SCOTUS 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, they are encouraged 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.

SCOTUS Terms
Term	Definition
SCOTUS	Supreme Court of the United States
Facts	The relevant events of a case that occurred before courts became involved
Issue	A legal or Constitutional question the court considers in a case
Holding	The court’s response to the issue being considered in a case
Reasoning	The court’s explanation of a holding
Decision	The outcome of a case that includes a discussion of the facts, issue, holding, and reasoning
Opinion	An analysis of the court’s decision, written by the justices. The majority opinion is agreed upon by more than half of the justices

Required Supreme Court Cases

The following is a list of required Supreme Court cases and a brief description of their holdings.

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.

AP U.S. Government and Politics students should be familiar with the structure and functions of the Supreme Court of the United States as well as how the court renders its decisions. This includes knowing how holdings are decided and that justices who are in the minority often write dissents that express their opinions on the case and the constitutional questions. While students will not need to know any dissenting (or concurring) opinions from the required cases, it is important for students to understand the role of dissenting opinions, especially as they relate to future cases on similar issues.

The course framework requires the analysis of required Supreme Court cases.

Remember, for the required Supreme Court cases, students should know the major details of each case, the holding in the majority opinion, and the constitutional principle used by the majority of justices to support their finding. On the AP Exam, students will need to apply this information to a real-world scenario or in comparison to another case.

Students should also learn how these Supreme Court decisions relate to course content. The SCOTUS Cross-Reference table suggests how the study of Supreme Court cases can provide an opportunity to show relationships between various course concepts.

Skill Category 2: Apply Supreme Court Decisions

Studying the application of Supreme Court cases helps students understand the implications of the required Supreme Court decisions, making the concepts relevant to their lives today.

Expand each of the skills below to see the questions/tasks associated with that skill.

2.A. Describe the facts, issue, holding, reasoning, decision, and majority opinion of required Supreme Court cases.

Describe specific events that led to a Supreme Court case
Describe the ruling of the Court
Describe the reasoning used by the majority that led to the holding

2.B. Explain how a required Supreme Court case relates to a foundational document or to other primary or secondary sources.

Describe the political principle or concept demonstrated in both the Supreme Court case and the document.
Explain what the document and the case have in common and why.
Explain the implications of the case for the document author’s claim or vice versa.

2.C. Explain how the facts, issue, holding, reasoning, decision, and majority opinion of a required Supreme Court case compare to a non-required Supreme Court case.

Find relevant, specific categories to compare two Supreme Court cases.
Using those categories, explain the similarities and differences between the details of the cases and the decisions of the Supreme Court.
Identify the constitutional principle on which the decisions were based.
Identify the majority opinions in the cases.
Identify the reasoning behind the majority opinions.
Compare the reasoning behind the majority opinions of the two cases.

2.D. Explain how a required Supreme Court case relates to a relevant political principle, institution, process, policy, or behavior.

Describe patterns and trends. Use these to extend and apply Supreme Court cases in different contexts and scenarios.

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INFORMATION ABOVE COURTESY OF AP U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS COURSE AND EXAM DESCRIPTION COURSE FRAMEWORK V.1 PAGE 27-32 2023 COLLEGE BOARD