Question 1

What were the facts of Engel v. Vitale (1961)?

Accepted Answer

The New York State Board of Regents (Vitale) authorized a short, voluntary prayer at the start of each school day

A group of organizations (Engel) challenged the prayer, claiming it violated the Establishment Clause

The NY Court of Appeals rejected their arguments

Question 2

What was the question of Engel v. Vitale (1962)?

Accepted Answer

Does reading a voluntary prayer at the start of the school day violate the Establishment Clause?

Question 3

What was the holding of Engel v. Vitale (1962)?

Accepted Answer

The state cannot hold prayers in public schools, even if participation is voluntary and the prayer is not tied to a particular religion

Violates the Establishment Clause by breaching the constitutional wall of separation between church and state

(6-1 for Engel)

Question 4

What were the facts of Wisconsin v. Yoder (1971)?

Accepted Answer

Three Amish parents refused to send their children to public schools because high school attendance was contrary to their religious beliefs

They were subsequently prosecuted under a Wisconsin law that required children to go to school until the age of 16

Question 5

What was the question of Wisconsin v. Yoder (1971)?

Accepted Answer

Did Wisconsin's requirement that parents send their children to school until age 16 violate the Free Exercise Clause?

Question 6

What was the holding of Wisconsin v. Yoder (1971)?

Accepted Answer

Yoder's interest in the free exercise of religion outweighed the State's interests in compelling school attendance

The values of the school were in sharp conflict with the values of the Amish

(unanimous decision for Yoder)

Question 7

What were the facts of Schenck v. United States (1919)?

Accepted Answer

Schenck (a socialist) distributed leaflets declaring that the draft for WWI violated the 13th Amendment's prohibition of involuntary servitude

The leaflets urged the public to disobey the draft but only advised peaceful action

Schenck was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 for attempting to cause insubordination in the military and to obstruct recruitment

Question 8

What was the question of Schenck v. United States (1919)?

Accepted Answer

Did Schenck's conviction under the Espionage Act violate his 1st Amendment freedom of speech?

Question 9

What was the holding of Schenck v. United States (1919)?

Accepted Answer

The Espionage Act did not violate the 1st Amendment

The 1st Amendment does not protect speech that creates a "clear and present danger"

(unanimous decision for United States)

Question 10

What were the facts of Tinker v. Des Moines (1968)?

Accepted Answer

A group of students (Tinker) planned to wear black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War

The principles of the Des Moines school learned about the plan and made a policy requiring any student wearing a black armband to remove it or be suspended

The students continued with the plan and were suspended for it

Their parents argued that the school policy violated the students' right to expression, and sought an injunction to prevent their children from being suspended

The district court dismissed the case

Question 11

What was the question of Tinker v. Des Moines (1968)?

Accepted Answer

Does prohibiting students from wearing armbands (symbolic speech) violate the protections of the First Amendment?

Question 12

What was the holding of Tinker v. Des Moines (1968)?

Accepted Answer

Prohibiting students from wearing armbands was a violation of the First Amendment

The school would have to prove that the armbands "materially and substantially interfere" with operations

(7-2 for Tinker)

Question 13

What were the facts of New York Times v. United States (1971)?

Accepted Answer

The Nixon Administration attempted to prevent the NYT and Washington Post from publishing materials belonging to a classified Defense Department study about Vietnam

Nixon argued that prior restraint was necessary to protect national security

Question 14

What was the question of New York Times v. United States (1971)?

Accepted Answer

Did the government's attempts to prevent publication of "classified information" violate the First Amendment?

Question 15

What was the holding of New York Times v. United States (1971)?

Accepted Answer

Prohibiting the publication of papers was unconstitutional and violated the First Amendment

The government did not overcome the "heavy presumption against" prior restraint; "security" is a vague word

Question 16

What were the facts of McDonald v. Chicago (2010)?

Accepted Answer

Chicago issued a law banning handguns and placing other restrictions on rifles and shotguns

After the SCOTUS declared that a DC handgun ban violated the 2nd Amendment, people (McDonald) sued Chicago and argued that the 2nd Amendment should apply to the states

The district court dismissed the case, and a court of appeals affirmed

Question 17

What was the question of McDonald v. Chicago (2010)?

Accepted Answer

Does the 2nd Amendment apply to the states?

(is it incorporated by the Due Process Clause?)

Question 18

What was the holding of McDonald v. Chicago (2010)?

Accepted Answer

The Second Amendment applied to the states

The right to self-defense is a "fundamental" and "deeply rooted" right

(5-4 for McDonald; case was given back to the appeal court)

Question 19

What were the facts of Roe v. Wade (1973)?

Accepted Answer

Jane Roe (pseudonym) filed a lawsuit against Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas, challenging a Texas law that made abortion illegal unless it was used to save a woman's life

Roe claimed that the laws were unconstitutionally vague and abridged her right to privacy

Question 20

What was the question of Roe v. Wade (1973)?

Accepted Answer

Does the Constitution recognize a woman's right to abortion?

Question 21

What was the holding of Roe v. Wade (1973)?

Accepted Answer

The Constitution does recognize a woman's right to abortion

The "right to privacy" in the 14th Amendment protects a woman's choice to have an abortion

This is balanced against protecting "the potentiality of human life"

(7-2 for Roe)

Question 22

What were the facts of Gideon v. Wainwright (1962)?

Accepted Answer

Gideon was charged with felony breaking and entering and requested a lawyer in court but was not given one

Gideon was found guilty but wrote a petition to the Florida Supreme Court arguing that not giving him a lawyer violated his constitutional right to be represented by a counsel

Question 23

What was the question of Gideon v. Wainwright (1962)?

Accepted Answer

Does the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel extend to felony defendants in state courts?

(is the Sixth Amendment incorporated into states?)

Question 24

What was the holding of Gideon v. Wainwright (1962)?

Accepted Answer

The Sixth Amendment's guarantee of a right to a counsel applies to the states

The guarantee of a counsel is a fundamental and essential right

(unanimous decision for Gideon)

Question 25

What were the facts of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)?

Accepted Answer

Louisiana enacted the Separate Car Act, which required separate railway cars for blacks and whites

Plessy (7/8 Caucasian) sat in a "whites-only" car as part of a test by New Orleans citizens to challenge the Act

Plessy argued that the Act violated the 13th and 14th Amendments, but was arrested and found guilty

Question 26

What was the question of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)?

Accepted Answer

Did the Separate Car Act that established separate cars for blacks and whites violate the 14th Amendment?

Question 27

What was the holding of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)?

Accepted Answer

The Separate Car Act did not violate the 14th Amendment, allowing segregation to continue

The 14th Amendment establishes equality for the races before the law, but the court believed that segregation did not imply unequal treatment

(7-1 for Ferguson)

Question 28

What were the facts of Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?

Accepted Answer

In various cases relating to public school segregation, African Americans had been denied admittance to certain public schools because of laws allowing segregation

They argued such segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause, but their plaintiffs were denied based on Plessy v. Ferguson

The various cases were consolidated in Brown v. Board of Education

Question 29

What was the question of Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?

Accepted Answer

Does segregation of public education based solely on race violate the Equal Protection Clause?

Question 30

What was the holding of Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?

Accepted Answer

"Separate but equal" is inherently unequal and facilitate violations of the Equal Protection Clause

Court reasoned that segregation instills a feeling of inferiority in African Americans that had a detrimental effect on the growth and development of children

(unanimous decision for Brown)

SCOTUS Cases, AP U.S. Government and Politics Flashcards