Background: Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 required U.S. federal agencies to consult with the Secretary of the Interior to ensure any actions they funded, authorized, or carried out did not jeopardize or harm endangered species or their habitats. Originally, a 1978 joint regulation applied this consultation requirement worldwide, including in foreign nations. In 1986, the Department of the Interior under the Reagan administration reinterpreted the rule

Background: October 20, 1999, Massachusetts and eleven other states petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), requesting EPA to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, along with other gasses contributing to global warming, particularly from new motor vehicles. The petitioning states relied on the Clean Air Act. The coalition of states included Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and

Background: In 1816, the United States Congress created the Second Bank of the United States. Later, in 1818, the state of Maryland passed a tax on all banks not chartered directly by the state. This was intended to specifically target the Baltimore branch of the Second Bank of the United States. This act would impose a $15,000 annual tax on any bank operating in the state not chartered by the state, or the mandatory issuing and use of bank notes of a specially stamped state

Background: Carol Anne Bond was married to Clifford Bond for 14 years. In 2006, her friend Myrlinda Haynes announced her pregnancy, of which Clifford Bond was the father. At this time, Carol Anne Bond worked for Rohm and Haas, a chemical manufacturer. Through her connections, Bond sought revenge on Haynes by purchasing highly toxic chemicals, which she applied to Haynes’ doorknobs, car handles, and mailbox. Between 2006 and 2007, Bond attempted to poison Haynes on at least 24

Background: Wong Kim Ark was born around 1873 in San Francisco, to Chinese immigrant parents, who ran a mercantile story in Chinatown. At the time of his birth, his parents were subjects to the Emperor of China, but had a permanent home and residence in the United States. Growing up, among rising anti-Chinese sentiments, Wong Kim Ark mostly worked as a cook at various restaurants in the area. Many Americans feared Chinese immigrants would increase job competition. It was ofte

Background: For decades prior to this case universities were allowed to consider race in admissions under certain circumstances. This meant they couldn’t simply give someone automatic admission due to race, but they could consider race as a holistic part of the admissions process. This framework was established by previous cases such as Grutter v. Bollinger. Harvard's admissions were considered to be a holistic process, considering activities such as extracurriculars, athleti

Background: In May 1861, during the American Civil War, the U.S. seized the Arlington Estate in Virginia, home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s family, due to property taxes which had not been paid in person. It was converted to be a refugee camp for runaway slaves, as well as a military cemetery, known today as the Arlington National Cemetery. Lee’s eldest son, George Washington Curtis Lee, argued the government's seizure was illegal as his mother had been prevented fr

Background: After the Spanish American War, Spain signed the Treaty of Paris, giving Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States. This therefore raised many constitutional questions, on how the United States would govern these newly acquired territories. Before the treaty, Puerto Rico was considered a foreign country under U.S. customs laws, so goods imported from the island were subject to tariffs. However, once Puerto Rico became U.S. territory, it was uncle

Background: Edwin Lee was a member of the Old Order Amish, and employed several other Amish workers on his farm and in his carpentry shop. The Amish believe in living separately from many aspects of modern society, and place strong emphasis on members of their Amish community caring for one another instead of relying on government support or welfare programs. Due to these religious beliefs, Lee objected to participating in the Social Security system. He specifically refused t

Background: In 1977, Emmanuel Charles Whiteside was involved in a confrontation with a man named Calvin Love. What Whiteside claimed to be a drug related dispute escalated, and Whiteside stabbed Love to death. Whiteside was charged with second degree murder in Iowa. He claimed he acted out of self defense, as he believed Love was about to pull out a gun on him. Despite this, Whiteside admitted to his attorney that he had never actually seen a gun. Soon before taking the witne

Background: Prior to the 1960’s police officers were not required to inform suspects of their constitutional rights before questioning them. Many confessed without knowing they had the right to remain silent, or have a lawyer present. The Fifth amendment of The U.S. Constitution protects against people being forced to testify against themselves. The Sixth amendment guarantees the right to legal counsel, or in other words, a lawyer. There was however, no consistent rule requir

Background: In the late 1800’s the United States imposed tariffs on imported vegetables at 10% ad valorem under the Tariff Act of 1883. Fruits were, however, exempt from this tariff. This was done to protect domestic truck drivers from foreign competition. At this time, John Nix & Co. was a business which imported produce. One of their imports was fresh tomatoes from the Caribbean. While entering the United States, the customs collector for the Port of New York, Edward L. Hed

Background: Leroy Reed was a Milwaukee resident with a prior felony conviction. This was due to his assistance as the getaway driver in an armed robbery. He was released early from his sentence as it was determined that he did not realize he was a part of a crime. After he was released, Reed lived a quiet and law abiding life, acting as what many would call a model citizen. Leroy Reed possessed cognitive abilities significantly below average, and was noted to have a second gr

Background: Prior to the American Civil War, states and territories in the United States were divided into two categories. Free states were states where slavery was prohibited, whereas slave states were states where slavery was legal. Born into slavery around 1799, Dred Scott was purchased in 1830 by Dr. John Emerson. Between 1833 and 1843, Emerson took Scott with him to various military posts, including Fort Armstrong in Illinois and Fort Snelling in the Wisconsin Territory.

Background: ​ After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, during World War II, fear of more attacks began to spread throughout the United States. Government and military officials began to argue that people with Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast of the U.S. could pose a security threat, despite the fact that there was little to no evidence of such widespread espionage. In February 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. T

Background: In the summer of 1984, the Republican National Convention was held in Dallas, Texas. In this conference, President Ronald Reagan was being nominated for reelection. Many groups organized demonstrations outside of the convention, criticizing Reagan’s policies, large corporations, nuclear weapons, and U.S. foreign policy. One of these protesters was Gregory Lee Johnson, a member of a political activist organization. During a march outside Dallas City Hall, Johnson

Background: In American history, few Supreme Court cases tested the limits of presidential power as directly as United States v. Nixon. The case emerged due to the Watergate scandal, beginning during the 1972 presidential campaign between President Nixon and his Democratic challenger, Senator George McGovern of South Dakota. On June 17, 1972, less than five months before the election, five men broke into Democratic National Committee headquarters, in the Watergate Office Buil

Background: Prior to Roe v. Wade, abortion laws were determined and controlled almost entirely by individual states. By the late 1800s most states had banned abortion, with the exception of saving the mother’s life. This was largely influenced by religious beliefs, concerns about morality, and the growing shift towards doctors over midwives. In the 1960s and early 1970s, American society was undergoing many changes, such as the women's rights movement and wider availability o

Background: Clarence Earl Gideon was a man with an 8th grade education, who ran away from home during middle school. He spent much of his early adult life spending time in and out of prisons for various nonviolent crimes. In 1961, he was arrested for breaking into a poolroom, with a witness later claiming to have seen him exiting the scene with alcohol and coins. He was charged with breaking and entering, with the intent to commit a misdemeanor, which under Florida state law

Background: The Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, proposed in 1864 and Ratified in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except for those duly convicted of a crime. The Fourteenth Amendment, proposed in 1866 and ratified in 1868, defines birthright citizenship, guarantees equal protection under the law, and ensures due process against state violations. These amendments were made after the American Civil War, and were intended to expand the r