18 named examples with their significance, drawn from the Panther database. Read them, then test yourself.
In test mode, tap an example to reveal why it matters.
The examples
Dobbs v Jackson: Roe v Wade Overturned (2022)(2024)(tap to reveal)- 6-3 ruling overturned 50 years of precedent. 13 states immediately banned abortion. Split entirely along partisan lines. ER 2024 praised Dobbs as the top case for political nature of Supreme Court. Note: Dobbs came AFTER Obergefell - a common student error. Result of 40-year Federalist Society strategy.
NYSRPA v Bruen: Second Amendment and Gun Rights (2022)(2022)(tap to reveal)- In Bruen (2022) the Supreme Court struck down New York's concealed-carry permit law 6-3, extending Second Amendment rights to carrying guns in public for the first time since Heller.
Obergefell v Hodges: Same-Sex Marriage (2015)(2025)(tap to reveal)- 5-4 ruling legalised same-sex marriage nationwide. Overrode state bans. Classic judicial activism example: Court found new right not in Constitution's original text. ER 2024 and 2025 both cited Obergefell as essential - always pair with Dobbs to show the Court both expands and contracts rights. Note: Obergefell (2015) came before Dobbs (2022).
Students for Fair Admissions: Affirmative Action Banned (2023)(2023)(tap to reveal)- 6-3 ruling. Race-conscious admissions at Harvard and UNC unconstitutional. Overturned Bakke (1978) and Grutter (2003). Shows how the Court can reverse civil rights era gains. Use for rights and judicial power questions.
Voting Rights Act and Voter Suppression (1965-present)(2025)(tap to reveal)- VRA 1965 banned discriminatory voting practices. Shelby County v Holder (2013) gutted Section 5 preclearance. Georgia passed SB202 (2021) restricting early voting and drop boxes. Note: ER 2025 said Shelby County is commonly misquoted - it removed federal pre-clearance requirements but did not ban the VRA. Shows Court can undermine congressional civil rights acts.
India Citizenship Amendment Act: Selective Human Rights (2019)(tap to reveal)- India's 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act granted citizenship to persecuted minorities from three neighbouring states (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan), but explicitly excluded Muslims. India claims to be a secular state; critics argued the Act directly contradicted this claim and violated the principle of religious non-discrimination in the UDHR.
Affordable Care Act: Survival Under Attack (2010-present)(2015)(tap to reveal)- Survived NFIB v Sebelius (2012) 5-4. Survived King v Burwell (2015). 50+ House repeal votes. Senate repeal failed 51-49 (McCain). Shows interaction of all three branches. Roberts upheld despite being conservative appointee.
Amy Coney Barrett and Merrick Garland: The Politics of Appointments(2024)(tap to reveal)- Merrick Garland (Obama nominee, 2016): Senate refused to hold hearings - 8 months from election. Amy Coney Barrett (Trump nominee, 2020): confirmed 8 days before election. ER 2024 praised this contrast as the clearest evidence of political nature of Supreme Court appointments process. Demonstrates Senate partisan control over Court composition.
Citizens United and the Super PAC Era (2010-present)(2010)(tap to reveal)- 5-4 ruling, January 2010. The Supreme Court struck down parts of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act 2002 (McCain-Feingold) that limited independent political spending by corporations and unions. Justice Kennedy wrote the majority; Justice Stevens wrote a 90-page dissent. Created the Super PAC era and unleashed dark money. By 2024 outside spending hit $4.5bn and dark money $1.9bn (both records).
Ketanji Brown Jackson: Supreme Court Appointment (2022)(2022)(tap to reveal)- KBJ was confirmed 53-47 in April 2022 as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, replacing Stephen Breyer. Three Republican senators supported her.
Loper Bright: Chevron Deference Overturned (2024)(2024)(tap to reveal)- Overturned 40-year Chevron doctrine: courts now interpret ambiguous statutes, not agencies. Weakens executive branch regulatory capacity. Shows Roberts Court reshaping balance of power between branches.
Roberts Court tariff ruling 2025-26 - 5-4 against Trump on executive tariff powers(2026)(tap to reveal)- Roberts Court 2025-26: 5-4 ruling against Trump tariffs; Barrett sided with liberal justices.
Texas 2026 Senate Republican primary: Cornyn v Paxton, the most expensive Senate primary in US history(2026)(tap to reveal)- The 2026 Texas Republican Senate primary between 23-year incumbent John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton consumed over $122 million in spending, surpassing Arizona 2022's $109.5m record. Cornyn outspent Paxton roughly 17 to 1 on TV ads through three outside Super PACs (Texans for a Conservative Majority $23.3m, Lone Star Freedom Project $17.8m, dark-money group One Nation $10.9m). Paxton won anyway, with Trump's endorsement, on 26 May 2026.
Trump Presidential Immunity Ruling (2024)(2024)(tap to reveal)- Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that presidents have broad immunity for official acts. Critics say it placed president above law. 6-3 split entirely along partisan lines. Central example for political nature of Supreme Court.
Trump v Hawaii: Travel Ban and Presidential Power (2018)(2025)(tap to reveal)- Trump's travel ban on majority-Muslim countries upheld 5-4 by Supreme Court. Courts initially blocked earlier versions. ER 2025 noted Trump v Hawaii is frequently misquoted by candidates - outcome was that the Court upheld presidential power. Shows courts can both check and support executive action depending on legal framing.
Black Lives Matter and Interest Group Politics (2013-present)(2024)(tap to reveal)- BLM founded 2013 after Trayvon Martin. Mass protests after George Floyd murder (May 2020). ER 2024 cited BLM/George Floyd as a top example of interest group raising awareness. Defund the Police movement tested limits of impact: some cities redirected funding but federal legislation (George Floyd Justice in Policing Act) failed in Senate. Shows limits of social movement pressure without institutional allies.
Chechnya(tap to reveal)- Russia fought two wars against Chechen separatists between 1994 and 2009, with documented human rights abuses and significant civilian casualties.
Federalism in Practice: Texas and California as Competing Models (2020-present)(2021)(tap to reveal)- Texas: SB8 abortion ban (2021), looser gun laws. California: abortion rights enshrined, stricter gun laws. Shows 'laboratories of democracy' model in practice but also fragmentation of civil rights across states.