Required Supreme Court Cases

Required cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) provide instructional opportunities to study each case in-depth and to make connections between course concepts. AP Exam questions will ask students to describe important details from these cases, explain how those details relate to concepts in the course, and compare required cases with other Supreme Court cases. Any non-required Supreme Court case that appears on AP Exams will be accompanied by a summary containing all information necessary to compare the non-required case to required SCOTUS cases.

The required Supreme Court cases are widely considered essential content in college courses. Some of the cases may be seen as controversial and some were decided by thin majorities (5 to 4 decisions). Students are not expected or required to either agree or disagree with the Court’s decision. While students will not need to know any dissenting (or concurring) opinions from required cases, teachers should encourage students to be familiar with the legal arguments on both sides of leading important constitutional cases and thoughtfully analyze the majority and dissenting opinions. 

Students should learn the facts, issue, holding, reasoning, decision, and  majority opinion of required Supreme Court cases. The table below provides a brief definition for these terms.

Required Supreme Court Cases

MARBURY V. MADISON (1803) 

In deciding this case about judicial appointments, the court established the principle of judicial review, empowering the Supreme Court to  declare an act of the legislative or executive branch unconstitutional.

 MCCULLOCH V. MARYLAND (1819) 

In deciding this case about a national bank and state taxes, the court established supremacy of the U.S. Constitution and federal laws over state laws.

SCHENCK V. UNITED STATES (1919) 

Speech creating a “clear and present danger” was not protected by the First Amendment and could be limited.

BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION (1954)

Race-based school segregation violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

BAKER V. CARR (1962)

This case held that redistricting did not raise political questions, allowing federal courts to hear other cases that challenge redistricting plans that may violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

ENGEL V. VITALE (1962)

School sponsorship of religious activities violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

GIDEON V. WAINWRIGHT (1963)

In this case, the Sixth Amendment’s right to an attorney extends procedural due process protections to felony defendants in state courts.

TINKER V. DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT (1969)

A prohibition against public school students wearing black armbands in school to protest the Vietnam War violated the students’ freedom of speech protections in the First Amendment.

NEW YORK TIMES CO. V. UNITED STATES (1971)

This case bolstered the freedom of the press protections of the First Amendment, establishing a “heavy presumption against prior restraint” even in cases involving national security.  

WISCONSIN V. YODER (1972)

Compelling Amish students to attend school past the eighth grade violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

SHAW V. RENO (1993)

Under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, majority-minority districts, created under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, may be constitutionally challenged by voters if race is the only factor used in creating the district.

UNITED STATES V. LOPEZ (1995)

Congress exceeded its power under the Commerce Clause when it made possession of a gun in a school zone a federal crime.

MCDONALD V. CHICAGO (2010)

The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense is applicable to the states. 

CITIZENS UNITED V. FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION (2010)

Political spending by corporations, associations, and labor unions is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment.