C963 WGU QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
LATEST UPDATE
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
This case involved the Judiciary Act of 1789. The Supreme Court declared that the law
conflicted with the U.S. Constitution, and the case established the principle of judicial
review wherein the Supreme Court has the power to declare laws passed by Congress
and signed by the president to be unconstitutional.
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1856)
This case concerned the constitutionality of the Missouri Compromise, which declared
that certain states would be entirely free of slavery. A slave, who was brought by his
owner into free territories and back to Missouri, a slave state, sued claiming that his
time living in free territory made him free. The court declared that the relevant parts of
the Missouri Compromise were unconstitutional, and that he remained a slave as a
result.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
When a man of mixed racial heritage, sat in a whites-only railroad car in an attempt to
challenge a Louisiana law that required railroad cars be segregated, he was arrested
and convicted. The court refused his appeal that the law was in a violation of the equal
protection principle because the different train cars were separate but equal.
United States v. Miller (1939)
In the early 1980s, following an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan,
laws requiring background checks for prospective gun buyers were passed. In this case,
the Supreme Court upheld the 1934 National Firearms Act's prohibition of sawed-off
shotguns, largely on the basis that possession of such a gun was not related to the goal
of promoting a "well regulated militia."
Korematsu v. United States (1944)
During World War II, citizens of Japanese descent living on the West Coast, whether
naturalized immigrants or Japanese Americans born in the United States, were
subjected to the indignity of being removed from their communities and interned under
Executive Order 9066. When challenged, the Supreme Court decision in this case
upheld the actions of the government as a necessary precaution in a time of war.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
This case challenged the principle of "separate but equal." It was brought by students
who were denied admittance to certain public schools based exclusively on race. The
unanimous decision in this case determined that the existence of racially segregated
public schools violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
In this Supreme Court case it was decided that evidence obtained without a warrant that
didn't fall under one of the exceptions mentioned above could not be used as evidence
in a state criminal trial, giving rise to the broad application of what is known as the
LATEST UPDATE
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
This case involved the Judiciary Act of 1789. The Supreme Court declared that the law
conflicted with the U.S. Constitution, and the case established the principle of judicial
review wherein the Supreme Court has the power to declare laws passed by Congress
and signed by the president to be unconstitutional.
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1856)
This case concerned the constitutionality of the Missouri Compromise, which declared
that certain states would be entirely free of slavery. A slave, who was brought by his
owner into free territories and back to Missouri, a slave state, sued claiming that his
time living in free territory made him free. The court declared that the relevant parts of
the Missouri Compromise were unconstitutional, and that he remained a slave as a
result.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
When a man of mixed racial heritage, sat in a whites-only railroad car in an attempt to
challenge a Louisiana law that required railroad cars be segregated, he was arrested
and convicted. The court refused his appeal that the law was in a violation of the equal
protection principle because the different train cars were separate but equal.
United States v. Miller (1939)
In the early 1980s, following an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan,
laws requiring background checks for prospective gun buyers were passed. In this case,
the Supreme Court upheld the 1934 National Firearms Act's prohibition of sawed-off
shotguns, largely on the basis that possession of such a gun was not related to the goal
of promoting a "well regulated militia."
Korematsu v. United States (1944)
During World War II, citizens of Japanese descent living on the West Coast, whether
naturalized immigrants or Japanese Americans born in the United States, were
subjected to the indignity of being removed from their communities and interned under
Executive Order 9066. When challenged, the Supreme Court decision in this case
upheld the actions of the government as a necessary precaution in a time of war.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
This case challenged the principle of "separate but equal." It was brought by students
who were denied admittance to certain public schools based exclusively on race. The
unanimous decision in this case determined that the existence of racially segregated
public schools violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
In this Supreme Court case it was decided that evidence obtained without a warrant that
didn't fall under one of the exceptions mentioned above could not be used as evidence
in a state criminal trial, giving rise to the broad application of what is known as the
