Memory tricks for the Bill of Rights, amendments & landmark cases
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land — and law exams love to test it. From the First Amendment's five freedoms to all 27 amendments to Marbury v. Madison, these memory tricks lock in the framework that underlies every area of American law.
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1st Amendment
RAPPS
Religion · Assembly · Press · Petition · Speech
The Five Freedoms of the First Amendment
The First Amendment protects five fundamental freedoms. RAPPS keeps them straight — Religion (free exercise + no establishment), Assembly, Press, Petition the government, and Speech. Most tested amendment on every law exam.
Religion
Two clauses: Free Exercise (can't punish religious practice) + Establishment (no state religion — Lemon test).
Assembly
Right to gather peacefully. Government may impose time/place/manner restrictions if content-neutral.
Press
No prior restraint on publication (NY Times v. US). Press has no greater rights than ordinary citizens.
Petition
Right to petition government for redress of grievances. Basis for lobbying and citizen lawsuits.
2nd: Right to bear arms (Heller: individual right). 3rd: No quartering soldiers in peacetime — rarely litigated.
4th–5th
4th: Unreasonable searches & seizures; warrants need probable cause. 5th: Self-incrimination, double jeopardy, due process, takings.
6th–8th
6th: Speedy trial, jury, counsel (criminal). 7th: Jury in civil cases >$20. 8th: No cruel/unusual punishment or excessive bail.
9th–10th
9th: Unenumerated rights retained by the people. 10th: Powers not delegated to federal government reserved to states or people.
Judicial Review
MARBURY
Madison · Affirmed · Review · By · Under · Rule · Yes
Marbury v. Madison — The Power of Courts
Marbury v. Madison (1803) established judicial review — the Supreme Court's power to strike down laws that violate the Constitution. Chief Justice Marshall: "It is emphatically the province of the judicial department to say what the law is."
Facts
Adams appointed Marbury as justice of peace. Jefferson's Secretary of State Madison refused to deliver the commission.
Holding
SCOTUS held the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional — establishing the power to invalidate acts of Congress.
Significance
Judicial review is not in the Constitution's text — Marshall derived it from the Supremacy Clause and judicial role.
Remember
Marshall gave Jefferson the political win (Marbury didn't get his commission) but gave the Court enormous long-term power.
Courts use three levels of scrutiny to judge laws under the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection and Due Process clauses. RSI: Rational basis (easiest to survive) → Intermediate → Strict scrutiny (hardest — government almost always loses).
Rational Basis
Default standard. Law must be rationally related to a legitimate government interest. Very deferential — law almost always upheld.
Intermediate
Applies to gender, legitimacy. Law must be substantially related to an important government interest. Split outcomes.
Strict Scrutiny
Race, national origin, fundamental rights. Law must be narrowly tailored to a compelling government interest. Government usually loses.
Due Process · Equal Protection · Privileges or Immunities
The Three Clauses of the 14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment (1868, post-Civil War) is the most litigated amendment. DEP: Due Process (substantive + procedural) · Equal Protection (no discrimination without justification) · Privileges or Immunities (rarely used since Slaughterhouse Cases).
Due Process
Procedural: fair process before depriving life/liberty/property. Substantive: some rights so fundamental government can't infringe even with fair procedures.
Equal Protection
No state shall deny any person equal protection of the laws. Applies to states directly; applied to federal gov via 5th Amendment reverse incorporation.
Incorporation
14th Amendment selectively incorporates Bill of Rights to apply to states. Most rights now incorporated (not 3rd, 7th, 5th grand jury).
Key cases
Brown v. Board (equal protection) · Griswold (substantive due process — privacy) · McDonald v. Chicago (incorporation of 2nd).
Commerce Clause
3 C's: Channels · Commodities · Connections
Channels of commerce · Commodities in commerce · Activities substantially affecting commerce
Congress's Broadest Power
Article I §8 gives Congress power to regulate interstate commerce. After Lopez (1995), courts use the 3 C's to define limits: Congress can regulate the channels of commerce, instrumentalities/commodities moving in commerce, and activities with a substantial effect on commerce.
Channels
Highways, waterways, airways — the paths of commerce. Congress can regulate what moves through them.
Commodities
Persons, goods, and instrumentalities (trains, trucks) crossing state lines. Classic commerce power.
Substantial effect
Activities that substantially affect interstate commerce — even local activities (Wickard v. Filburn — wheat grown for home use).
Limits
US v. Lopez (guns near schools) and US v. Morrison (VAWA) — non-economic activity lacking substantial effect is beyond Commerce Clause.
Amendments 11–27
SIRE · VIP · PAID · WAR
Sovereign immunity · Income tax · Recall senators (direct election) · Electors for DC · Voting (18+, women, race) · Prohibition/Repeal · Age · Income · Direct election
Amendments 11–27 — The Post-Bill of Rights Era
After the Bill of Rights, 17 more amendments reshaped America. Key clusters: structural changes (11, 12, 17, 23, 25), Civil War/Reconstruction (13, 14, 15), Progressive Era (16, 17, 18, 19), and modern reforms (22, 24, 26, 27).
11–12
11th: Sovereign immunity — can't sue a state in federal court without consent. 12th: Separate ballots for President and VP.
Probable cause · Authorized warrant · Curtilage protected · Terry stops allowed
Search & Seizure — The 4th Amendment Framework
The 4th Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. PACT: police need Probable cause for a warrant, your home's curtilage is protected, but Terry v. Ohio allows brief investigatory stops on reasonable suspicion — lower than probable cause.
Probable cause
Reasonable belief that evidence of a crime will be found. Required for arrests and search warrants.
Evidence obtained in violation of 4th Amendment is inadmissible (Mapp v. Ohio). Fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine extends this.
Terry stops
Brief investigatory stop + pat-down on reasonable articulable suspicion — less than probable cause. Terry v. Ohio (1968).
Landmark Cases
BIG 5: Marbury · McCulloch · Brown · Miranda · Roe
Judicial review · Federal supremacy · Equal protection · 5th Amendment rights · Privacy/Due process
5 SCOTUS Cases Every Law Student Must Know
These five cases reshaped American constitutional law. Each established a principle still applied today: courts can strike laws (Marbury), federal law wins over state (McCulloch), segregation is unconstitutional (Brown), suspects must be warned (Miranda), and privacy is a fundamental right (Roe/Casey).
Marbury (1803)
Established judicial review. Courts can invalidate acts of Congress that violate the Constitution.
McCulloch (1819)
Federal law supremacy + implied powers. "Necessary and proper" clause broadly interpreted. States can't tax federal bank.
Brown (1954)
Separate but equal (Plessy v. Ferguson) overruled. Racial segregation in public schools violates Equal Protection.
Miranda (1966)
Custodial interrogation requires warning of rights: remain silent, attorney, appointed counsel. 5th and 6th Amendment.
Roe/Casey
Roe (1973) — abortion as privacy right. Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) — undue burden standard. Dobbs (2022) overruled both.