Supreme Court Case Analysis
Winter Break Assignment
AP U.S. Government and Politics
Mr. Vasquez
For each court case, you must complete the following.
You are required to do a lot of research to help you understand each case’s background information,
constitutional question, decision and reasons, evaluate the decision, and provide your own opinion with
supporting details. Please follow the rubric and example to understand the requirements for this assignment.
1.
WHAT ARE THE FACTS OF THE CASE? What happened in this case? Who were the
people/organizations involved? How did the lower courts rule on this case? (Note: This would be if
the case was on appellate review)
2.
CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION: What is the constitutional question? What specific part of the
Constitution is being questioned/involved? (i.e. First Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, etc) What
issue is involved in the case? Why is the issue being questioned?
3.
COURT'S DECISION AND REASONS: This is the court's answer to the constitution/legal
question.
What was the outcome of the court case? How did the justices voted on the case? Describe the
Supreme Court’s majority opinion (a summary of the important points). What did the Supreme Court
rule on this case? What was the dissenting (opposing) opinion, if given? (a summary of the important
points)
4.
EVALUATING THE DECISION AND PREDICTING THE IMPACT: What, if any, impact
does this case have today? What is the significance of this case? Why is it important legally? Explain
how the Supreme Court’s decision impacts the present.
5.
OPINION: Do you agree with the outcome? Why or why not? How can you connect the case to
modern U.S. government and politics? Explain. Provide ONE example to support your answer.
Helpful links to get information, including your textbook:
http://tlc-patch.tourolaw.edu/patch/CaseSummary.asp (background info, facts, opinions of Justices)
http://www.streetlaw.org/en/landmark/home (background info and court case decisions)
http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/courtcases.htm (brief summaries of court case decisions)
http://www.oyez.org/ (background info and court case decisions, includes breakdown of decision by Justice)
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/timeline/1989.html (Supreme Court timeline)
DUE: TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014 (Periods 2 and 4)
DUE: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014 (Periods 1, 3, and 5)
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List of U.S. Supreme Court Cases
1. Marbury v. Madison (1803)
2. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
3. Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
4. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
5. Schenck v. U.S. (1919)
6. Gitlow v. New York (1925)
7. Near v. Minnesota (1931)
8. Korematsu v. U.S. (1944)
9. Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
10. Roth v. United States (1957)
11. Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
12. Engel v. Vitale (1962)
13. Baker v. Carr (1962)
14. Abbington v. Schempp (1963)
15. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
16. Wesberry v. Sanders (1963)
17. New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)
18. Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S. (1964)
19. Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
20. Miranda v. Arizona (1965)
21. Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
22. New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
23. Miller v. California (1973)
24. Roe v. Wade (1973)
25. U.S. v. Nixon (1974)
26. Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
27. Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
28. U.C. Regents v. Bakke (1978)
29. Texas v. Johnson (1989)
30. Cruzan v. Director Missouri Department of Health (1990)
31. Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)
32. Shaw v. Reno (1993)
33. U.S. v. Lopez (1995)
34. City of Boerne v. Flores (1997)
35. Clinton v. New York (1998)
36. Bush v. Gore (2000)
37. U.S. v. Morrison (2000)
38. Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)
39. Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
40. Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
41. McConnell v. FEC (2003)
42. Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
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Supreme Court Case Analysis Rubric
Poor
Fair
Average
Good
Exemplary
0 pts NP equivalent 1 pt NP equivalent 2 pts C equivalent 3 pts B equivalent 4 pts A equivalent
Meets Basic Assignment Criteria
Understands Assignment
Poor
Fair
Average
Submission shows
no basic
understanding of
the nature of the
case study
assignment
Submission shows
very little
understanding of
the nature of the
case study
assignment
Submission shows
a basic, but
minimal
understanding of
the nature of the
case study
assignment
Good
Submission
Submission
demonstrates a
demonstrates a full
solid understanding and clear
of the case study understanding of
assignment
the case study
assignment
Case Information
Case Facts
Poor
Fair
Average
Good
Identify the case and give the
basic information surrounding Identifies &
Identifies &
Identifies &
Identifies &
it
understands almost understands few of understands some understands most
none of the basic the basic case facts of the case facts
of the case facts
information
Case Background
/Constitutional Question
Describe and analyze the
history of the case in lower
courts and describe the
constitutional question being
presented in the court case.
Evaluation/Effects of Case
What were the effects of the
case on the nation during the
trial, on education or in any
other area as a result of the
trial
Court’s Decision/Justice
Analysis
Poor
Average
Good
Exemplary
Identifies &
understands the
case, the parties
involved, the time
frame, and the
reason it was heard
at the Supreme
Court
Exemplary
Identifies,
Identifies,
Identifies,
Identifies,
Identifies,
demonstrates
demonstrates
demonstrates
demonstrates
demonstrates
and/or understands and/or understands and/or understands and/or understands and/or understands
none of the lower few of the lower
some of the lower most of the lower all of the lower
court trials that
court trials that
court trials that
court trials that
court trials that
preceded the
preceded the
preceded the
preceded the
preceded the
Supreme Court trial Supreme Court trial Supreme Court trial Supreme Court trial Supreme Court trial
and constitutional and the
and the
and the
and the
question.
constitutional
constitutional
constitutional
constitutional
question.
question.
question.
question.
