Subscribe

9th grade · Social Studies · Unit 6 of 9

Landmark Supreme Court Cases

How the Court reads the Constitution

What your child practices

Landmark decisions from Marbury v. Madison to recent cases, including Miranda v. Arizona, judicial activism and restraint, precedent, and how readings of the Bill of Rights and civil rights have changed, presented factually and from more than one side.

Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: HS.C2.3 · landmark Supreme Court cases and how rights have changed over time

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Precedent (stare decisis) means following earlier rulings. Activism strikes down laws or expands rights broadly; restraint defers to lawmakers.
  2. McCulloch (1819) gave Congress implied powers; Mapp (1961) barred illegally seized evidence; Miranda (1966) requires warning suspects of their rights.
  3. United States v. Nixon (1974): even the president must obey a subpoena.

Example: What did United States v. Nixon (1974) hold? Nixon refused to hand over tapes. The Court said the president must obey a subpoena; executive privilege isn’t absolute. Answer: The president must obey a subpoena

Landmark Supreme Court Cases in Arizona

In the Arizona Academic Standards, this is unit 6 of 9 in 9th grade Social Studies, after Elections & Voting and before The Arizona Constitution.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Arizona Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    The Miranda warning protects rights in the…

    • Fifth and Sixth Amendments
    • Tenth Amendment
    • First and Second Amendments

  2. Question 2

    Mapp v. Ohio (1961) held that…

    • trials are secret
    • juries are optional
    • police may search anywhere
    • illegally seized evidence can't be used in state courts

  3. Question 3

    Miranda v. Arizona (1966) requires police to…

    • hold people forever
    • search any home
    • tell arrested people their rights
    • skip trials

  4. Question 4

    Sandra Day O'Connor, who served in the Arizona Senate, was the first woman on the…

    • US Supreme Court
    • US Senate
    • Arizona Corporation Commission

  5. Question 5

    Marbury v. Madison (1803) established…

    • the income tax
    • the right to vote
    • judicial review
    • segregation

  6. Question 6

    McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) held that…

    • banks are illegal
    • Congress has implied powers and states cannot tax a federal bank
    • states can ignore federal laws
    • Maryland owned the bank

More 9th grade