Day 6 - To make up for lost time, we've gotta get to work ASAP!

Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Learning Targets:  Students will be able to....

• Explain how the U.S. Constitution protects individual liberties and rights.
• Describe the rights protected in the Bill of Rights.
• Explain the extent to which the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First and Second Amendments reflects a commitment to individual liberty.

Through the U.S. Constitution, but primarily through the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment, citizens and groups have attempted to limit national and state governments to prevent them from infringing upon individual rights and from denying equal protection under the law. 

However, it has sometimes been argued that these legal protections have been used to slow reforms and restrict freedoms of others in the name of social order.

Opener:  ASAP

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; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

• 14th Amendment - Ratified in 1868

Activity #1 -  Civil Rights Mini-Lecture

• Reconstruction and Jim Crow
• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
• Does segregation violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment?
• Homer Plessy purchased a ticket for, and sat in, a rail car reserved for white passengers
• Court found segregation constitutional
• Establishes "separate but equal" standard
• Brown v. Board of Ed (1954)
• Can "separate" be "equal"?
• Segregated Schools
• Plessy reversed
• Separate is inherently unequal 

• Suffrage and Civil Disobedience
• Boycotts, sit-ins, marches
• Focus on peaceful demonstration and use of the media 
• Montgomery Bus Boycott, March on Washington, Birmingham 

• Civil Rights Legislation 
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Makes discrimination in any place of "public accommodation" illegal
• Private clubs and organizations not included
• Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972
• Focus on equality for women in education and athletics 
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Removes any obstacles and requirements designed to discourage voting

Activity #2 - Create a timeline in your notebook that correctly orders the following events.

• Slavery is abolished
• Voting age changed to 18
• Women granted the right to vote
• Brown v. Board of Education
• 14th Amendment
• Civil Rights Act of 1964

Activity #3 - Scenarios - Which of the civil rights acts or precedents that we have discussed, if any, are being violated in the scenarios below?

1. A local chapter of the boy scouts refuse the admission of girls.
2. A private catholic school refuses to admit a Protestant student.
3. Two boys decide to try out for the girl's volleyball team.
4. An owner of a chain of Cuban restaurants will only hire Cuban chefs.
5. Congress passes a bill that requires Selective Service registration to vote.
6. Clay county requires a paid property tax receipt for voter registration.

Close:  Student CWE presentations

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Day 5 - Supreme Court Simulation Prep Part II - B day ONLY

"Being on the Supreme Court is rather like taking the veil; you just sit there and try to get the right answer as other people argue in front of you. It's not nearly as exhilarating as the Executive Branch."

--Justice Antonin Scalia at Columbus Citizens Foundation dinner, Oct. 8, 2005

Learning Targets:  Students will be able to....

• Explain the principle of judicial review and how it checks the power of other institutions and state governments.
• Explain how the exercise of judicial review in conjunction with life tenure can lead to debate about the legitimacy of the Supreme Court’s power.
• Explain how other branches in the government can limit the Supreme Court’s power. 

Opener:  Is the execution of a minor a violation of the 8th amendment's prohibition of "cruel and unusual" punishments?

Activity #1: Case Prep and Mock Trial

Today we will prep and conduct trials for both of the cases below.  Each student will have 30 minutes to PERP both cases and prepare for their specific roles

Korematsu v US
Engle v Vitale


Activity #2:  Simulation Prep  and Execution

• Attorney - Prepare a 3-5 minute argument for the court on behalf of your client
• Remember that this is a legal argument that draws from the Constitution and amendments.
• Justices - Prepare questions to ask to the attorneys
• The purpose here is to be able to ask clarifying questions to the attorney's during the hearing.
• Court Reporters - Prepare a template for your brief article that you will write following the case
• It's going to happen fast and having a sound method for how to quickly organize and record arguments and comments will be key.

Close:  CPE