You may remember some of the 11 Most Famous Court Cases in America from your high school history class. Many of these names are stuck inside the minds of Americans for their importance in the makeup of our country, or at least they should be.
These cases had great power in forming what is now known as America. Much like the 10 Most Powerful Families in the World. They were influential, and both advocates and protesters fought hard on both sides for controversial causes. America today is the result of their fighting.
If you’re an average American citizen, you know that whenever an important case reaches federal court, everyone knows it and has an opinion about it. Even before a verdict is decided, the country becomes obsessed with following every detail of the case. No doubt, it was the same way before paparazzi cameras and news channels were invented. It must have been, because cases that happened years ago are still known, at least by name, by most citizens.
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These cases were extremely widespread in popularity, even the very early ones. People heard about them. People read about them. People talked about them. People attended them. As technology began to rise, not only were the trials erred over and over, but movies and tv shows were made about them.
These all appeared on the lists of most famous American cases from a combination of reputable news sites like USA Today. There are 6 total sites, and each case is given 1 point for each ranking on each site. They were then given 2 extra points if they have movies made or in the makings, but only those not labeled as documentaries.TV shows or episodes also count. An additional 2 points are also added if they happened in the last 30 years (people are more likely to remember them which makes them more well-known). That gives a total possible points amount of 10.
Refresh your memory as you explore the 11 Most Famous Court Cases In America. They stretch more than two hundred years ago to 1803 and reach all the way to only months ago in 2015.
11. Marbury v. Madison – 1803 (4/10 points).
James Madison, the Secretary of the State at the time, went against William Marbury who petitioned the Supreme Court to force Madison to deliver documents establishing him as Justice of the Peace. It showed the power of the US Constitution over any other legislation or act of Congress.
10. Dred Scott v. Sanford – 1857 (4/10 points).
The end result of this case held that African Americans, free or enslaved, could not be US citizens. A slave, Dred Scott, sued for his own freedom and lost. Obviously, the hard laws determined by this case were eventually overruled.
9. John Gotti Trial – 1992 (5/10 points).
Movie: Gotti, 1996.
As a famous New York mobster convicted of various crimes including murder, John Gotti was tried by an anonymous jury and found guilty. A few years later in 1996, HBO made a movie entitled Gotti which outlined the story. It received very high rankings upon its debut.
8. Florida v. George Zimmerman – 2013 (5/10 points).
TV Episode: South Park, Season 17, Episode 3: World War Zimmerman, 2013.
The shooting and second-degree murder of Trayvon Martin, 17, swept television screens across the country two years ago. Martin was African-American and Zimmerman, who claimed self-defense, white. This caused huge racial prejudices and outcry. In the end, the court ruled that he was not guilty because he shot in self-defense. Because the case is still one of the more recent of the 11 Most Famous Court Cases in America, the public suspects a movie will be made about it in the near future.
7. Miranda v. Arizona – 1976 (6/10 points).
Movie: The Right to Remain Silent, 1996.
Miranda rights, or rights given to those charged of crimes, were a result of this case. This changed law enforcement and started a new tradition of policemen reading off rights to subjects before any action is taken.
6. Plessy v. Ferguson – 1896 (6/10 points).
TV Episode: American Experience, Season 5, Episode 10: Simple Justice, 1993.
A man seven-eighths Caucasian refused to move into a black train car after he had taken his seat in a white car, and was arrested in Louisiana. The popular phrase “separate but equal” was put in place after this trial.
5. U.S. v. Nixon – 1974 (6/10 points)
Movie: Frost/Nixon, 2008.
The infamous Watergate scandal caused major upheaval and nearly resulted in the impeachment of President Nixon (who resigned before that could happen).
4. Roe v. Wade – 1973 (6/10 points).
Movie: Roe vs. Wade, 1989.
Jane Roe of Texas appealed to the right to privacy in the effort to abort her baby. Feminists all over the country fought hard to defend what they called control over their body. They won, and affected the laws of 46 states in the process.
3. California v. Orenthal James Simpson – 1995 (6/10 points).
Movie: American Crime Story, The People vs. OJ Simpson, 2016 (in the makings).
This criminal trial accused a popular football player and actor of murdering his ex-wife along with another woman. He was finally convicted after nearly nine months in court, and his case is said to be one of the most dramatized and publicized in history. It showed the strong racial prejudices still alive between blacks and whites at the time, and was called the “Trial of the Century” because of the nationwide attention it received. But in the coming twenty first century, the tides would turn and America would experience more racial acceptance than ever before.
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2. Obergefell v. Hodges – 2015 (6/10 points)
Movie: 21 Years to Midnight, 2016 (in the makings).
This 5-4 decision revolutionized American law and even mindset. The traditional man-between-woman marriage is now no longer the only legalized form of marriage in the states, and gays across the nation rejoice to be finally “free.” Two years ago in 2013, United States v. Windsor also provided traditional marriage benefits to legally married same-sex couples.
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1. Brown v. Board of Education – 1954 (7/10 points)
Movie: Separate but Equal, 1991.
The Supreme Court declared separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. This was yet another pivotal case concerning racism which had a huge effect, in one way, by ruling out Plessy v. Ferguson, also one of the 11 Most Famous Court Cases in America.
So much has been determined throughout American history by just these few trials. The 11 Most Famous Court Cases in America have certainly made our country what it is today.
