In Shaw v. Reno (1993), the U.S. Supreme Court questioned the use of racial gerrymandering in North Carolina's reapportionment plan. The Court found that race could not be the deciding factor when drawing districts.

Shays’ Rebellion was a series of violent protests staged during 1786 and 1787 by a group of American farmers who objected to the way state and local tax collections were being enforced. While skirmishes broke out from New Hampshire to South Carolina, the most serious acts of the rebellion occurred in rural Massachusetts, where years of poor harvests, depressed commodity prices, and high taxes had left farmers facing the loss of their farms or even imprisonment. The rebellion is named for its leader, Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays of Massachusetts.

In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), a landmark case, the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which provided the federal government with a formula to determine which voting jurisdictions should be subject to oversight when passing electoral laws.

The term "social contract" refers to the idea that the state exists only to serve the will of the people, who are the source of all political power enjoyed by the state. The people can choose to give or withhold this power. The idea of the social contract is one of the foundations of the American political system.

South Dakota v. Dole (1986) tested whether Congress could place conditions on the distribution of federal funding. The case focused on the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which Congress had passed in 1984. The act determined that a percentage of federal funding for state highways could be withheld if states failed to raise their minimum drinking age to 21.

In Strickland v. Washington (1986) the U.S. Supreme Court designed standards for determining when an attorney’s assistance has been so ineffective that it creates a violation of the Sixth Amendment.

In Tennessee v. Garner (1985), the Supreme Court ruled that under the Fourth Amendment, a police officer may not use deadly force against a fleeing, unarmed suspect. The fact that a suspect does not respond to commands to halt does not authorize an officer to shoot the suspect, if the officer reasonably believes that the suspect is unarmed.

Terry v. Ohio (1968) asked the United States Supreme Court to determine the legality of stop-and-frisk, a police practice in which officers would stop passersby on the street and inspect them for illegal contraband. The Supreme Court found the practice was legal under the Fourth Amendment, if the officer could show he had a "reasonable suspicion" that the suspect was armed and dangerous.

The 2nd Amendment was ratified on December 17, 1791, along with the other nine amendments that make up the Bill of Rights. While it is a very short amendment, its exact meaning in terms of what types of weapons are protected and what constitutes a well-regulated militia is still in contention today.

The United States has three branches of government: the executive, the legislative and the judicial. Each of these branches has a distinct and essential role in the function of the government, and they were established in Articles 1 (legislative), 2 (executive) and 3 (judicial) of the U.S. Constitution.

If your knowledge of Supreme Court scandals begins and ends with the tumultuous Senate confirmation process of Justice Brett Kavanaugh in October 2018, you will either be relieved or horrified to learn that he was by no means the first jurist with a less-than-pristine reputation. From the judge who refused to listen to cases argued by women, to a former KKK member, bad behavior on the nation's highest court is not that uncommon. Here are a few of the juiciest scandals.

The US Constitution was written by delegates to the Constitutional Convention held in 1787. However, it wasn't ratified until June 21, 1788. While many of us have studied the US Constitution in high school, how many of us remember each of the Seven Articles and what's contained in them? There are many fascinating features tucked away in the text of the Constitution. Here are six interesting items that you might not remember or realize are included in the constitution.

Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution plays a key role in the American system of federalism by limiting the powers of the states. Under the Article, the states are forbidden from entering into treaties with foreign nations; instead reserving that power to the President of the United States, with the approval of two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. In addition, the states are forbidden from printing or coining their own money and from granting titles of nobility.

Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution specifies the “expressed” or “enumerated” powers of Congress. These specific powers form the basis of the American system of “federalism,” the division and sharing of powers between the central government and the state governments.

In United States v. O’Brien (1968), Chief Justice Earl Warren laid out a test for deciding whether the government has unconstitutionally restricted symbolic speech. In general, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects a person’s right to speak freely. However, the 7-1 majority decision in O'Brien found that there are some instances in which the government can regulate free speech, like burning a draft card during wartime.

United States v. Wong Kim Ark, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on March 28, 1898, confirmed that under the Citizenship Clause of Fourteenth Amendment, the United States government cannot deny full U.S. citizenship to any person born within the United States. The landmark decision established the doctrine of “birthright citizenship,” a key issue in the debate over illegal immigration in the United States.

Can Police Officers Use GPS to Track a Vehicle? In United States v. Jones (2012) the U.S. Supreme Court found that attaching a GPS tracker to a private vehicle constituted an illegal search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

In United States v. Lopez (1995), the United States Supreme Court declared the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 an unconstitutional overreach of the implied powers of Congress under the Commerce Clause. The 5-4 divided decision preserved the system of federalism and reversed the Supreme Court’s 50-year trend of rulings that expanded the powers of Congress.

The Warren Court was the period from October 5, 1953, to June 23, 1969, during which Earl Warren served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Along with the Marshall Court of Chief Justice John Marshall from 1801 to 1835, the Warren Court is remembered as one of the two most impactful periods in American constitutional law. Unlike any court before or since, the Warren Court dramatically expanded civil rights and civil liberties, as well as the powers of the judiciary and the federal government.

Inherent powers are powers not explicitly specified in the Constitution that enable the government to take actions necessary to efficiently perform essential duties. Both the President of the United States and Congress exercise inherent powers. While not granted by the Constitution, inherent powers are a reasonable and logical extension of the powers delegated to the president and Congress. Examples of inherent powers include regulating immigration, acquiring territory, and ending labor strikes.