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.

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.

This discussion guide is for use with the video âState vs. Federal Courts,â which features a conversation with the Hon. Renée Cohn Jubelirer of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, Robert Heim, Esq., and the Hon. Theodore McKee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Lynn A. Marks, Esq., moderates the discussion at the Fair and Impartial Judiciary Symposium on October 26, 2019, at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

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 this one-minute video, students learn about the Supreme Court. A host explains the role of the Supreme Court in the United States government, and students will analyze how the Court affects the citizens of the United States.

The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand the original purpose and powers of the Supreme Court according to the Constitution. Students will learn the Supreme Court’s role in preserving the U.S. Constitution and the balance of power it creates. In this lesson, students will learn about the powers of the Supreme Court according to the Constitution through a guided hidden message activity and vocabulary lesson. An extension activity links this understanding of the Court to the development of judicial review in Marbury v. Madison.

Check out a sampling of the “don’t miss” highlights of the Supreme Court Building and the ground floor exhibits created by the Office of the Curator.

This program examines the creation of the court and follows it through the brink of the Civil War, paying particular attention to the fourth chief justice of the Supreme Court - John Marshall - and to his successor, Roger Taney. Marshall presided over one of the most famous cases before the court while Taney presided over one of the most infamous. In Marbury v. Madison (1803), Marshall found in an obscure case involving an unsigned judicial appointment the opportunity to assert the court's most important power: the right of judicial review. In Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), however, Taney, the next chief justice, exercised that same power against the national government - to protect slavery. "It was a disaster," says James Simon, law professor, dean emeritus, New York Law School. "It was the worst opinion ever written in the history of the Supreme Court of the United States."

Explores the issues before the court from the aftermath of the Civil War through to the 1930s. This was a period of unprecedented economic growth as the nation industrialized but was also a time of unregulated work conditions - the court found itself squarely in the middle of what was almost class warfare. As corporations became more powerful they found an unlikely ally in the Supreme Court. While the 14th Amendment was passed to make certain that the states were obligated to recognize the rights of the newly freed slaves, the court would for almost 100 years use the amendment to protect not blacks but big business, recognizing corporations as "persons" and awarding them sweeping legal protection.

Program Three: A Nation of Liberties focuses on the court's reaction to state and federal legislation on Bill of Rights freedoms, with special attention to the explosion of civil rights cases from the early 1940s to the present. This program highlights the Warren Court as it confronts the issues of race, gender and religion. "This is a watershed time in the court's history," says Joan Biskupic, journalist and author, in THE SUPREME COURT. "You have World War II. You have McCarthyism. You have the Cold War. You have the civil rights struggles. There's tension between national security, national identity, free speech, individual rights. And it falls into the lap of these nine justices to sort it all out."

The Rehnquist Revolution investigates how the court has developed in more recent times. With a particular view to the leadership of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the series charts the rise in importance of the Court to become the institution most responsible for resolving the central questions of American life. The program also addresses the right to privacy, a key component in 1973's Roe v. Wade. "How in the world did such a conservative justice [Harry Blackmun] write this incredibly activist, liberal opinion in Roe"; asks Michael Klarman, James Monroe distinguished professor of law and professor of history, University of Virginia, in THE SUPREME COURT. "Well, if you go back and read the opinion it doesn't read as some sort of charter of feminist rights; it reads as a charter of doctors' rights."

Unlike the Presidential Oath of Office, the wording of the Supreme Court Oath is not explicitly defined in the text of the United States Constitution. Learn more on this webpage.

Take the Constitution quiz to find out how much you know about the Constitution of the United States of America.

The federal judiciary, which includes the Supreme Court as well as the district and circuit courts, is one of three branches of the federal government. This lesson provides an introduction to the Supreme Court.

These activities introduce students, teachers, and families to some of the history and symbolism featured at the Supreme Court of the United States. Recommended for grades 5-12. Downloadable PDFs are available.

The coloring book pages below highlight aspects of Court history and tradition along with some of the notable artworks and architectural features of the interior and exterior of the Supreme Court Building. We hope you have fun coloring while learning about the Court!

Test your detection skills and learn about Chief Justice John Marshall. See if you can find 9 differences between Rembrandt Peale’s portrait of Chief Justice John Marshall and a modified version.

Lions are part of the decoration in the Great Hall. See if you can find 9 differences between two cartoons inspired by the carved marble lions in the Great Hall Frieze.