Ben Ward

The Supreme Court is one of the most important institutions of the US government. Nine of the most intelligent Americans make well-informed rulings and interpretations of the law that can last for centuries and become parts of everyday life. Three examples of landmark cases are  Gideon v. Wainwright, McDonald v. Chicago, and Citizens United v. FEC. These cases have made a lasting impact on how our society operates.

Clarence Gideon was a poor man. He was so poor that when he was charged with breaking and entering, he was unable to afford a lawyer. Gideon asked the state of Florida to provide a lawyer for him. The state declined, and Gideon was forced to represent himself. As a man with an 8th grade education, this was unsuccessful, and he was sentenced to 5 years in prison. He filed a writ of habeas corpus with the Florida Supreme Court, arguing that he was entitled to counsel as part of his right to due process. When the Florida Supreme court denied his writ, he appealed to the Supreme Court. The liberal court led by Earl Warren agreed to hear the case and ruled unanimously in his favor. The court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment gives the Sixth Amendment right to counsel to defendants in state courts. This guarantee is still in place today and used frequently by defendants.

Following the 2008 ruling in D.C. v. Heller that Washington D.C.’s handgun ban violated the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, several Chicago residents, lead by Otis McDonald filed suit against the city for its gun ban. The district court wouldn’t go to trial. An appeal to the 7th Circuit Appellate Court also failed. They ruled that the right of an individual to bear arms didn’t fall to a state level. So McDonald et al took the case to the Supreme Court. The conservative court led by John Roberts reversed the lower courts’ rulings, 5-4 on party lines. Roberts joined Samuel Alito in supporting McDonald, and their fellow conservatives concurred as well. The court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment gives the right to bear arms to people at a state level, and gun bans by cities are unconstitutional. This was important because it affirmed that the citizens of the United States are fully within their rights to own and carry guns, which has come under fire in today’s world with arrays of mass shootings.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency founded by Congress. FEC is dedicated to enforcing complicated campaign finance laws to ensure that elections remain fair. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) was a bipartisan effort written to protect against “big money” campaign and political spending. Citizens United, a right-wing political interest group, released a movie questioning whether Hillary Clinton would make an adequate president. This movie would be regulated by the BCRA because it was the result of money spent to influence the public opinion regarding a political candidate. To prevent this, Citizens United filed an injunction against FEC in D.C. District Court. The court denied the injunction, citing the 2003 ruling in McConnell v. FEC that upheld the BCRA’s constitutionality. Citizens United went to the Supreme Court. John Roberts’ conservative court ruled 5-4 on party lines in favor of Citizens United. Roberts joined Anthony Kennedy in support of Citizens United. The court ruled that Citizens United’s movie was a form of political speech, which is free speech, which meant that the BCRA was unconstitutional under the First Amendment. This was an important case because it delivered the interpretation that corporations, like people, have free speech protected by the First Amendment. 

The cases outlined in this essay are very important to the rights of the American people. These cases are just three examples of how important the Supreme Court is and how the government enters our day-to-day life as Americans.