Students trace the historical background of the sixth Amendment to the Constitution. They identify the legal issues and legal arguments in the cases studied, and evaluate the court's decisions.

A courtroom can be a scary place for the uninitiated. Get familiar with the process using a helpful overview of the activities that take place prior to both civil and criminal cases.  The lesson explains the differences between...

The role of the judicial branch has far reaches into American life. Learners consider its uses with a reading on the branch and a structured conversation on the topic. Together, they work to root their contributions to the discussion in...

The Fair Play Act of 2009 came about due to the actions of one woman. Young historians research Lilly Ledbetter and what she went through to get pay equal to that paid to men for the same work at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. 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...

Students rewrite a traditional fairy tale to represent the viewpoint of the villain. They participate in a mock trial of that villain in which all regular court participants (judge, jury, defendant, witnesses, plaintiff, etc) play roles.

Students consider constitutional rights. In this Bill of Rights lesson, students complete an activity guide that requires students to examine Bill of Rights-related cases of 2010. Students respond to discussion questions pertaining to...

High schoolers examine extension ideas concerning 9/11, Defining Moments. They analyze a variety of Supreme Court cases, the U.S. Constitution, Mass Media Interpretations, Racism, Immigrant groups and U.S. geography. Many questions are...

High schoolers examine the intent  Bill of Rights. In this American government activity, students watch segments of the Discovery video "The Bill of Rights."  High schoolers discuss and debate the 4 Supreme Court cases featured...

Students view video The Electric Valley, discuss film clips and review news articles and other documents pertaining to eminent domain, prepare declarative statement on issue that has pro or con side, and present case to opposing side in...

Learners create a series of drawings to show the process of how the Supreme Court does its work. The drawings may be in strip cartoon form or a series of separate illustrations.

Students debate both positions on the controversial topic of racial profiling with support for each and then develop a consensus position on how racial profiling as a law enforcement tool should be used.

Students study the trial of Dred Scott. They investigate the New York Times reporter and simulate writing about the trial for a newspaper. They identify the 5Ws from the play using a graphic organizer and present their findings to the...

Third graders explore the water cycle and place pictures of the water cycle in sequential order. They investigate a problem and determine if it is reasonable or not to believe that there is water in air to cause a puddle. ...

Learners discuss two computerized options to change the current U.S. government. In this Constitutional Convention lesson, students write a statement advocating for one of the choices and participate in a mock modern Constitutional...

This resource presents a detailed description of the legal term "due process" with court cases cited.

A question over a piece of property owned by one, yet deemed protected by the EPA prompted a court case in search of due process and protection of property rights. Find out more about the case and the process through this lesson plan.

Full court transcript of 1967 U.S. Supreme Court case involving a juvenile, Gerald Gault.

PBS presents a summary of the landmark Supreme Court case of Miranda v. Arizona which ruled that a person suspected of a crime must be informed of their constitutional rights before police questioning, becoming known as the "Miranda...

The OYEZ Directory offers hyperlinks to Supreme Court cases. Choose the topic you'd like to search under, like "Attorneys," or "Civil rights," for example.

Features the full text of the opinion delivered by Justice Sutherland of the Supreme Court. This case involved the issue of due process of law.

This Supreme Court case involved the subject of criminal anarchy. Read the complete text of the opinion delivered by Justice Sanford of the Supreme Court.

Provides the full text of the opinion of Justice Sutherland in the landmark Supreme Court case of Powell v. Alabama, which deals with the Fourteenth Amendment and due process of law, and which were found to be denied to the defendants in...

This site contains a description of the juvenile justice system, background on the case involving Gerald Gault, and learning exercises for teachers to use in class.