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...

The Supreme Court gets all the glory, but very few federal cases make it to the highest court. An interesting lesson explores the structure of the lower levels of the federal court system. In addition to outlining the organization of...

As part of a study of immigration law, class members read a summary of the Supreme Court case, Arizona v. United States. They then examine a series of examples and acting as federal court judges, must determine if the scenarios...

What's the best way to make sense of the Constitution?  A helpful lesson contains both the text of Article III and annotation of each of its sections, breaking it down into easy-to-understand parts. It also includes links to a...

Ninth graders investigate the basis for the Common Law Tradition. They examine the organization of the Federal Court System and students identify the various sources of the American Law.

The divide between federal and state government is responsible for much of tension that continues to this day, partly because of the US Constitution. The activities in the 14th lesson in a series of 20 are designed to help learners...

Illegal immigration is an ever-changing source of consistent controversy. A reading passage about the rights of undocumented workers and illegal immigrants—and the lack thereof—guides high schoolers into a mock trial activity. Three...

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...

Social media and United States history combine as your young historians design a Facebook page for two major defendants of landmark Supreme Court cases. The resource includes a detailed rubric for research and page design, as well as a...

Introduce your learners to the federal and state court systems with a fun, interactive online video game! After reading sample cases, class members identify to which court the case should be assigned and gain a greater...

How do Supreme Court justices determine which cases to consider? What happens when the Supreme Court decides not to take a case?  The lesson explores important questions and others in the field of criminology. It focuses on the...

Almost every American is familiar with the Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education. Far fewer understand the constitutional reasoning or the wide-ranging consequences of the ruling in the field of criminology. The interesting...

Nearly every president has had the opportunity to name a nominee to the United States Supreme Court. But what makes someone an ideal candidate to become a Supreme Court justice? High schoolers test their prior knowledge about the...

Information, inferences, and innuendos. Text and subtext. Class members examine telegrams exchanged between President John F. Kennedy and Alabama Governor George Wallace, studying both what is stated and what is implied by the...

If the Supreme Court is so supreme, why do all cases not just start there? High schoolers learn why every case does not start at the Supreme Court as well as the importance of hierarchy in the US judicial system in the 11th installment...

Students investigate the relationship between state and national governments. They define the principles of American federalism how the constitution outlines the powers of state and federal government. Lesson focuses on Nebraska...

Unless you are a lawyer, you might not understand just how unrealistic Law and Order and other legal dramas actually are. Here's a great resource to help scholars of criminology gain a more realistic perspective. The lesson outlines the...

High schoolers study the legal battles involving same-sex marriage. They examine primary sources and a video regarding the 14th amendment and its implications for gay marriage. They analyze a report of a California case that was sent to...

Not just anybody can do the job of a federal judge, but according to the United States Constitution just about anybody can be appointed. The lesson outlines the process and requirements for becoming a federal judge, focusing on the...

Should states or the federal government have more power? With this fantastic online interactive, your pupils will be charged with the task of identifying arguments that support either federal or state power.

We hear a lot about the importance of the rule of law, but most people do not really know what those words mean. The lesson is a webpage that defines the rule of law, explains why it is important in a democratic society and provides...

Travel back in time to understand the effects of FDR's New Deal on the Supreme Court. Academics analyze historical documents to understand FDR's attempts to pack the Supreme Court and the opposition he faced. The activity includes a...

Just how does a case come before the highest court in the land? A graphic flow chart unpacks how plaintiffs come before the Supreme Court. Graphics include background on the nine justices and just how many cases they actually hear each...

Learners get the chance to act as representatives to the Constitution Convention, and must decide whether or not to recommend your state ratify the new framework. After examining the Constitution line-by-line, they consider their...