Your task is to research a landmark Supreme Court Case and create a presentation about it to teach the class about the case and why it is important.
1. Choose a landmark Supreme Court Case from the 20th or 21st Century
a. Each person/partner must choose a different case – no cases from before 1900!
b. Click here for the list of case options – any case not on this list must the approved by teacher
2. You may choose to either work independently OR with 1 other partner
a. Each partner will complete an assessment of the other to determine what each person contributed to the project
b. Each partner will receive a separate proficiency for the presentation
c. Partnerships must be approved by the teacher
3. Each person must submit a research log.
a. This must be submitted BEFORE creating your slides.
b. You should be paraphrasing information from the web – the more you do this in your “research phase” the less work you have to do when making your presentation
c. Any information copy/pasted directly from the web must be HIGHLIGHTED in color and include the source information
d. This will count as a 10pt CA and will either be a 0 (not submitted), a 5 (incomplete or late), or a 10 (complete and submitted on time)
4. A comprehensive, properly formatted bibliography is a requirement. As you research, keep track of the websites you use by creating an account -- you need to do this as you go!
5. Create a 8 (or more slide) presentation on Google Slides to teach about your chosen case. Any of these elements could be broken into multiple slides, but your project should not have more than 15 slides.
a. Working with a partner? Add your signature to each slide you were responsible for
b. Slide 1: Title and name
c. Slide 2: Historical context
i. What is happening, generally, in the country during the time of your case?
ii. What other context is needed to understand your case? Previous cases?
d. Slide 3: Relevant vocabulary
i. Identify at least 5 concepts/terms your audience will need to know in order to understand your case. You can have more than 5!
ii. For example, in the 1857 Dred Scott v Sanford case, a key part of this ruling involved the property rights of the 5th amendment. For this case, the audience needs to know what the 5th amendment says about property rights to understand the ruling.
e. Slide 4: What is the case about? (Who/What/When/Where/Why), key facts, background information on those involved in the case (what’s the story?)
f. Slide 5: Argument of the person bringing the case (petitioner or appellant)
i. What is their legal argument? What are the main points?
ii. What do they want to see happen?
g. Slide 6: Argument of the government (respondent or appellee)
i. What is their legal argument? What are the main points?
ii. What do they want to see happen?
h. Slide 7: The ruling - how did each Justice vote and what decision was reached
i. Slide 8: Impact of the ruling - what precedent (standard for the future) did this set?
i. Why did this ruling matter? How does it affect people in the future?
ii. Were there other cases later on related to this?
iii. Any other important events related to this, after the ruling?
j. OPTIONAL - Slide 9: YOUR opinion
i. Add this in to get a 4 on the Requirements portion of the rubric
ii. Partners: each person would add one in
k. Last Slide: Works Cited Page
6. How does this fit into my grade?
a. The Slides will be a 100pt QA grade for Q2 (or Q4) - both partners get the same score and the same proficiency for AESL #3 Information Writing
b. The Presentation will be a 25pt CA grade - each person gets their own score and their own proficiency score for AESL #4 Speaking and Listening
c. The Research Log will be a 10pt CA grade - each person gets their own score
7. Plagiarism and Consequences
a. If your project is flagged on the originality report for plagiarism, we will review it together. The SS Department Head may be involved.
b. If your project IS plagiarized, you will receive a 0 and will NOT be eligible to make it up in any way. A conduct referral will be submitted in Aspen for cheating/plagiarism. I will also contact your adults at home to discuss.
c. Just DON’T DO IT!!! Any grade is > than a 0....
1944 - Korematsu v. United States - A case in which the Court held that compulsory exclusion of citizens during times of war is justified in order to reduce the risk of espionage.
1954 + 1955 - Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1) - A case in which the Court decided that the "separate but equal" standards of racial segregation were unconstitutional, paving the way for the Civil Rights Movement and national desegregation. / Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (2) - A case in which the Court found that local jurisdictions were responsible for the integration of public schools under Brown v. Board of Education (I), but it must be implemented "with all deliberate speed."
**if you choose this one, you must cover BOTH cases**
1953 - Rosenberg vs. United States - The Rosenbergs were convicted and sentenced to death for conspiring to violate the Espionage Act of 1917 by communicating to a foreign government, in wartime, secret atomic and other military information.
1963 - Gideon v Wainwright - Does the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel in criminal cases extend to felony defendants in state courts?
1964 - New York Times v. Sullivan - In order to prove libel, a public official must show that what was said against them was made with actual malice.
1966 - Miranda v. Arizona - Police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning.
1969 - Tinker v. Des Moines - Students do not leave their rights at the schoolhouse door (freedom of speech in school)
1971 - Roe v. Wade - Does the Constitution recognize a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy by abortion?
1974 - United States v. Nixon - The President is not above the Law (Watergate related)
1975 - O’Connor v. Donaldson - can mentally ill patients be institutionalized against their will?
1978 - Regents of the University of California v. Bakke - affirmative action, can race be taken into account to promote diversity on campuses?
1982 - Plyler v. Doe - A revision to the Texas education laws in 1975 allowed the state to withhold from local school districts state funds for educating children of illegal aliens. This case was decided together with Texas v. Certain Named and Unnamed Alien Child.
1989 - Texas v. Johnson - Even offensive speech such as flag burning is protected by the First Amendment.
2000 - Bush v. Gore - Did the Florida Supreme Court violate Article II Section 1 Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution by making new election law? Do standardless manual recounts violate the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Constitution?
2008 - District of Columbia v Heller - Second Amendment guaranteed an individual's right to possess a firearm at home for self-defense.
2010 - Citizens United v. FEC - corporations and unions can spend as much as they like to convince people to vote for or against political candidates, as long as the spending is independent of the candidates.
2014 - Burwell v. Hobby Lobby - Does the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 allow a for-profit company to deny its employees health coverage of contraception to which the employees would otherwise be entitled based on the religious objections of the company's owners?
2015 - Obergefell v. Hodges - the 14th Amendment guarantees the right to marry, including same-sex marriages.
2018 - Trump v. Hawaii - Donald Trump promised a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” – was this constitutional? Or in the President’s authority?
2020 - Bostock v. Clayton County - Does Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits against employment discrimination “because of . . . sex” encompass discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation?
2020 - The Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home vs. Pennsylvania - Did the federal government lawfully exempt religious objectors from the regulatory requirement to provide health plans that include contraceptive coverage?
2022 - Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center - Is Mississippi’s law banning nearly all abortions after 15 weeks’ gestational age unconstitutional? (overturned Roe v. Wade)
No login needed from school.
Off campus? Email sevje@cpsed.net for password.
