing campaign to advertise the sale of "adult" material, was convicted under a CA law.
Main constitutional issue: Is the sale and distribution of obscene materials by mail protected under the First Amendment's freedom of speech guarantee?
Outcome: No. basic guidelines (a) whether 'the average person would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest. . . (b) the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."

Background: Roe, a Texas resident, sought to terminate her pregnancy by abortion. Texas law prohibited abortions except to save a pregnant woman's life.Main constitutional issue: Does the Constitution embrace a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy by abortion?Result: Yes, it is protected by right to privacy in the first trimester.

Background: Bakke rejected from University of CA med school. 16/100 spots were reserved for minorities. Bakke's scores exceeded the minority applicants scores. Main constitutional issue: Did the University of California violate the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by practicing an affirmative action?Outcome: No and yes. Quotas violated the Civil Rights Act, but race can still be a factor in admissions.

Background: Leon was on surveillance based on an anonymous informant's tip. Judge issued warrant and large quantities of drugs were found. During trial a judge affidavit for the search warrant was insufficient and evidence could not be used. Question: Is there a "good faith" exception to the exclusionary rule?Result: Yes, there is such an exception. The justices held that evidence seized on the basis of a mistakenly issued search warrant could be introduced at trial.