United States Government: Democracy in Action

Unit 4: The Judicial Branch

Big Idea Activity — Lesson Plan

Does the judicial branch function effectively?

Assignment: Supreme Debate
Students will debate an issue utilizing Supreme Court procedures to argue and clarify their case.

Assignment Task List

Step 1: Students will explain the functions of the federal courts. Work with them to complete the chart below with the names and functions of the Article I and Article III courts. Project the diagram "The Federal Court System" from StudentWorks Plus Online, page 306 on the whiteboard.

Differentiated Instruction Project the completed chart from the Chapter Summaries (61.0K) on the whiteboard to help students with the legislative courts.

Courts	Functions
Article III (constitutional) Courts
U.S. Supreme Court	Highest court; has final ruling on cases involving federal law and the Constitution
Federal district courts	Trial courts for both criminal and civil federal cases
Federal courts of appeals	12 courts that hear appeals from the district courts in their circuit; also hear appeals from territorial courts, U.S. Tax Court, courts of the District of Columbia, and federal regulatory agencies
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit	13^th court of appeals with national jurisdiction; hears appeals from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Court of International Trade, the U.S. Patent Office, and other executive agencies
U.S. Court of International Trade	Hears cases dealing with tariffs
Article I (legislative) Courts
U.S. Court of Federal Claims	Handles claims against the government for money damages
U.S. Tax Court	Settles disputes involving payment of federal taxes
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces	Hears appeals of convictions under military law
Territorial courts	Act as district courts for United States territories
Court of Veterans' Appeals	Hears appeals of decisions involving veterans' claims
Courts of the District of Columbia	Act as the court system for the nation's capital

Step 2: Students will identify the jurisdiction of federal courts. Project StudentWorks Plus Online, page 306 on the whiteboard, and ask volunteers to come to the board to underline the sentences describing federal court jurisdiction. Help students summarize the Supreme Court's original and appellate jurisdiction in a chart like the one below.

The Supreme Court
Original Jurisdiction	Appellate Jurisdiction
• cases involving representatives of foreign governments • certain cases in which a state is a party	• cases involving federal law • cases involving the Constitution

Step 3: Students will trace the steps involved in appealing a case to the Supreme Court and the steps Supreme Court justices follow when deciding cases. Ask them to complete Guided Reading Activity 12–1.

Differentiated Instruction Project Guided Reading Activity 12-1 (87.0K) on the whiteboard. Have students come to the board and fill in answers together as a class.

Step 4: Project StudentWorks Plus Online, page 25 on the whiteboard and ask volunteers to read the summary of the Supreme Court case aloud. They will answer these questions: What is the name of the case? (Ward v. Rock Against Racism) What question did it involve? (Do noise ordinances infringe on First Amendment rights?) How was the case decided? (The Court ruled that government can enforce regulations that limit speech if there is a legitimate government purpose.)

Step 5: Students will listen to Ward v. Rock Against Racism being argued in the Supreme Court. Click on the link below to play the audio version of the oral arguments.
OYEZ: U.S. Supreme Court Media
Click on "Oral Argument" under the heading "Media Items."

Differentiated Instruction Print out a copy of the transcript of the case and ask students to follow along as they listen to the audio version.

Step 6: Students will summarize in a paragraph their impressions of the way the case was presented. They are to answer the following questions in their paragraph: Were you surprised by the interaction of the attorneys and the justices in the oral arguments? Why or why not? Provide a specific example of how the justices narrowed the issues.

Step 7: Organizestudents into groups of six as described below. Groups are to research their assigned topic and prepare to deliver a 10-minute argument for their assigned position of the issue. In addition, students should prepare rebuttals for the opposing side's arguments. Ask students to use existing cases or specific constitutional rights to support their arguments and rebuttals.

Group A debates changing the national legal driving age to 18 years. Three students are for the proposal, and three students are against it.
Group B debates two-year mandatory military service for all U.S. citizens ages 18 to 20. Three students are for the proposal, and three students are against it.
Group C debates a gang ordinance requiring that no more than three teenagers group together in public. Three students are for the proposal, and three students are against it.
Group D debates mandatory six-month juvenile detention for students found guilty of harassment (bullying). Three students are for the proposal, and three students are against it.

Step 8: Students will conduct the debates in the manner of Supreme Court oral arguments. For each debate, have two students (one from each subgroup of three) act as justices to hear the oral arguments given by the remaining two students in each subgroup. Another student from a different group altogether will act as a third justice to break a tie vote. Set up a timer for both 10-minute arguments per debate. Encourage the "justices" to interrupt the arguments with pointed questions about the issues involved. (The justices will have knowledge of the issues after having researched the topics with their subgroups.) Upon completion of the arguments, ask the justices to retire for several minutes and return with their "opinion" on which side won the debate. Ask the rest of the class whether they agree with the justices' opinion.

Step 9: Self-Assessment Rate your involvement in the debates. An exemplary debate will demonstrate the following:
___ detailed research that shows a deep understanding of the subject
___ multiple sources used effectively
___ clear, concise, and thought-provoking arguments and rebuttals
___ arguments and rebuttals supported by facts
___ enthusiastic, persuasive arguments
___ speeches within the time constraints
___ group members work well together and share work evenly

After all of the debates have been completed, use information from this activity to discuss the question: Does the judicial branch function effectively?

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