lawsuits-court

Definition

A national organization that engages in litigation, legislative lobbying, and educational outreach in order to preserve and further individual rights and liberties that are guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

Definition

The Supreme Court case that held that the Constitution protected a woman’s right to an abortion prior to the viability of the fetus; thus, government regulation of abortions must meet strict scrutiny in judicial review.

Overview

The case involved a Texas statute that categorically prohibited abortion except where to save the life of the pregnant woman. The Supreme Court, in a decision written by Justice Blackmun, recognized a privacy interest in abortions.

Definition

The Supreme Court case that invalidated as unconstitutional a provision of the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) that authorized the President to approve “codes of fair competition” for the poultry industry and other industries.

Definition:

The Supreme Court case, since overturned by Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which upheld the constitutionality of “separate, but equal facilities” based on race.

Overview:

Louisiana had adopted a law in 1890 that required railroad companies to provide racially segregated accommodations.

Definition

The Supreme Court case that defined the scope of the federal legislative power and the federal government’s relationship with state government authority.

The United States Congress incorporated a federal Bank of the United States through a legislative act. The State of Maryland imposed a tax on any bank operating within the state that did not possess a state charter. The state obtained a judgment against McCulloch, the cashier of the Baltimore branch of the Second Bank of the United States, for issuing bank notes without paying the required tax.

Definition

The Supreme Court case that established the power of judicial review.

During President John Adams’ lame duck session of his presidency, he appointed Marbury as a justice of the peace and signed the commission. Soon thereafter, Thomas Jefferson became President of the United States and refused to allow Secretary of State James Madison to deliver the commission to Marbury.

Definition

A Supreme Court case that adopted an expansive view of the scope of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution by holding that Congress had the power to regulate interstate commerce.

Definition

A Supreme Court case that struck down the Line Item Veto Act because it gave the executive the unilateral authority to amend a law without having to go through the legislative process.

Definition

A Supreme Court case that held that federal courts could hear cases that claimed that malapportionment of state legislatures violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

Definition

An attorney, acting under the direction of the Attorney General, who enforces federal laws within his or her jurisdiction and represents the federal government in civil and criminal cases. The United States Attorney is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a term of four years.