This is an individual project. Each student must complete a different Supreme Court case.
Please include a heading with your name, the teacher's name, the name of the class, and the due date. The title of your paper should be the name of the Supreme Court case. Your research paper should utilize proper MLA format with regard to spacing, margins, font, and size. Please proofread your paper to ensure correct grammar. You must also include a properly formatted works cited page.
Each of the following content items must have a complete and thorough written response.
I. Facts of the case: Summarize the story behind the case and the details that led to the case being brought. You are telling a story here.
II. Lower court verdict: What court or courts heard this case before the U.S. Supreme Court? Identify the name of the each court and their decision (s).
III. Petition before the U.S. Supreme Court: What were the arguments for the plaintiff/petitioner/appellant ? What were the arguments for the defendant/respondent? Please provide a minimum of 2 arguments for each side.
IV. Relief sought: What outcome does the petitioner desire? What does the petitioner want the Court to decide?
V. Majority decision of the Court: For which side did the Supreme Court rule? What was the Supreme Court vote? What was the date of the decision? Which of the Supreme Court justices wrote the majority opinion (decision) of the Court?
VI. The Majority Opinion: Summarize the major reasons that the Supreme Court ruled for the winning side. Explain why the Supreme Court decided the case in the way that they did.
VII. The Dissenting Opinion (s): Were there any dissenting opinions in this case? If so, choose one of them and identify which justice wrote it and his/her major reasons for disagreeing with the majority opinion of the Court.
VIII. Importance/Significance of the case: Did the decision in this case overturn a previous decision of the U.S. Supreme Court? Explain fully. What impact did the decision in this case have on life and society in the U.S.? What were its effects and consequences?
IX. Relevance: Does this case still retain the force of law or has it been overturned by a later case? If it has been overturned, name the case and tell how this later case changed the decision you described in the case that you studied.
Possible Supreme Court cases
Weeks v. United States--- 4th Amendment /illegal search and seizure
Mapp v. Ohio--- 4th Amendment /illegal search and seizure
Brown v. Board of Education- public school segregation
Miranda v. Arizona--- 5th Amendment. Right to remain silent
Gideon v. Wainwright--t 6th Amendment/ Right to an attorney
Roe v. Wade-- abortion rights
Tinker v. Des Moines---- Free speech and public schools
Gregg v. Georgia--- 8th Amendment-- the death penalty
Texas v. Johnson-- free speech and flag burning
Plessy v. Ferguson—racial segregation
Schenck v. United States-- Free speech during wartime
Vernonia v Acton--- 4th Amendment/ drug testing and schools
Brandenburg v. Ohio--- Free speech and support of illegal activities
Cohen v. California Free speech and offensive messages
Miller v. California—Free speech and obscene materials
Furman v. Georgia- 8th Amendment-- the death penalty
Engel v. Vitale-- prayer in public schools
Lemon v. Kurtzman--- prayer in public schools
Terry v. Ohio---4th Amendment /illegal search and seizure
Katz v. United States-4th Amendment /illegal search and seizure
Tennessee v. Garner--- 4th Amendment /illegal seizure
Minnesota v. Carter---4th Amendment and house guests
Kyllo v. United States--- 4th Amendment /illegal search and seizure
Dred Scott v. Sandford--- slavery
Korematsu v. U.S.—rights of Japanese-Americans during Word War II
Loving v. Virginia-- interracial marriage
Bush v. Gore-- vote counting and the 2000 presidential election
J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel T.B.—exclusion of jurors based on gender
Obergefell v. Hodges—same- sex marriage
Griswold v. Connecticut-- right to privacy and birth control
District of Columbia v. Heller—2nd Amendment – and the right to bear arms
Planned Parenthood v. Casey—abortion rights
Lee v. Weisman—prayer in public schools
Kent v. Dulles—freedom of travel
Roper v. Simmons—death penalty and minors
Atkins v. Virginia—death penalty and the mentally challenged
Kennedy v. Louisiana- death penalty and crimes other than murder
Abington School District v. Schempp--- religion and public schools
New Jersey v. T.L.O.--- 4th Amendment /illegal searches and public schools
California v. Greenwood--4th Amendment /illegal search and garbage
Riley v. California-- 4th Amendment /illegal searches and cell phones
Gibbons v. Ogden – states v. national government and interstate trade
Lynch v. Donnelly -- religious displays on government property
Batson v. Kentucky—race and jury selection
Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah—freedom of religion and animal sacrifice
Buck v. Bell-- forced sterilizations by government
California v. Ciraolo- 4th Amendment /illegal searches--- aerial observations of property
West Virginia v.Barnette-- First Amendment and mandatory recitation of Pledge of Allegiance in public schools
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Off campus? Email sevje@cpsed.net for password.
