Day 4 - Supreme Court Simulation - 1st Amendment

The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is beside the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech.

- Justice Anthony Kennedy

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:  CPE

Activity #1: Mock Trial Docket

Wisconsin v Yoder
Schenck v US
Engel v Vitale

Activity #2:  Mock Trial AAR

Close:  CPE

Day 3 - Supreme Court Simulation Prep - 1st Amendment

"The aim of the law is not to punish sins, but is to prevent certain external results." ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Supreme Court Justice

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:  Why do judges sometimes issue decisions that they personally disagree with?

Activity #1: Court terminology Mini-lesson

Petitioner - The person or party that has filed the appeal and is "bringing" the case to the court.

Respondent - The person or party that opposes the petitioner.

Majority Opinion - The decision of the majority of judges on the court (5 or more out of 9)

Concurring Opinion - A judge that agrees with the majority but for different reasons

Dissent - The minority of judges (4 or fewer) that explain why they disagree.  This has no effect on the case however.

Activity #2:  Judicial Simulation Prep - Part 1 (Simulation Tuesday)

Each student will prepare for the upcoming Judicial simulation in the next class by completing a "PERP" analysis of the each of the cases below.

Cases:  

• Wisconsin v Yoder
• https://thejerryperezexperiment.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/4/1/31411573/street_law_4_wisconsin_v_yoder_final.pdf
• Schenk v. US 
• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nPFWzUjZKjNXgid9GBoFGfuxzC8VdUR4FMCIAOahrcM/edit?usp=sharing
• Engle v Vitale
• https://thejerryperezexperiment.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/4/1/31411573/street_law_3_engel_v_vitale_final.pdf

Activity #3:  Simulation Prep - Part 2 - Role assignments

• 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

Day 2 (Sem II) - Beyond the Constitution

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:  Below are the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution (Bill of Rights). Choose the 2 that you believe are the most important safeguards against tyrannical government and explain why.

1 Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
2 Right to keep and bear arms
3 No quartering of soldiers.
4 Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.
5 Right to due process of law, freedom from self-incrimination, double jeopardy.
6 Rights of accused persons, e.g., right to a speedy and public trial.
7 Right of trial by jury in civil cases.
8 Freedom from excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishments.
9 Other rights of the people not listed.

10 Powers reserved to the states.

Activity #1 - N-50 - Civil Liberty

LD - Individual rights and protections that protect citizens from unjust government actions or laws that would limit freedoms.

SD - 

Examples - Speech, privacy, safety, press, assembly

Non-Examples - Protections from other private citizens, government benefits

Related Terms - Bill of Rights, Limited Government, Civil Rights

Activity #2 - Civil Liberties Mini-Lecture

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MAIB35rJfNk4CybPJ4MGrSvamUifO0Vp4pcQYDoAiyE/edit?usp=sharing

Close:  Wisconsin v Yoder - PERP

https://thejerryperezexperiment.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/4/1/31411573/street_law_4_wisconsin_v_yoder_final.pdf

Day 1 (Sem II) - Beyond the Constitution

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:  Which of the following scenarios would be a violation of a student's civil liberties?  Which right, or amendment, does this scenario potentially violate?

1.  A student is told that their views regarding evolution are offensive and they must choose a different topic for a science project.
2.  A teacher forbids a student from leading a prayer group during passing period in the hallway.
3.  Student journalists are suspended for publishing personal, sensitive details about other students in the school newspaper.
4. Protesting a new policy requiring student uniforms, a group of students are forcibly removed from a school board meeting.
5. All students who wish to obtain a parking pass must first sign a contract that consents to a search of their vehicles at any time.
6. A new policy allows teachers to suspend students "on the spot" for up to 3 days.
7. School resource officers question a student about "hacking" into the district server.
8. A student is suspended for 10 days for stealing from the cafeteria, while another student is suspended later in the year for 1 day for the same crime.

Activity #1 - N-50 - Civil Liberty

LD - Individual rights and protections that protect citizens from unjust government actions or laws that would limit freedoms.

SD - 

Examples - Speech, privacy, safety, press, assembly

Non-Examples - Protections from other private citizens, government benefits

Related Terms - Bill of Rights, Limited Government, Civil Rights

Activity #2 - Use OSAM to analyze the cartoon below:

Close:  CPE Project

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/18NnqsSptwaTuF2MyshwSaqRMj3yx-qhlrFN-CSACmw0/edit?usp=sharing

Day 38 - Semester Review

Learning Targets:

• See all previous learning targets from this year

Opener:  Which 3 terms from your N-50 do you think are the most central to understanding US Government.