Poor
Fair
Average
Good
Exemplary
Analysis was only
provided for one of
the three areas
(nation, education,
and other)
Marginal analysis
of the effects of
this case in two of
the three areas
(nation, education,
and other)
Somewhat
thorough analysis
of the effects of
this case in two of
the three areas
(nation, education,
and other)
Reasonably
thorough analysis
of each the effects
of this case in two
of the three areas
(nation, education,
and other)
Very thorough and
insightful analysis
of each the effects
of this case in all
three areas (nation,
education, and
other)
Poor
Fair
Average
Good
Exemplary
Did not explain
Justice's final
recommendation
Student Opinion on
Fair
Exemplary
Poor
Basic, unsupported
explanation of all
the justices' final
recommendations
Fair
Logical explanation Offered a
of all the justices' competent
final
explanation with
recommendations some support of all
the justices' final
recommendations
Average
3
Good
Identified all
possible causes or
bias for each
justice's final
recommendation
Exemplary
Decision
(personal reflection)
Did not discuss
Concurred or
personal opinion of dissented with
case
Court's decision
Concurred or
dissented with
opinion only with
student's personal
opinion
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Concurred or
dissented and
stated valid
reasoning on
student's personal
decision.
Concurred or
dissented and
stated valid
reasoning and
support on student's
personal decision.
Marbury v. Madison (EXAMPLE)
1. WHAT ARE THE FACTS OF THE CASE?
Thomas Jefferson, a member of the Republican Party, won the election of 1800. The outgoing President,
John Adams, proceeded to rapidly appoint 58 members of his own party to fill government posts created by
Congress.
It was the responsibility of the Secretary of State, John Marshall, to "deliver the commissions," finish the
paperwork, and give it to each of the newly appointed judges. Although Marshall signed and sealed all of the
commissions, he failed to deliver 17 of them to the respective appointees. Marshall assumed that his
successor would finish the job, but when Jefferson became President, he told his new Secretary of State,
James Madison, not to deliver some of the commissions, because he did not want members of the opposing
political party to take office. Those individuals couldn't take office until they actually had their commissions
in hand.
William Marbury, whom Adams had appointed as justice of the peace of the District of Columbia, was one
of these last-minute appointees who did not receive his commission. Marbury sued James Madison and
asked the Supreme Court of the United States to issue a writ of mandamus, a court order that requires an
official to perform or refrain from performing a certain duty. In this case, the writ would have ordered
Madison to deliver the commission.
Marbury argued that he was entitled to his commission and that the Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the Supreme
Court of the United States original jurisdiction to issue a writ of mandamus. Madison disagreed. When the
case came before the Court, John Marshall — the person who had failed to deliver the commission in the
first place — was the new Chief Justice. If this situation were to arise today, Marshall would likely
disqualify himself because of a conflict of interest.
2. CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION
Issue #1: Whether Marbury Had a Right to the Commission
Issue #2: Whether Existing Laws Established a Remedy for the Deprivation of the Right
Issue #3: Whether the Court Should Issue a Writ of Mandamus Requiring Delivery of the Commission
3. COURT’S DECISION AND REASONS
The decision was 6 votes for Marbury and 0 votes against. Marbury had a right to the commission; second,
the law allowed a remedy for his situation; and third, mandamus could not be issued in an original action
before the Supreme Court (Marbury really had no legal ground to have the case heard by the court in the first
place under the Judiciary Act of 1789).
There was no dissenting opinion as there were no justices that opposed to the majority.
4. EVALUATING THE DECISION AND PREDICTING THE IMPACT
This historic court case established the concept of judicial review or the ability of the Judiciary Branch to
declare a law unconstitutional. This case brought the Judicial Branch of the government on a more even
power basis with the Legislative and Executive Branches. Based on this premise, it ensured that our current
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governmental structure follows the constitutional principles of checks and balances and separation of
powers. Furthermore, the U.S. court system has the right to interpret the law and question the
constitutionality of federal, state, and local laws.
5. OPINION
I agree with case’s decision because the U.S. Supreme Court should be empowered to interpret the law. I
strongly believe that U.S. courts have the right to question the constitutionality of federal, state, and local
laws, as long it doesn’t violate the principles of the U.S. Constitution. One example that I can connect this is
how the U.S. Supreme Court has attempted to review the issue of same-sex marriages. The U.S. Supreme
Court, under their powers of judicial review, has attempted to interpret this issue and its effects towards
states’ powers under the Tenth Amendment.
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