Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Question 1

Overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine and began the desegregation of public schools

Accepted Answer

Brown v. Board of Education

Question 2

Established the Supreme Court’s power of Judicial Review

Accepted Answer

Marbury v. Madison

Question 3

Upheld use of affirmative action policies that give preferential treatment to minorities in college admissions process

Accepted Answer

Regents of California v. Bakke

Question 4

Held that state governments cannot interfere with contracts between private organizations

Accepted Answer

Dartmouth College v. Woodward

Question 5

Limited the president’s power use executive privilege to withhold information from Congress.

Accepted Answer

United States v. Nixon

Question 6

Held that states cannot outlaw a woman’s right to have an abortion

Accepted Answer

Roe v. Wade

Question 7

Established that Congress has the sole authority to regulate interstate commerce

Accepted Answer

Gibbons v. Ogden

Question 8

Upheld the power of the government to intern American citizens during World War II to protect against espionage

Accepted Answer

Korematsu v. United States

Question 9

Court ruled that slaves and their descendants are not citizens, and therefore have no legal rights

Accepted Answer

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Question 10

Upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and prohibited racial discrimination in private facilities

Accepted Answer

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. the United States

Question 11

Ruled that busing could be used to correct racial imbalances within school systems

Accepted Answer

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Ed.

Question 12

Segregation based on race was constitutional. Established the doctrine “separate but equal”:

Accepted Answer

Plessy v. Ferguson

Question 13

Ruled that Congress had powers beyond those listed in the Constitution (like establishing a bank) via the elastic clause

Accepted Answer

McCulloch v. Maryland

Questions 13