SECTION V: The Courts and the Landmark Decisions
Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution establishes the Judicial Branch and the federal court system of the
United States. But the Constitution provides little
specificity as to the makeup, duties and powers of the courts. Those powers would come to be defined by one major
piece of legislation, together with decisions taken by the
courts as the nation's history began to unfold.
Other sections of KTBB Constitution Minute:
Prologue: Articles of Confederation || Section 1:
Constitutional Covention ||
Section 2: Ratification || Section 3: Creating the Bill of Rights || Section 4: The Amendments || Section 5: The
Courts and the Landmark Decisions || Section 6: The Present Day || Section 7: The Founding Fathers
Episode 84 - Establishing the Courts
The passage of the Judiciary Act of 1789 six months after the 1st Congress of the United States convened under the new Constitution would serve as a first major step toward establishing the role of the Judicial Branch of the United States government. Listen to Episode 84
Episode 85
- William Marbury
John Adams, who lost his reelection bid to bitter rival Thomas Jefferson, in the last hours of his presidency, appointed William Marbury to the post of justice of the peace for the District of Columbia. But the commission wasn't delivered to Marbury until after Adams left office. The resulting lawsuit would lead to the first landmark decision of the Supreme Court. Listen to Episode 85
Episode 86
- Marbury v. Madison
William Marbury was entitled to his Justice of the Peace commission, said the Supreme Court. The court also said that bringing suit against Secretary of State James Madison was the proper legal remedy for Marbury. But the law upon which Marbury was relying violated the Constitution, said the court. Thus the Supreme Court for the first time, struck down a law duly passed by Congress. Listen to Episode 86
Episode
87 - The Dred Scott Decision
In a decision that has been characterized as the Supreme Court's “greatest self-inflicted wound,” the court voted 7-2 against Dred Scott, an enslaved black man from Missouri who sued for his freedom. Justices who voted in the majority hoped that the decision would calm growing controversy over slavery. It had just the opposite effect, contributing to passions that erupted into the American Civil War. Listen to Episode 87
Episode
89 - Gideon v. Wainwright
In 1961, Clarence Earl Gideon was wrongly charged with burglary in Florida. While serving a five year state prison sentence, Gideon would use the prison library and prison stationery to write an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court that would result in one of the high court's most famous landmark decisions. Listen to Episode 89
Episode 92 -
D.C. v. Heller
Dick Heller worked in Washington, D.C. as a special police officer and carried a handgun in connection with that job. But local District of Columbia law prohibited Heller from possessing that weapon outside his employment. Heller sued the District of Columbia, leading to a Supreme Court landmark decision on the scope of the Second Amendment. Listen to Episode 92
Episode
93 - Barron v. Baltimore
John Barron, the owner of a commercial wharf in Baltimore Harbor, learned the hard way in 1833 that in the opinion of the Supreme Court at the time, the protections of the Fifth Amendment only applied to actions taken by the federal government. Listen to Episode 93
Episode 94 - Incorporation of the Bill of Rights
John Barron lost his claim against the City of Baltimore under the "takings clause" of the 5th Amendment because the Supreme Court in 1833 held that the Constitution's Bill of Rights was binding only upon the federal government. A subsequent series of Supreme Court decisions, however, advanced a nearly century-long process of 'incorporating' the Bill of Rights into the laws of the individual states. Listen to Episode 94
Episode 99
- Wickard v. Filburn
Roscoe Filburn grew wheat on his Ohio farm for his own consumption. He never sold it and it therefore never entered interstate commerce. To Filburn's belief, it was thus not subject to limits on wheat production as set forth in the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. But the Supreme Court ruled against Filburn, thus greatly expanding the federal government's power to regulate commerce at the state and local level. Listen to Episode 99
Episode 102 - Crandall v. Nevada
William Crandall was the agent for the Pioneer Stage Company in Carson City, Nevada. He was required to collect a $1.00 from each passenger under a Nevada state law that levied a tax on individuals leaving the state via carriage or railroad. Crandall objected, and his appeal to the Supreme Court would establish freedom of movement between the states as the law of the land. Listen to Episode 102
Episode 117 - Timbs v. Indiana
Tyson Timbs of Indiana was convicted of selling $225 worth of illegal drugs and was sentenced to a year of house arrest and a $1,200 fine. But the state also seized his $42,000 Range Rover SUV. Timbs believed that because the maximum fine for his offense was $10,000, seizure of his Range Rover constituted an excessive fine and was prohibited by the 8th Amendment. Listen to Episode 117