Marbury v. Madison: William Marbury and several others were appointed by Congress to government posts during the last days of John Adams’ presidency, but the appointments were not fully finalized. The appointees sued for their jobs.

McCulloch v. Maryland: Maryland passed a law imposing taxes on The Second Bank of the United States, and the cashier of the Baltimore branch refused to pay.

Gibbons v. Ogden: States granted rights to individuals to operate steamboats on waters, but some states required out-of-state boats to pay fees. Thomas Gibbons challenged the monopoly license granted by New York to Aaron Ogden.

Dred Scott v. Sandford: Dred Scott resided in Illinois (a free state) and in an area of the Louisiana Territory, where slavery was forbidden by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Scott sued unsuccessfully for his freedom when he moved to Missouri.

The Slaughterhouse Cases: Louisiana created a partial monopoly of the slaughtering business and gave it to one company. Competitors argued that this created "involuntary servitude," abridged "privileges and immunities," denied "equal protection of the laws," and deprived them of "liberty and property without due process of law."

Plessy v. Ferguson: Louisiana law required separate railway cars for blacks and whites. Homer Adolph Plessy was seven-eighths white and took a seat in a "whites only" railway car. He was arrested when he refused to move.

Lochner v. New York: A New York statute prohibited bakers from working more than 60 hours a week or 10 hours a day.

Schenck v. United States: Schenck mailed anti-draft circulars to World War I draftees, encouraging peaceful resistance and the repeal of the Conscription Act. He was charged with conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act.

Meyer v Nebraska: A number of states prohibited the teaching of modern foreign languages to grade school children. Meyer, a German teacher at a Lutheran school in Nebraska, was convicted under this law.

Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell: Minnesota's Mortgage Moratorium Law extended the time period in which borrowers could pay back their debts to lenders. The law was passed in 1933 in order to combat the economic difficulties posed by the Great Depression.

Humphrey's Executor v. United States: President Roosevelt fired the commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) because of his political positions. However, the FTC Act only allowed a president to remove a commissioner for "inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office."

National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation: The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 gave the government power to regulate labor-management disputes. The National Labor Relations Board charged the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation with discrimination against union employees.

Steward Machine Company v. Davis: The Steward Machine Company challenged the validity of a tax imposed by the Social Security Act. The Social Security Act established a federal payroll tax on employers. However, if employers paid taxes to a state unemployment compensation fund, they were allowed to credit those payments toward the federal tax. The Steward Machine Company challenged the validity of the arbitrary tax.

Wickard v. Filburn: The Department of Agriculture authorized the government to set production quotas for wheat during the Great Depression in order to drive up prices. Roscoe Filburn was penalized when he harvested extra wheat. He argued that the extra wheat production was not related to commerce since he grew it for his own use.

Korematsu v. United States: During World War II, the military had the authority under Executive Order 9066 to exclude citizens of Japanese ancestry from areas deemed critical to national defense. Japanese Americans were ordered into internment camps. Fred Korematsu remained in an area of California in violation of an order from the U.S. Army.

Brown v. Board of Education: Black children were denied admission to public schools attended by white children under laws requiring or permitting segregation according to race.

Berman v. Parker: Congress passed the District of Columbia Redevelopment Act, which gave eminent domain power to the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency. The agency identified blighted areas, seized property with just compensation, and redeveloped the areas. Owners of a targeted department store challenged the Act.

Mapp v. Ohio: Police illegally searched Dollree Mapp’s home for a fugitive and convicted Mapp of possessing obscene materials. Mapp appealed on the basis of freedom of expression.

Griswold v. Connecticut: The Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut gave information and medical advice to married couples concerning birth control. Connecticut law criminalized this behavior.

Miranda v. Arizona: The Supreme Court was called upon to consider the constitutionality of suspects questioned without being notified of their right to counsel.

Terry v. Ohio: Terry and two other men were observed by a police officer in what the officer believed to be "casing a job, a stick-up." The officer frisked them and convicted two of them of carrying a concealed weapon.

Brandenburg v. Ohio: A leader in the Ku Klux Klan was convicted under an Ohio law that made it illegal to advocate "crime, sabotage, violence, or unlawful methods of terrorism as a means of accomplishing industrial or political reform," as well as to assemble "with an society, group, or assemblage of persons formed to teach or advocate the doctrines of criminal syndicalism."

New York Times Co. v. United States: The Nixon Administration attempted to prevent the New York Times and Washington Post from publishing the then-classified Pentagon Papers on U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The President argued that publishing the documents posed a national security threat.

United States v. U.S. District Court: Three people were suspected of conspiring to destroy government property. Officials used electronic surveillance to record their conversations during investigations.

Buckley v. Valeo: Congress passed legislation setting limits on the amount of money an individual could contribute to a single campaign and requiring reporting of contributions above a certain amount. The Federal Election Commission was created to enforce the law.

Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York: Under the New York City Landmarks Preservation Law, the city had the power to designate certain structures and neighborhoods as landmarks or landmark sites. As a result, Penn Central was not allowed to construct a multistory office building above the Grand Central Terminal that the company owned.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke: Allan Bakke was denied admission to the UC Davis Medical School twice. The school reserved sixteen spots in each class for minorities, and Bakke's GPA and test scores exceeded those of the accepted minority students.

Lawrence and Garner v. Texas: Lawrence and Garner were convicted of violating a Texas statute that forbid two people of the same sex from engaging in certain sexual conduct. The two men were arrested when police entered Lawrence's apartment in response to a reported weapons disturbance. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction, concluding that the Texas statute was not unconstitutional.

Kelo v. City of New London: The city of New London, Connecticut seized private property to sell to private developers, claiming that the development would create jobs and increase tax revenue. The property owners sued the city, arguing that taking the property to sell to private developers was not public use and therefore violated the 5th Amendment's takings clause.

District of Columbia v. Heller: D.C. passed legislation banning the registration of handguns, requiring licenses for all pistols, and mandating that all legal firearms be kept unloaded and disassembled or trigger locked. A group of private gun-owners sued the city.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: Citizens United sought an injunction against the Federal Election Commission to prevent the application of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act to its film about Hillary Clinton's presidential potential. The District Court denied the injunction.

McDonald v. Chicago: Following the Supreme Court's landmark decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, several suits were filed to challenge gun bans in Illinois cities. The plaintiffs argued that the 2nd Amendment should also apply to the states. Their suit was dismissed by the District Court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius: Congress passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which contained a minimum coverage provision by amending the tax code and providing an individual mandate. By 2014, non-exempt individuals who failed to purchase the minimum level of insurance must pay a penalty. The ACA also contained an expansion of Medicaid, which states had to accept in order to receive federal Medicaid funds, and an employer mandate to provide coverage for employees. Shortly after passage, 13 states brought actions seeking a declaration that the ACA was unconstitutional on several grounds: (1) the individual mandate exceeded Congress' enumerated powers under the Commerce Clause; (2) the Medicaid expansions were unconstitutionally coercive; and (3) the employer mandate interfered with state sovereignty. These states were joined by 13 more states and the National Federation of Independent Business.