Matan Bloom

Matan Bloom

AP U.S Government and Politics

8/5/19

Throughout the long legacy of the Supreme Court, there have been countless cases that have been argued by the Supreme Court. Being a Supreme Court justice is a huge responsibility, and these judges take their job very seriously. The job of the supreme court is to argue cases and determine who is legally right in reference to the constitution. Often times the results of the case require a new amendment to be made to suit the modern day people. In this essay, you will be presented with three different Supreme Court case, all of which will be analyzed and examined closely. 

The first case that will be examined is the case of Marbury v Madison which took place in 1803. After John Adams was defeated in the presidential elections of 1800, the Judiciary Act was passed creating new courts, judges, and gave the president more control over appointing judges. When Thomas Jefferson took office he appointed 16 new circuit judges and 42 new justices of the peace, however, they couldn't begin their work until given commission by Secretary of State James Madison. William Marbury was one of the newly appointed justices of the peace when he didn't receive his papers he sued Madison and appealed to the Supreme Court. He did this in the hopes that Madison would be urged to deliver the commission documents to the new justices. Marbury was joined by three fellow justices to petition for a writ of mandamus. The vote was unanimous in favor of Marbury receiving his commission papers that were later delivered by Madison. Following the signing of the Judiciary Act there were only six justices in the Supreme Court at the time. John Marshall was Chief Justice at the time, and he was the one that wrote the majority opinion in conclusion to this case. The framers intent of this case was to allow for more judges to rule the country with justice. The Supreme court ruled that Madison must give Marbury his commission papers, but never issued a writ of mandamus claiming it was unconstitutional. Both the intent and case relate to society back then, because this was happening right as the country was starting to establish a concrete judicial system. Things were much shakier before a modern judicial system was established and this case helped solidify one.

The Second Case is the case of Tinker v DMICS that took place from Nov 12, 1968 - Feb 24, 1969. This case argued whether students retain their first amendment right to free speech when stepping onto school property. Tinker was a student that attempted to wear a black armband to school in support of a truce in the Vietnam war. The school suspended Tinker and a few other students so Tinker sued the school system for the violation of the first amendment. The lawsuit started in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and eventually made it to the Supreme Court. The Justices concluded that Tinker didn't lose his first amendment to free speech when stepping foot into the school resulting in a 7-2 victory for Tinker. The Court at this point was a middle dominated court with neither party necessarily controlling it.  At the time, Warren Earl Burger was the chief justice and after the case, he didn't write the majority opinion nor the dissenting opinion instead choosing to have justice Potter Stewart write it. Clearly, this case involves the first amendment right of the students and based on the conclusion of the case it was a violation of their first amendment right when they were suspended. This case relates to modern society because it allowed people to have a better understanding of what freedom of speech really is and how it can be practiced under the first amendment. Today we see people expressing their freedom of speech very frequently, and when someone is peacefully protesting they are allowed to continue under the protection of the first amendment. 

The final case that will be analyzed is the case of Citizens United v Federal Election Commission (FEC) which was argued on Mar 24, 2009, and then reargued on Sep 9, 2009, and finally decided on Jan 21, 2010. This case was a result of Citizens United publishing a movie regarding how fit Hilary Clinton was to be president. This case originated in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and made it to the Supreme Court. The Supreme court ruled in favor of Citizens United that corporations are protected under the first amendment, and cannot be limited on campaign endorsements. Therefore the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) was declared unconstitutional. During this case, the court was a more conservative court, and the vote for this case was split along ideological lines. The majority opinion was written by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy along with the other justices in favor of Citizens United. Chief Justice John G. Roberts voted in favor of Citizens United, but could very well have been a deciding vote because of the 5-4 split. It is evident that once again the first amendment is involved in this case and is utilized to determine whether or not corporate funding is protected under the first amendment. Today corporations pour tons of money into political campaigns, corrupting and interfering with politics in immense ways.

Throughout this essay, three different Supreme Court cases have been presented and analyzed. A common theme throughout most of these cases is they are all related to the first amendment in some form. This amendment is probably the most important amendment because it distinguished America as a free country. The Supreme Court is a court that has been practicing law since shortly after the establishment of America, and is vital to ensure that Justice is kept throughout the country.

Works Cited:

"Marbury v. Madison." Oyez, www.oyez.org/cases/1789-1850/5us137. Accessed 18 Aug. 2019.

"Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission." Oyez, www.oyez.org/cases/2008/08-205. Accessed 18 Aug. 2019.

"Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District." Oyez, www.oyez.org/cases/1968/21. Accessed 18 Aug. 2019.