Landmark Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know

Marbury v. Madison

Chief Justice John Marshall's 1803 masterstroke invented the power of judicial review out of thin air, declaring the Court could strike down laws that violate the Constitution. Every other case on this list exists because of the precedent Marshall set here. It's the ruling that m

Year Decided: 1803Vote Split: unanimousLegal Area: Judicial ReviewHistorical Impact: 10/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: ✓

added by IJRin 2 rankingsMarbury v. Madison

Brown v. Board of Education

A unanimous 1954 ruling declared that 'separate but equal' schools were inherently unequal, dismantling the legal architecture of Jim Crow segregation. Chief Justice Earl Warren rallied a fractured Court to speak with one voice, knowing a split decision would undercut enforcement

Year Decided: 1954Vote Split: 9-0Legal Area: Equal ProtectionHistorical Impact: 10/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: ✓

added by IJRin 2 rankingsBrown v. Board of Education

Miranda v. Arizona

The 1966 ruling gave America the words every cop show recites: 'you have the right to remain silent.' Chief Justice Warren required police to inform suspects of their rights before interrogation, transforming policing overnight. Despite decades of political attacks, Miranda warni

Year Decided: 1966Vote Split: 5-4Legal Area: Criminal ProcedureHistorical Impact: 9/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: —

added by IJRin 2 rankingsMiranda v. Arizona

Roe v. Wade

The 1973 decision found a constitutional right to abortion in the 'penumbras' of privacy, igniting the modern culture war. For nearly 50 years it was settled law and a litmus test for judicial nominees, until the Court reversed course entirely. Its overturning makes it uniquely b

Year Decided: 1973Vote Split: 7-2Legal Area: Privacy / AbortionHistorical Impact: 10/10Still Good Law: —Unanimous Decision: —

added by IJRin 2 rankings

McCulloch v. Maryland

Marshall's 1819 opinion upheld the national bank and declared states can't tax the federal government, cementing broad federal power through the 'necessary and proper' clause. It's the foundational case behind nearly every expansion of federal authority since. Without it, the mod

Year Decided: 1819Vote Split: unanimousLegal Area: Federal PowerHistorical Impact: 9/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: ✓

added by IJRin 2 rankingsMcCulloch v. Maryland

Gideon v. Wainwright

A Florida drifter's handwritten petition convinced the Court in 1963 that anyone accused of a serious crime deserves a lawyer, even if they can't afford one. The unanimous ruling created the public defender system as we know it. Gideon's story was later immortalized in the book '

Year Decided: 1963Vote Split: 9-0Legal Area: Right to CounselHistorical Impact: 8/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: ✓

added by IJRin 2 rankingsGideon v. Wainwright

Loving v. Virginia

The Lovings were arrested for the 'crime' of interracial marriage in Virginia; in 1967 a unanimous Court struck down all such bans nationwide. Chief Justice Warren's opinion declared marriage a fundamental right states cannot restrict by race. Its name became so iconic that Lovin

Year Decided: 1967Vote Split: 9-0Legal Area: Equal Protection / MarriageHistorical Impact: 9/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: ✓

added by IJRin 2 rankingsLoving v. Virginia

Obergefell v. Hodges

Justice Kennedy's 5-4 opinion in 2015 declared same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, capping a decades-long legal movement. His closing line about marriage embodying 'a love that may endure even past death' became instantly quotable. It nationalized marriage equa

Year Decided: 2015Vote Split: 5-4Legal Area: Marriage EqualityHistorical Impact: 9/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: —

added by IJRin 2 rankingsObergefell v. Hodges

Citizens United v. FEC

The 2010 ruling held that corporations and unions have a First Amendment right to spend unlimited money on political campaigns, reshaping American elections. It unleashed Super PACs and became instant shorthand in political debate for money's influence in politics. Few cases have

Year Decided: 2010Vote Split: 5-4Legal Area: Campaign Finance / Free SpeechHistorical Impact: 8/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: —

added by IJRin 2 rankings

Plessy v. Ferguson

The 1896 ruling upheld 'separate but equal' racial segregation, providing legal cover for Jim Crow for nearly 60 years. Justice Harlan's lone dissent, insisting the Constitution is 'color-blind,' became more celebrated than the majority opinion itself. Brown v. Board finally over

