Objective: Explain how the Supreme Court has attempted to balance claims of individual freedom with laws and enforcement procedures that promote public order and safety.

Class Notes for the Day:

Notes: Defendants' Rights

Starter: What state has had the most executions since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976?

1.How accurate was your prediction?

2.Describe one geographical pattern you see in this map?

3.What do you think explains that pattern?

4.What portion of Americans favor the death penalty?

5.Why do you think that is the case?

6.Do you personally favor the death penalty?

7.What trend do you see in the number of executions in the US?

8.What is one explanation for that trend?

9.Based on public opinion and the trend in the total number of executions, would you say that the number of executions is based on public opinion on this issue?

10.Was the death penalty a big issue in the 2016 presidential election?

11.Based on all the data from the chart above, do you imagine the death penalty will be legal in 2020?

12.What is most surprising about any of this information?

13.What country do you think executes the highest number of its own citizens?

14.Where do you the US falls on that list?

Project: SCOTUS Case in a Box

Digital Copy of Directions and Landmark Case Chart
You will research a landmark Supreme Court case and create a “Landmark Case Box” by bringing in tangible artifacts to represent that case. For example, if your assigned case was Texas v. Johnson (flag burning is protected free speech), you might choose to include a flag, a picture of Reagan, an EMPTY match book (some of these are sensitive issues, if you have to make a judgment call about the appropriateness of an object, you need to run it by Jacobson ahead of time), a typed or handwritten copy of the First Amendment, etc. You will present your case and box to the class. You will work in pairs on this project. Here are the requirements for the presentation:
 
  1. You must have at least eight objects in your box. These objects must relate to the case you’re assigned. I recommend using an empty cereal box.
  2. You must cover and then decorate the outside of your box with illustrations, words/phrases/constitutional clauses, photos, etc., that relate to your case. You must complete a Landmark Supreme Court Case chart with information about your case.
  3. Glue the chart to one side of the box and use it as a prompt when you present your case to the class. Your classmates will fill in their blank graphic organizers (one for each of the 9 cases) based on the information you present in class.
  4. You must present the contents of your box to the class. Show each item in the box and explain why it was significant to your case. Be prepared to answer questions from your audience about the case.
  5. List of Landmark Supreme Court cases:
    1. Brown v. Board of Education (equal protection under the law)
    2. Engel v. Vitale (establishment of religion)
    3. Gideon v. Wainwright (right to counsel)
    4. Mapp v. Ohio (exclusionary rule)
    5. McDonald v. Chicago (right to bear arms)
    6. Miranda v. Arizona (Miranda rights)
    7. New York Times v. United States (prior restraint)
    8. Obergefell v. Hodges (same-sex marriage)
    9. Roe v. Wade (abortion)
    10. Schenck v. United States (clear and present danger)
    11. Tinker v. Des Moines (symbolic speech)
    12. Wisconsin v. Yoder (free exercise of religion)

Due Process

The 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments are crucial in our guarantee of the rights of life, liberty, and property!  They have been incorporated to the states via the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.

Amendment Four
The Right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment Five
No person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

Amendment Six
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury…and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment Eight
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.

Amendment Fourteen
No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
  1. Do we have too many rights or too few?
  2. How should we balance liberty and security?
  3. If somebody violates your rights, should they lose theirs?
  4. If I haven’t done anything wrong, why should I worry about these rights?
  5. Is it better to let one hundred guilty men go free than to punish one innocent man?

FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION:
  1. Should I have to go through a metal detector to board an airplane?
  2. Should random DUI traffic stops be allowed?
  3. Should the government be allowed to search my Internet records?
  4. Should schools be allowed to search students' cell phones?
  5. Should terrorists be granted the writ of habeas corpus?
  6. Should terrorists be waterboarded?
  7. Should illegal immigrants, terrorists, and other non-citizens be given fair trials?
  8. Should the government be allowed to detain a person indefinitely?
  9. Should illegally obtained evidence be allowed in my trial?
  10. Benjamin Franklin said “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Do you agree?
  11. Should middle school students be allowed to be strip searched?  Because it happened a few years ago and will be one of the cases we read about today.

Mock Supreme Court Conference: Right to Bear Arms, Due Process, & Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Digital copy here!

Closer: How does the Supreme Court balance individual freedom and public order?

  • Make a claim here!
  • Support your claim with TWO pieces of accurate and relevant information.
  • Use reasoning to explain why your evidence supports your claim.
  • Respond to an opposing or alternative perspective.

Next Class: Civil Rights: History of Racial and Gender Equality