Ex parte Merryman, 17 Fed. Cas. 9487 (1861) Facts—A military officer acting on the authority of his commanding officer arrested the petitioner, a citizen of Baltimore. He was accused of treason against the United States. The chief justice of the…

Martin v. Mott, 12 Wheaton (25 U.S.) 19; 6 L. Ed. 537 (1827) Facts—In August 1814, the governor of the state of New York, in compliance with a request from the president of the United States, ordered certain companies of…

U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779; 115 S. Ct. 1842; 131 L. Ed. 2d 881 (1995) Facts—The Arkansas state constitution prohibited the names of otherwise eligible candidates from appearing on ballots for Congress if such individuals had…

Gravel v. United States, 408 U.S. 606; 92 S. Ct. 2614; 33 L. Ed. 2d 583 (1972) Facts—As chair of the Subcommittee on Building and Grounds of the Senate Public Works Committee, Senator Mike Gravel read portions of the classified…

Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486; 89 S. Ct. 1944; 23 L. Ed. 2d 491 (1969) Facts—Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a flamboyant African American, had been elected from the Eighteenth Congressional District of New York to serve in the U.S.…

Eldred v. Ashcroft, 537 U.S. 186; 123 S. Ct. 769; 154 L. Ed. 2d 683; 2003, U.S. LEXIS 751 (2003) Facts—In the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA), sometimes known as the Sonny Bono Law (in honor of a former…

South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U.S. 203; 107 S. Ct. 1793; 97 L. Ed. 2d 171 (1987) Facts—Congress adopted the National Minimum Drinking Age Amendment of 1984 withholding a portion of federal highway construction funds to states that did not…

NCAA v. Board of Regents of University of Oklahoma, 468 U.S. 85; 104 S. Ct. 2948; 82 L. Ed. 2d 70 (1984) Facts—In 1981 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) adopted a plan for televising football games of member institutions.…

National Labor Relations Board v. Yeshiva University, 444 U.S. 672; 100 S. Ct. 856; 63 L. Ed 2d 115 (1980) Facts—Yeshiva, a private university in New York City, conducted a wide variety of arts and sciences programs at its undergraduate…

Mulford v. Smith, 307 U.S. 38; 59 S. Ct. 648; 83 L. Ed.1092 (1939) Facts—The Agriculture Act of 1938, based upon the commerce power of the Constitution, regulated the marketing of various farm products. Congress set de- tailed limits in…