Focusing on the judicial branch of government, the fourth lesson in this series explores the structure of the US courts system. Beginning with an engaging activity based on the short story The Lady or the Tiger, students go on...

How can one court acquit someone of a crime, while another convicts the person of the same one? It's all because of the differences between civil and criminal trials. An informative resource provides scholars in the field of criminology...

Popular culture often portrays the Feds as the most fearsome of law enforcement agencies. Yet, someone charged with a crime is considerably more likely to end up in a state court. The lesson, one of six covering the Organization of the...

Courtrooms are complicated. In addition to the many rules, there are a number of people whose jobs are not very clear to the casual courtroom observer. With the resource, individuals identify some of these roles and review more...

Why doesn't the Supreme Court hear testimony from witnesses? How do they complete an entire proceeding in less than two hours? A helpful lesson guides scholars of criminology through these and other questions by explaining how appeals...

Americans love to learn about their rights, especially those that protect them from the government's power to invade their privacy. Young people are especially engaged by this topic. An informative lesson explores four Supreme Court...

What's the right way to teach young historians about the Bill of Rights? Many an instructor has asked this question when pondering lesson plans over the US Constitution. The Constitution and Rights is a nifty resource that provides a...

Class members explore the process of a disposition hearing for juveniles, particularly looking at how the judge decides what sentence the juvenile offender should receive. Task your pupils with evaluating different sample cases provided...

Why should classes care about the First Amendment? An engaging lesson serves as a powerful tool for answering just that. As all four cases in the lesson relate directly to freedom of expression in schools, young scholars explore the...

What better day to celebrate the US Constitution than on Constitution Day! After reading a short passage about the different understandings of habeas corpus and ex post facto, sixth graders respond to 10 multiple choice and short...

A child lawyer is exactly what people need ... not! With the novel study for John Grisham's Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, pupils use their imaginations to create their own examples of sarcasm. They also research a chosen famous lawyer and...

What do police and detectives do to keep their community safe? Six short-answer questions make up a worksheet designed to reinforce reading comprehensions skills while providing information about police officers and detectives.  

Should immigrants who illegally reside in the United States be eligible for citizenship? With information about undocumented immigrant population estimates, sanctuary cities, and unaccompanied immigrant children, pupils consider the pros...

Learners take on the roles of jurors in a civil case to evaluate evidence and determine a verdict in this engaging online interactive experience.

In this online interactive reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 12 multiple choice questions about Hugo's Les Miserables. Students may submit their answers to be scored.

This tutorial explains the types of laws in the legal system of the United States. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.

This is a collection of 19 Grade-Leveled texts (6-12) on the topic Modern Democracy in America. How does democracy function in modern-day America? Learn how a bill becomes a law, the role of American presidents, and much more in this...

Police and law enforcement have historically used fingerprints to identify suspects and prosecute criminals. But now, using new technology and the science of biometrics, scientists have developed a different, and potentially more...

For most people, the threat of jail is enough to convince them to abide by society's laws. But for Gangaram Mahes, the promise of jail time is what prompts his criminal activity. In this New York Times article, Rick Bragg discusses why...