Which decesion of the supreme court has had the greatest impact on the nation?

Question

I have to write about this so what do you guys think has the greatest impact?

Answer 1

The one in the late 1800's that granted corporations "personhood" and therefore protection under the Bill of Rights.

A secondary second would be the one from the early 1970's that equated bribery with speech and protected campaign contributions under the first amendment.

Answer 2

Marbury v. Madison is indeed crucial. It established that the judicial branch of government has the power to strike down unconstitutional laws enacted by the legislative branch.

But given that slavery and racism have been such central issues in American history, I think you have to look to some race-related decisions to find the ruling or rulings that have had the greatest impact on Americans' lives.

In Dred Scott v. Sandford the Supreme Court ruled that "The ***** has no rights the white man is bound to respect."

In Plessy v. Ferguson the Court endorsed the "separate but equal" justification for racial segregation.

In Brown et.al. v. the Board of Education of Topeka, as somebody has already noted, the Court partially reversed the Plessy decision by ruling against school segregation. This paved the way for later decisions that would reverse Plessy altogether and establish that all segregation is unconstitutional.

In Loving v. Virginia the Court invalidated laws against interracial marriage.

Answer 3

That's a really interesting question!

I think most people would say Roe v. Wade (the abortion decision), since it gets so much attention and abortion is such a hot issue.

I could probably pick out lots of obscure cases if I had my old law school notes with me, but I'd have to say Brown v. Board of Education, the case where the Supreme Court ended segregation in the U.S. It's such an important case for obvious reasons, but the issue of slavery and then segregation is such a distinctly American issue that I think that case stands out. The way Thurgood Marshall got the case to the Supreme Court is interesting in itself, but the Supreme Court justices that decided that case were incredibly brave in making a decision that they had to know would cause such division in the country. It's a really proud moment in our history (even if it came a little late), and makes me proud to be a part of the judicial system!

Answer 4

Brown vs. Board of Education and Plessy vs Ferguson set the tone for the whole civil rights movement for African-Americans. I think that has changed lots of other things also.

Answer 5

Roe v. Wade

You cannot argue against the legalizing the killing of millions of unborn childred as being anything but the most important (and disastrous) decision in history - all time.

Answer 6

Marbury v. Madison, it established judicial review and then things snowballed from there.