Year Decided: 1896Vote Split: 7-1Legal Area: Equal ProtectionHistorical Impact: 9/10Still Good Law: —Unanimous Decision: —

added by IJRin 2 rankingsPlessy v. Ferguson

Dred Scott v. Sandford

The 1857 ruling declared that Black Americans, enslaved or free, could never be citizens, and that Congress couldn't ban slavery in the territories. Widely regarded as the worst decision in Court history, it helped push the nation toward civil war. It took the 14th Amendment to f

Year Decided: 1857Vote Split: 7-2Legal Area: Citizenship / SlaveryHistorical Impact: 9/10Still Good Law: —Unanimous Decision: —

added by IJRin 2 rankingsDred Scott v. Sandford

Griswold v. Connecticut

The 1965 ruling struck down a ban on contraceptives for married couples, discovering an unenumerated constitutional 'right to privacy.' Justice Douglas's famous 'penumbras' language became the legal foundation for Roe v. Wade and later privacy rulings. It quietly reshaped how the

Year Decided: 1965Vote Split: 7-2Legal Area: PrivacyHistorical Impact: 8/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: —

added by IJRin 2 rankingsGriswold v. Connecticut

New York Times v. Sullivan

A unanimous 1964 ruling created the 'actual malice' standard, making it far harder for public officials to win libel suits against critics. Born from a Civil Rights-era ad in the Times, the case remains the bedrock of American press freedom. Every defamation lawsuit against a jou

Year Decided: 1964Vote Split: 9-0Legal Area: Free PressHistorical Impact: 8/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: ✓

added by IJR

Mapp v. Ohio

The 1961 decision applied the exclusionary rule to state courts, meaning illegally obtained evidence can't be used at trial anywhere in the U.S. It began with police searching Dollree Mapp's home without a valid warrant while hunting a bombing suspect. The ruling became a corners

Year Decided: 1961Vote Split: 6-3Legal Area: Search and SeizureHistorical Impact: 7/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: —

added by IJRMapp v. Ohio

Tinker v. Des Moines

When students wore black armbands to protest the Vietnam War, the 1969 Court ruled students don't 'shed their constitutional rights... at the schoolhouse gate.' It established the enduring standard for when schools can limit student speech. It remains the go-to precedent in every

Year Decided: 1969Vote Split: 7-2Legal Area: Student Free SpeechHistorical Impact: 7/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: —

added by IJR

Korematsu v. United States

The 1944 ruling infamously upheld the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, deferring to claimed wartime military necessity. Widely condemned in hindsight as a moral and legal failure, it was formally repudiated in dicta by the Court in 2018. It stands as the Court's most

Year Decided: 1944Vote Split: 6-3Legal Area: Civil Liberties / Wartime PowersHistorical Impact: 8/10Still Good Law: —Unanimous Decision: —

added by IJRin 2 rankingsKorematsu v. United States

District of Columbia v. Heller

The 2008 ruling was the first to clearly affirm an individual's Second Amendment right to own a gun for self-defense, unconnected to militia service. Justice Scalia's originalist opinion reshaped decades of gun-rights litigation. It set the stage for nearly every major gun-contro

Year Decided: 2008Vote Split: 5-4Legal Area: Second AmendmentHistorical Impact: 8/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: —

added by IJRin 2 rankingsDistrict of Columbia v. Heller

Bush v. Gore

The Court's controversial 2000 intervention halted the Florida recount and effectively decided the presidential election for George W. Bush. Critics accused the conservative majority of partisan overreach; the majority insisted its reasoning was 'limited to the present circumstan

Year Decided: 2000Vote Split: 5-4Legal Area: Elections / Equal ProtectionHistorical Impact: 7/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: —

added by IJRin 2 rankingsBush v. Gore

Schenck v. United States

Justice Holmes's 1919 opinion gave America the phrase 'shouting fire in a crowded theater' and the 'clear and present danger' test for restricting speech. It upheld the conviction of a socialist who mailed anti-draft leaflets during WWI. The test was later replaced by a far more

Year Decided: 1919Vote Split: 9-0Legal Area: Free SpeechHistorical Impact: 7/10Still Good Law: —Unanimous Decision: ✓

added by IJRSchenck v. United States

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health

The 2022 ruling overturned Roe v. Wade outright, holding there is no constitutional right to abortion and returning the issue to the states. Justice Alito's majority opinion triggered immediate political upheaval and a wave of state-level abortion bans and protections. It's the r

Year Decided: 2022Vote Split: 6-3Legal Area: Abortion / PrivacyHistorical Impact: 9/10Still Good Law: ✓Unanimous Decision: —

added by IJR