The Supreme Court

Introduction

 

                                                      THE SUPREME COURT

                                                                                      Ms. Hofmann

                                                       Image result for supreme court logo usa

The Supreme Court operates as the judicial branch of government. It is the highest federal court in the United States and has the power to overrule decisions made by local and state courts.

People can appeal their cases until they reach the Supreme Court if they are unhappy with the decisions made, by filing a certiorari. Certioraris are voted on by the justices to decide if it should go to trial or not. Other cases that involve states or the country are sent straight to the Supreme Court for a decision. Once cases come before the court, oral arguments are made on behalf of both parties involved. Upon hearing the case, the justices vote and write their decision down to later be published. 

The Supreme Court consists of nine justices--one chief justice and eight associate justices. All must be appointed by the president to hold this position, and they are allowed the position for life. There are a variety of views held by the justices ranging from conservative to liberal. They also have different interpretations of the constitution, the primary document they use to decide if a law should be kept or overturned. Some use a strict interpretation by following what is explicitly stated in the constitution to aid in their decision making. On the other side is loose interpretation, where justices use the constitution as more of a guide to apply to modern conditions, but do not definitively abide by the document. 

Task

You will be acting as lawyers presenting a case to the Supreme Court. Many of you will be lawyers, and some of you will be acting as the justices voting on those cases. The cases being brought before the court by the lawyers will be cases tried decades ago relating to student rights. Those of you that will be justices will each act as a current justice and will get the opportunity to vote how you think they would if they had the opportunity to hear this case. 

Process

STEP 1:

You will be given a role as a justice or a lawyer. 

  • There will be nine justices that will vote on the four cases that we will hear oral arguments on. Each person that receives a justice role will be assigned a specific justice to learn about (constitutional interpretation and views) You will be expected to emulate them during the voting process.
  • The rest of you will be lawyers. Those assigned as lawyers will be given one of four cases and side they must present for. You will need to research both sides of the case and present your side in front of the justices along with a partner. 

 

STEP 2:

The sitting justices you will be acting as are:

  • John Roberts (Chief Justice)
  • Anthony Kennedy
  • Clarence Thomas
  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg
  • Stephen Breyer
  • Samuel Alito
  • Sonia Sotomayor
  • Elena Kagan
  • Neil Gorsuch

As lawyers, you will be arguing on one of these four cases:

  • Engel v. Vitale
    • Public school initiated prayers violate the First Amendment
  • Goss v. Lopez
    • Students are entitled to due process
  • New Jersey v. T.L.O.
    • Students have reduced privacy in schools
  • Tinker v. Des Moines
    • Students don't have rights in schools

 

STEP 3:

Now comes the research! 

Justices, as mentioned earlier, you will need to research your justice's past decisions on cases, if your justice is liberal, conservative, or somewhere in between, and if they are strict or loose interpreters of the constitution.

Lawyers, you will research your case. Make sure to look at both sides of the argument and, with a partner, create a persuasive speech with evidence to support your side and a rebuttal of the other side. It might also be helpful to look over how the justices tend to vote to see who is likely to vote in support or against you. 

There are sources at your disposal in the credits. You can also look at videos, books, or other websites. It will also be helpful to review the constitution, especially the amendments relevant to your case. If you are looking at sites not on the credits page, make sure they end in .edu or .org. 

Make sure to site any research you use in your bibliography using MLA citations. 

 

STEP 4:

The time has finally come for to hear the cases! 

Now that you have completed the research and written your speeches, lawyers, you will get the opportunity to present your cases to the justices. You will have about 5 minutes to present your argument. 

Justices, you will listen to the lawyers' speeches on both sides of each case and ask questions at the end to get clarification or elaboration on anything needed. 

 

STEP 5:

After hearing both sides of a case, justices, you will have about 5 minutes to make a decision and vote. The side with the most votes will be the winner of the case. 

Once the cases are completed, everyone will need to turn in the notes they took while hearing the case or while presenting. 

 

STEP 6:

Now that you have studied and heard all of the cases from positions that I have assigned you, you will have the chance to write a reflection on how you would vote on one of these cases (but you can choose which case to write about). Your reflection should be about 2 double-spaced pages and include a brief summary of the case, your position on it, and why. This is a good opportunity for you to also think about if you prefer to interpret the constitution strictly or loosely, and this will help you explain your position on the case. It should also include what the actual Supreme Court decision was for the case and the lasting impact that the case and decision has had on America. Any evidence you use should be cited in a bibliography. 

Evaluation

 

1 – Poor

2 – Fair

3 – Well Done

4 – Spectacular

Content

Information was inaccurate, insufficient, irrelevant, very simple

Valid content but little depth or elaboration, sparse information and presentation, limited critical thinking

Covers topic effectively; explains facts of case well

History of case; Precise explanation of parties involved and general facts of the case; precise data; in-depth; well-supported

Legal Issue

Legal issue and amendment inaccurate.

Legal issue and amendment present but not explained.

Legal issue and amendment are accurate and explained.

Legal issue and amendment violated if any; explain what amendment was violated and how with examples and precedent

Court Decision

Court decision inaccurate

Court decision was accurate but not elaborated upon.

Court decision was accurate and reasons were given for the decision.

Decision of court (including vote) and reason given for their decision.  

Presentation

Soft voice, hard to understand, poor confidence, reading from slide.

Normal voice, some eye contact, some confidence, unorganized presentation

Strong easy to hear and understand voice throughout presentation, clear organization

Confident, competent, clear presentation. Clear organization.

Questions

Not able to answer questions about case

Able to answer some questions.

Able to answer most questions form audience

Able to answer questions from audience with 100% accuracy.

Credits

Here are some sites to use for your research. Feel free to look at other sites, books, and videos, as long as they are reliable sources. There is also a link for the constitution, because you will need to know the amendments relevant to your case(s). Keep in mind the computer usage rules for this class, and if you need reminding of them, they are listed at the bottom of this page. 

JUSTICES:

CASES:

CONSTITUTION: 

 

 

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY:

The school internet is only available for educational purposes. While using it, here are some things to keep in mind:

  • The internet is forever, and nothing is private. Make sure that your posts and searches are positive and school appropriate. Be careful of your language, pictures, videos, etc. that you post and search for because anyone can access them.
  • Be kind to others on the Internet; do not cyber bully.
  • If you accidentally encounter an inappropriate cite, navigate back to the last safe page you were on. If you receive a warning about entering a cite, do not enter it.
  • Remain on safe sites; avoid sites with viruses or warnings. The school computers have anti-virus programs, but you should still avoid troublesome sites. If you are using a personal computer, install an anti-virus program if you don’t already have one, and know that the school is not responsible for any damage caused while using school sites.
  • Always keep your posts and searches legal, they can be traced back to you. Do not download anything that you have not been granted legal access to.
  • Computers are allowed in class when instructed. Otherwise phones, computers, and any other technological devices are not allowed during class time.
  • Don’t plagiarize. When using someone else’s work, always make sure to correctly credit the source in MLA format.

If you are concerned about anything you are doing on the computer, ask a school official and/or use your best judgement. If you follow these rules, you will be a successful and reflective digital citizen. If you violate any of these rules, you will receive a detention or suspension depending on the severity of the violation. If you commit any illegal activity, you will be reported and subject to prosecution.