"When I was your age, I was fascinated to learn all about how our judicial system worked and important decisions by the supreme court so my dad made me a book and this is the book I'll now read to you."

McCulloch v Maryland (1819)

In 1819 Maryland tried to tax the Second Bank of the United States, but the bank refused to pay. In a unanimous decision, the Court held that Congress had implied powers, and Maryland could not tax an agency of the federal government. The decision established the supremacy of federal law over state law and clarified the scope of Congress's implied powers.

United States v Lopez (1995)

In 1995 Congress passed the Gun-Free School Zones Act, which made it a federal offense to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school.  In a 5-4 decision the Court held that the law exceeded Congress's power.

This marked a significant limitation on federal power under the Commerce Clause and revived interest in states' rights.

Wow thats super cool 

Engel v Vitale (1962)

In 1962 a New York public school district required students to recite a non-denominational prayer at the start of each school day. The Court said that the practice violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. This decision extended the reach of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause to public schools and prohibited official school prayer.

Wisconsin v Yoder (1972)

Back in the day Amish parents refused to send their children to public schools after eighth grade, which violated Wisconsin's mandatory education law.

So, The court said the state's interest in forced education did not outweigh the parents' First Amendment right to free exercise of religion! The very important supreme court decision recognized all of religious freedom and established a standard for balancing religious exercise against state interests.

Tinker v Des Moines Independent Community School (1969)

During the head of the protests, students wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War, which violated a school policy banning such symbols. So in the court's decision, they said, students, do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." The decision validated First Amendment rights in public schools and set a precedent for evaluating restrictions on student speech.

Schenck v United States  (1919)

During World War I, Charles Schenck distributed leaflets opposing the draft and was charged with violating the Espionage Act. The supreme court decided that Schenck's speech created a "clear and present danger" to the war effort, allowing the government to restrict speech during wartime. Schenck established the "clear and present danger" test for determining when speech could be restricted under the First Amendment this was also a very monumental decision for understanding the first amendment and what was restricted.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Clarence Earl Gideon was charged with a felony in Florida and was denied a court-appointed lawyer, which he argued violated his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The court ruled that the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel applied to state criminal proceedings through the Fourteenth Amendment. This court case established the right to counsel for all criminal defendants, regardless if they can pay for one or not.