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Gibbons v. Ogden
case that famously expounded upon the powers of the commerce clause, setting the precedent of Congress's broad ability to regulate interstate and some intrastate commerce. -
Mapp v. Ohio
that evidence obtained illegally may not be used against someone in a court of law by the Fourth Amendment -
Engel v. Vitale
law required public schools to open each day with the Pledge of Allegiance and a nondenominational prayer in which the students recognized their dependence upon God. The law allowed students to absent themselves from this activity if they found it objectionable. A parent sued on behalf of his child, arguing that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as made applicable to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment -
Brandenburg v. Ohio
the Supreme Court held that the Ohio law violated Brandenburg's right to free speech. The court found that the Ohio Criminal Syndicalism Statute ignored whether or not the advocacy it criminalized actually led to imminent lawless action. -
roe v wade
the Supreme Court recognized that the right to liberty in the Constitution, which protects personal privacy, includes the right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy or end it. -
United States v. Nixon
the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court unanimously ordered President Richard Nixon to deliver tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials related to the Watergate scandal to a federal district court. -
Bush v. Gore
opinion held 7-2 that the Florida Supreme Court's scheme for recounting ballots was unconstitutional. Even if the recount was fair in theory, it was unfair in practice. The record suggested that different standards were applied from ballot to ballot, precinct to precinct, and county to county. -
Lawrence v. Texas
invalidated sodomy law across the United States, making same-sex sexual activity legal in every State and United States territory. -
District of Columbia v. Heller
Heller, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26, 2008, held (5–4) that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to possess firearms independent of service in a state militia and to use firearms for traditionally lawful purposes, including self-defense within the home. -
Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission
The court held 5–4 that the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations, including nonprofit corporations, labor unions, and other associations.