What are the ten most important Supreme Court cases?
• Marbury v. Madison — Gave the Supreme Court the power to declare laws Unconstitutional • Brown v. Board of Education — Actually decided very little, but then used to destroy apartheid in the U.S. in a way that probably couldn’t have been done without it. • Plessy v. Ferguson — This case said that the “separate but equal” doctrine was acceptable, giving judicial approval to the idea of segregation, resulting in the need for the Civil Rights movement as well as several decades of very unfair treatment to minorities • Gideon v. Wainright — Requires that the government provide legal counsel for indigent criminal defendants. • Roe v. Wade — it and it’s companion case declared that women had a Constitutional right to abortion. Interestingly enough, the plaintiffs in both cases are now anti-abortion activists. • Miranda v. Arizona — created the Miranda Rights that everyone is now familair with. This was actually viewed as a good thing for law enforcement because it provided them with
