Marbury Vs Madison –
1803:
- Jefferson passed a bill which created new courts, added judges and gave the POTUS more control over the appointment of judges.
- It was done to frustrate the party.
- The court said that the Act was unconstitutional as it had gone ahead of the courts original jurisdiction.
Plessy
Vs Ferguson – 1896:
- Plessy sat in the “white” carriage car when he himself was black.
- Rail company didn’t want to spend money to buy new additional cars so it went to court.
- Did it go against the 14th Amendment?
- Segregation did not in itself constitute unlawful discrimination. The Constitution was “colour-blind”
Brown
Vs Board of Education – 1954:
- African Americans were being denied going to certain schools.
- Blacks were discriminated and whites were equal
- Segregation was having a huge effect on the education of children so it was now deemed as unconstitutional.
Bush
Vs Gore – 2000:
- Florida must count all “under-votes” (ballots which did not indicate who the vote was going for).
- Gore wanted an immediate hearing – he got it two days later.
- Was the court about to make a new election law?
- The recount was deemed unconstitutional as it could not be done in the timescale.
- This could not be done as the Constitution requires every vote to be counted.
District
of Columbia Vs Heller – 2008:
- Wanted firearms which were unregistered to be illegal and to keep them unloaded.
- Heller was a policeman who kept his firearms on him at all times and he applied for a license. He said that his “right to bear arms” should be kept and that keeping them in your home would be unconstitutional.
- The “right to bear arms” is for keeping arms on you at all times but not for self-defence. The vote was very close at 5-4.