The+Supreme+Court



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Supreme Court Unit


 * How do Conservatives' and Liberals' roles play out?**

__ Introduction to the Supreme Court __ **7/12/2010 - Day 1**

__ Objectives – SWBAT: __ · Connect last week’s topic (Immigration) with this week’s topic (Supreme Court) · Identify what we already know about the Supreme Court · Create list of questions we still have about the Supreme Court __ Brainstorm: __ · Mother of all courts · If state courts cannot solve an issue, it is sent to the Supreme Court · Made of 9 judges that are handpicked by the President of the United States · Solves court cases, which can include immigration and the racial profiling dealt with it __ NPR – SB 1070 __ · United States allowed free immigration, but soon locked up borders to prevent an influx of immigration · Majority of Arizona citizens support the law; majority of illegal immigrants cross into Arizona · Supreme Court decides if a law is constitutional or not and is seeing if SB 1070 justifies the 14th Amendment · Federal government thinks it is not constitutional, but it will be decided by the Supreme Court; the state of Arizona can only battle for its stay through the Supreme Court __ Vocabulary Terms __ · Precedent: (n) – a prior court case having similar characteristics that can be used to solve a current court case · Ex. Brown v. Board of Education used to solve Plessey v. Ferguson · Chief Justice: (n) – the head of the Supreme Court who makes the final decision · Who is the current Chief Justice? · How is the Chief Justice chosen? · Conservative/Liberal: (n) – the moral beliefs of the two political parties: Republican & Democrat · Not exactly true as there can be variation in the stance of both parties · Conservative: more traditional ideals and stick to Constitution · Liberal: open-minded and free to new ideas · Confirmation Hearing: (n) – a meeting to confirm the final decision · Not good to use part of word in definition · New: process to check a new matter at hand; usually takes place in Congress · Majority Opinion: (n) – conclusion of multiple opinions of a topic · New: larger preference of an issue; does this mean it is the final decision? · 5-4 (Majority opinion); 4-5 (Minority opinion) Questions & Comments about Supreme Court: (Bold - Important to me) · Makes some of the most important decisions for the country (ex. Bush v. Gore voting issue) · Dates back to the early 1800s · One of the longest running chief justices was Chief Justice John Marshall · ** When and why was the Supreme Court created? ** · Has the number of judges within the Supreme Court expanded since it was first established? · Is there as close to an even balance between Democrats and Republicans when choosing new candidates? · Most powerful of all courts · President nominates person to fill in any empty spot · What are the qualifications to be on the Supreme Court? · Do they consider opinions of the population in their decision? · ** Do they try to achieve diversity to prevent bias? ** · What is the most current Supreme Court case? BP oil spill? · How many women have served on the Supreme Court? 
 * __Closing __ **


 * 7/13/2010 - Day 3 ** 

I enjoy Tokbox as it is a webcam service that is very fresh and innovative. The controls are easy and adding contacts are very simple tasks that can be achieved. There are many technical difficulties that come with it though as it may lose connection. It can be used in schools as kids can interact and talk about work or if a teacher is absent, they can still teach their students from home. Finally, I can use this in my personal life as I can video chat with friends and have a good time.

** 7/14/2010 - Day 3** __ **Famous Court Cases** __


 * __ Focus: __** The Warren Court and begin final project

Guided Questions:

 * What type of cases is the Warren Court famous for hearing?
 * How did the decision made by the Warren Court affect US citizens?
 * What effects of the Warren Court still affect us today?

Objectives:
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
 * identify important Constitutional Amendments
 * analyze the parameters of Constitutional Amendments
 * apply amendments to everyday life situations

Activity 3
Students reflect individually and summarize in their virtual notebook, which case they think was most influential in their lives today and why. If time permits, students should search the internet for further detail on one of the cases discussed. Reading the majority or minority opinion would be excellent if time allows. Students should post their thoughts to the discussion page and comment on //at least// one other students' post. I believe that the Brown vs. Board of Education court case has influenced my life to what it is today. Without such a resolution, I would stuck in a segregated school with people that look just like me. Not only that, the chances of racial tensions could heat up and create barriers between myself and others of other races. Thanks to this court case, there is an improved sense of life, allowing all students, no matter what race or color, to have the same education and to experience school and life equally and peacefully. This court case can now be protected until this day by the 14th Amendment, which protects citizens' rights against the state.

My group and I won candy! =D

The Warren Court is famous for hearing court cases such as Brown vs. Board of Education, Mapp vs. Ohio, Miranda vs. Arizona, etc. These court cases involved the violations of several amendments, which were meant to protect the rights of citizens. It affected the U.S. by allowing the people to have more rights and to allow them to have a life free of unfair violations. The decisions affects us today as now, a majority of the citizens of America enjoy their rights as over time, rights have changed for the better and have better protected U.S. citizens.

__ Marbury vs. Madison __

John Adams was rushing to assign position before leaving office, assigning William Marbury as Justice of the Peace, but the delivery was not thorough. Marbury demanded that James Madison hand over the documents so that Marbury would be given the position. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Madison, thus denying Marbury his position because of the Judiciary Act of 1789.


 * 7/15/2010 - Day 4 **

**__Guided Questions:__**
 * What are the key components to a political debate?
 * How do bipartisan politics get involved in Supreme Court Case decisions and the Justice Nomination process?

**__Objectives:__** After the lesson, students will be able to:
 * research current trends/decisions of the US Supreme Court
 * analyze and annotate court documents (majority/minority opinions) and expert analysis reports
 * discuss the details and ramifications of recent court cases and justice nominations
 * create a podcast that incorporates students' knowledge and various viewpoints about the situation

A news/talk show has very important components such as interviewees coming onto the show. A brief overview of the topic at hand is nice. Also, having an agrument on the show itself really spices it up and entrances the audience to learn more.

The article I read from the Christian Legal Society's website states the minority opinion. They wonder why someone would join their club if they know their beliefs do not match those of the clubs. Also, the club argues that all other clubs on campus are allowed to have their own rules that members must abide by, but how is their club any different? This could be a matter of religion, being one of top human importance. Finally, the club says that it is denying a person because they are not following the rules of the club, but not because of their race or faith. These are very strong reasons to support the CLS, but then again, the student, Martinez, could be joining out of interest and not for belief, which in a country that promotes freedom of speech, is viable. I believe this greatly affects America and my life itself. If I was in school and I wanted to join a group, but could not since I didn't have the same beliefs as the club itself, I would be outraged. Having the 1st Amendment by my side, if I have the freedom of speech and expression, I should be able to join any club or sport freely, no matter who I am, what I believe in, or the color of my skin. The process was quite simple as we already knew what side we were arguing for. After that, we each wrote our own script and then practiced the dialogue twice. Then, we recorded our newscast with a Flip Video camera to finish the project. I really liked this process, but wished there was more time in order to edit it and make the production look better.



The following is a skit we did that created a court scenario of CLS v. Martinez where both sides laid out their own points. Also, bystander interviews are included along with the connection to life in Malden. Hope you enjoy it!

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