Your Own Classroom Court

An interesting lesson on juvenile law, and the juvenile court system. Young law makers are given a lengthy document to read on the basics of juvenile law, then they must answer some questions about what they've read. Additionally, they...

Focusing on the judicial branch of government, the fourth lesson plan 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 to...

Why were laws created? Spark a group discussion on why we need laws to co-exist. Should the sale of some things be outlawed on Sundays? Read a case summary between Target and the state of Minnesota that debated this issue. Ask your...

Do the courts only exist to punish people? Scholars investigate the many roles the criminal justice system plays in the United States government and politics. They research a short video clip to better understand and analyze the role the...

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...

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...

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 appeals...

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...

Bell Ringers that set the right tone for a lesson can be hard to design. Launch a study of the Supreme Court with a video has justices that revealing how they decide what cases to hear, how they determine their rulings, and even why the...