Supreme Court

23 Pages 5669 Words

n could have not obeyed the Supreme Court’s decision on this case that’s why Chief Justice Marshall modified his statement to create judicial review.
Now, lets move on to our next case, Schenck vs. The U.S. (1919) Charles Schenck was arrested for violating the Espionage Act, passed by Congress in 1914. The Espionage Act made it illegal to defame the government or do anything that might retard the war effort. This act, almost, is exactly what our forefathers did not want; someone to hold the people down from speaking against our government. Schenck, a member of the Socialist Party, opposed the war and printed and distributed pamphlets urging citizens to oppose the draft which he likened to slavery. Schenck claimed his first amendment rights were violated.
The court ruled against Schenck saying that the Espionage Act did not violate the first amendment and that in times of war the government may place reasonable limitations on freedom of speech. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes outlined the courts opinion by explaining that when a “clear and present danger” existed such as shouting “fore in a crowded theater,” freedom of speech may be limited. That is the equivalent in today’s times as yelling “Bomb!” in an airport or something to that effect at least.
Well now that’s two historic Supreme Court cases down and we’ve already dealt with the precedence of judicial review and the other precedence of freedom of speech. Two important cases in our history as a country that have helped shape our national government into what it has become today. Now onto number three.
Goss vs. Lopez. (1975) Several public high school students (including Daniel Lopez) were suspended from school for misconduct but were not given a hearing immediately before or after their suspension. School authorities in Columbus, Ohio, claimed that a state law allowed them to suspend students for up to ten days without a hearing. The students b...