Thomson Reuters
Find Law: Article Iii: Judicial Power
Annotations to Article III on the characteristics and attributes of judicial power as related to specific Supreme Court decisions. The author distinguishes between judicial power and jurisdiction.
iCivics
I Civics: Elk v. Wilkins (1884)
This mini-instructional activity examines the Supreme Court's ruling that the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause did not apply to American Indians born on Native reservations. Students analyze a primary document and discover how the...
iCivics
I Civics: Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association (1988)
This mini-instructional activity examines the Supreme Court case that pitted the interests of government economic projects against the religious rights of American Indians. Students learn about the religious protections of the First...
Digital History
Digital History: The 14th Amendment and the Jim Crow Laws [Pdf]
Read about the background of the passage of the 14th Amendment which resulted in the famous case before the Supreme Court, Plessy v Ferguson, almost thirty years later. Suggested student exercises ask students to assess the issue of...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Plessy v. Ferguson
The decision of the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson kept black and white people separate in all public areas for many years. To find out what that meant, and to see some actual photographs, visit this page.
Cornell University
Cornell University: Law School: Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
Provides a syllabus for the landmark Supreme Court case of Gideon v. Wainwright which held that state courts are required to provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants unable to afford their own attorneys or lawyers.
Digital History
Digital History: Religion in Public Schools: Engle v. Vitale
Read the background of the Supreme Court case, Engle v Vitale, in which school prayer was banned. Find Justice Hugo Black's opinion confirming that decision.
Cornell University
Cornell University: Law School: Schenck v. United States (1919)
Features a syllabus of the landmark Supreme Court case of Schenck v. United States which decided that the defendant's right to criticize the draft was not protected by the First Amendment.
Illinois Institute of Technology
Oyez Project: New York Times v. United States (1971)
This U.S. Supreme Court case allowed the publication of the "Pentagon Papers." The OYEZ resource provides an abstract containing a concise summary, an audio file, a link to the full text of the decision and a record of how the justices...
Cornell University
Cornell University: Law School: United States v. Lopez (1995)
Presents the complete syllabus for the landmark Supreme Court case of United States v. Lopez. This case dealt with limits to Congress's power under the Commerce Clause.
Illinois Institute of Technology
Regents of University of California v. Bakke (1978)
The U.S. Supreme Court case that allowed affirmative action to be a criteria for admission decisions in institutes of higher education.
Digital History
Digital History: Affirmative Action and the Case of Allan Bakke [Pdf]
The history of affirmative action was interwoven with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Read about how the federal government under both President Kennedy and President Nixon attempted to open up jobs to...
Illinois Institute of Technology
Oyez: Summary of Zelman v. Simmons Harris
This is a great summary of Zelman v. Simmons-Harris where the Supreme Court upheld school vouchers. Gives the dates the case was heard and decided, facts of the case, legal question presented, the courts decision, and how each justice...
Boston College
Boston College: Bigelow v. Virginia
Complete syllabus and decision on the Supreme Court case Bigelow v. Virginia (1975).
iCivics
I Civics: Mini Lesson: Judicial Activism & Restraint
Lesson teaches the judicial philosophies of activism and restraint and also explores criteria through which students can evaluate news-related opinion pieces and practice judging the value of a Supreme Court-related opinion piece of choice.
Henry J. Sage
Sage American History: John Marshall
Article expounds upon the life and work of Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Marshall. Provides a brief chronology of his life and an overview of Marshall's leading decisions.
This Nation
This nation.com: Brown v. Board of Education 2 (1955)
This site from ThisNation.com provides Chief Justice Earl Warren's full text of the Supreme Court's decision in this landmark case.
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Roe v Wade
Detailed facts and interesting information about the 1973 landmark Supreme Court decision in the case of Roe v. Wade which ruled that state governments could not regulate abortion during the first three months until the end of the first...
PBS
Pbs the West: Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
The critically acclaimed PBS series, "The West," presents a copy of the order given by Chief Justice John Marshall when the bill to seize the Cherokee lands came to court.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Classroom: The Pursuit of Justice
This book analyzes 30 Supreme Court cases chosen by a group of Supreme Court justices and leading civics educators as the most important for American citizens to understand. An additional 100 significant cases included in state history...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Classroom: Our Rights
This book uses historical case studies to explore the rights in the Constitution. Supreme Court cases are used to demonstrate how a right received its modern interpretation, how the right applies today, and how courts and other...
Other
Supreme Law Firm: The Supreme Law Library
A large repository of legal articles, documents from well-known court cases, significant legal decisions, and more. Contains numerous primary documents, many relating to governmental history.
University of Groningen
American History: Documents: The Marshall Cases: Dartmouth v. Woodward
Read the majority decision of the case brought before the Supreme Court known as Dartmouth v. Woodward.
Digital History
Digital History: The Civil Rights Movement Moves North
Summers of the late 1960s was a time of widespread violence and rioting in the nation's major inner cities. What was previously thought of as a problem of the South had spread nation-wide and was now demanding immediate attention.