Activity #1 - Practice Tests

Personal Progress Check:

1.  Login to My AP Classroom - https://myap.collegeboard.org

2.  Take the Unit 2 PPC

3.  Examine the items that you have missed

Activity #2 - M&M PERP
Use the PERP method of analysis to examine the landmark cases of Marbury v Madison and McCulloch v Maryland

Activity #3 - Final Prep

Below are list of terms, documents, and skills that are required to be successful on the semester I final. Be able to define, provide examples, or relevant quotes from the following.

Exam Format:

Multiple Choice
25 stimulus based
25 knowledge/application based

Written
1 Short Answer
1 Document
1 Cartoon
1 Graph
1 Case

Terms and Documents:

Social Contract
Popular Sovereignty
DoI
Representative Democracy
AoC
Connecticut Compromise
Preamble
Federalism
Federalist/Anti-Federalist
Federalist Paper #10, #51, #70, #78
Brutus
Ratification (⅔ and ¾)
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
Delegated/Implied/Concurrent Powers
Commerce Clause
Necessary and Proper Clause
Supremacy Clause
Bicameral
Committees
Executive Authority (EO and EA)
Bureaucracy
Policy Making
Judicial Review
Restraint vs Activism
Iron Triangle

Analytical Skills and Formats:

Documents: ASAP

Data: TIP-C

Cartoons: OSAM

Cases: PERP

Close - District Benchmark:

1.  https://illuminate.online?access_code=P92W4E7

Day 37 - Are You an Activist or Restrained?

"Don't judge judges, unless you know the law and understand why they make the decisions that they do" - Antonin Scalia

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:  How would you do it?

What do you think every Supreme Court justice should do, or know, prior to hearing any case?  Should they be allowed to discuss cases between themselves before they've heard them?

Activity #1:   PERP - Gideon v Wainwright

Use PERP to analyze the case of Gideon v Wainwright

https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/facts-and-case-summary-gideon-v-wainwright

https://www.oyez.org/cases/1962/155

https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_gideon.html

Activity #2:  Supreme Court - Mock Trial Prep - Role Assignment and Process

Roles:

Attorneys for Gideon x 2
Attorneys for Wainwright x 2
Judges x 9
Court Reporters x ?

• Each attorney pair will have 10 minutes to present their case to the justices.  
• This includes the time used by the judges to ask questions and make comments to each side.
• Judges will then leave the courtroom to discuss and vote.
• After they have reached a decision, judges will then each provide a paragraph (as either the majority or dissent) that explains the reason for their decision.
• Reporters will provide a brief 1-2 paragraph article that summarizes the arguments, the judges decision, and at least one quotable phrase from the attorneys and/or the judges.

Activity #3:  Role Prep and Product

Close:  N-50 - Judicial Activism

LD - The practice of the Supreme Court and other federal judges seeking certain types of cases in order to (re)interpret the texts of the Constitution and the laws in a way that serves the judges' own visions regarding the needs of contemporary society.  This is the opposite of "Judicial Restraint", where judges hear cases and issues judgements only within the intentions and limitations of the US Constitution.

SD-

Examples - Roe v. Wade, Brown v. Board of Education

Non-Examples - Gibbons v. Ogden, Plessy v. Ferguson

Related Terms - Judicial Review, Checks and Balances, Limited Government

Day 35 - US SUPREMES!

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:  Who are these people?  

Activity #1:  Supreme Court Introduction - Mini-lecture
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1p4pTZVd4ftvV32RHw-Yi0w8PEKT_vUnfk0yaC5XAip0/edit?usp=sharing

Activity #2:   Document Analysis - ASAP & Questions

1.  ASAP

Passages from Federalist #78, Written by Alexander Hamilton, 1788

"the judiciary, from the nature of its functions, will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution . . . [it] may truly be said to have neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment; and must ultimately depend upon the aid of the executive arm even for the efficacy of its judgments." 

"For there is no liberty, if the power of judging be not separated from the executive and legislative powers."

2.  TIP-C

3.  OSAM

Close:  Answer this question in your notebook:  

Choose 3 words that you would use to describe the US court system.