Introduction

Allen’s Dilemma

     Students will:

• Learn to read and discuss an actual case study.
• Role play the conclusion of the case history.
• Use critical thinking to discuss the case.
• Better understand the legal system in dealing with juvenile crime.

     Students will:

• Trace the historical background of the right to counsel under the 6th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution.
• Through the analysis of court cases, identify and discuss specific circumstances when a defendant has a constitutional right to be represented by counsel.
• Identify the legal issues and legal arguments in the case studied and evaluate the court’s decisions.

Constitutional Tensions: Defendant’s Rights v. Rights of Society

     Students will:

• Understand the background to the rights found in the Bill of Rights.
• List the rights of a defendant in a court of law.
• Learn to apply the rights as stated in Amendments 1, 4, 5, 6, and 14.

The Constitution’s Ancestors

• Students will see that the U. S. Constitution was not created from scratch by the framers.
• Students will have greater knowledge of our heritage of government by laws and self-government.

The Declaration of Independence

• Students will understand the rights of citizens and the role of government as these rights and functions are explained in the Declaration of Independence.

Defining Boundaries for Free Expression

• Students will understand the limitations of free speech.
• Students will gain an increased awareness of how Constitutional rights are interpreted.

The Development of Child Labor Laws

     Students will:

• Develop awareness of legislation relating to child labor.
• Recognize that legal protections against child labor were the result of a long history of political struggle and social legislation.
• Compare and discuss modern versions of child labor laws using Handouts, The Utah Code, and discussion questions.

The Exclusionary Rule

     Students will:

• Identify the constitutional amendment(s) that apply to the case.
• List arguments both for and against the “allowability” of the evidence.
• Work with others and try to reach consensus within their groups.
• Form an opinion of the Exclusionary Rule and list reasons for their opinions.

Explore and Know the Bill of Rights

     Students will:

• Determine through reviewing cases if there is a need for the Bill of Rights.
• Learn and demonstrate knowledge of Amendments 4, 5, 6, and 14.
• Understand that the court interprets the meaning of the Bill of Rights by applying the protections to specific cases.

The Final Question (Eighth Amendment)

     Students will:

• Develop opinions on a controversial issue.
• View and appreciate both sides of a controversial issue.
• Understand the Eighth Amendment.

Freedom of the Press in Colonial America: The Case of John Peter Zenger

• Students will understand the emergence of Freedom of the Press.

Internment of Japanese Americans in World War II:  Toyosaburo Korematus v. United States

     Students will:

• Understand the events that led to the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII.
• Apply the guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment to the facts of the Korematus case.
• Explain the issues and arguments involved in the Korematsu case.
• Use reasoning, chronology, group process, and argumentation skills in a simulated court proceeding

The Mayflower Compact

• Students will understand what is included in the Mayflower Compact and that its principles are the basis for the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.

Kids are People, Too (Under the Law)

• Students will understand that children enjoy a special status under the law, but are also protected by the U. S. Constitution.
• Students will learn what the Constitutional right of “due process” means for juveniles accused of committing offenses.

Moon 2020 -- Law in the Future

• Students will identify the problems associated with applying U. S. laws and history to an international situation.
• Students will draw on legal concepts from law and events in American History to design a legal system for a hypothetical “moon colony.”

“Pleading the Fifth”:  Self-Incrimination and the Fifth Amendment

     Students will:

• Learn the Fifth Amendment protects against self-incrimination.
• Learn about the application of the Amendment, what is covered, what is not covered.
• Apply their knowledge using discussion, compromise, debate, public speaking, analytical and writing skills.

Power of the President:  The Louisiana Purchase

Students will:

• Explain why Jefferson decided to purchase Louisiana.
• Understand the difficult decisions facing the President of the United States.
• Practice skills in analyzing and judging a political decision.

Prelude to Trail of Tears: Worchester v. Georgia

• Students will examine political and cultural issues involved in Indian resettlement in the 1800’s.
• Students will enhance their critical thinking skills.

The Principal Found WHAT in her purse?

Students will:

• Learn (or review) the Fourth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution.
• Understand that the Fourth Amendment has specific and timely application to them as students.
• See how the Supreme Court interprets Constitutional Amendments in light of contemporary issues.

Privacy and the Fourth Amendment

• Students will understand the delicate balance between protecting individual liberties and maintaining and orderly society.
• Students will speculate about how the courts of the future might deal with new ideas of privacy.

The Question of Women’s Rights

• Students will understand the attitudes toward equal rights for women and minorities through United States history.
• Students will compare contemporary and historical views of equal rights.

Reading, Writing, and Religion:  Role-Play Panel Discussion

• Students will understand the two aspects of freedom of religion
  1. The Free Exercise Clause, and
  2. The Establishment Clause
• Students will realize the conflicts faced daily by educators in protecting and respecting both aspects of “Freedom of Religion.”

Rights of the Accused in Search and Seizure

     Students will:

• Explain the rationale behind the Fourth Amendment.
• Identify the types of activity that are regulated by the Constitution’s prohibition against unreasonable searches.
• List common situations in which search warrants are not required.
• Analyze situations in order to determine whether a search is lawful or unlawful.
• Explain the rights a citizen has when the police make an unlawful search or seizure.

The Right to Vote

     Students will:

• Understand that their right or prospective right to vote has a colorful history.
• See that the right to vote is protected by the U. S. Constitution but subject to state laws and Supreme Court interpretation.
• Understand that election are media events and view election media critically, with particular emphasis on political cartoons.

The Road to Religious Freedom

     Students will:

• Understand how Freedom of Religion evolved from the Colonial period to the drafting of the Bill of Rights.
• Increase awareness and understanding of the importance of religious freedom
• Understand the principle of separation of church and state.

Slavery and the Law: From Indentured Servitude to Dred Scott

   Students will:

• Understand the roots of slavery in Colonial America.
• Know the legal status of blacks from the Colonial period to the Civil War.
• Gain increased awareness of the legal necessity for the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Slavery and the Law: From Separate But Equal to Greater Equality Under the Law

• Students will understand the meaning and interpretation of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.
• Students will see how the “separate but equal” doctrine of 1896 evolved into desegregation required in 1954 and compare these early cases to modern discrimination issues.

The Supreme Court, Roosevelt, and the New Deal

• Students will have greater understanding of judicial review.
• Students will practice critical thinking skills.

Understanding Some Implications of the Fourth Amendment

• Students will generalize the Fourth Amendment.
• Students will understand some Fourth Amendment implications and interpretations identified by the Supreme Court.

Whose Rights Are Violated?

• Students will learn the meaning and application of Amendments 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 14.

World War II and the Japanese Relocation

• Students will understand the issues and arguments involved in the Korematsu v. United States (1944) case.
• Students will use local newspapers to demonstrate an understanding of the Bill of Rights by categorizing various articles.

Writs of Assistance: Understanding the Fourth Amendment

     Students will:

• Recognize the violation of privacy rights by studying writs of assistance.
• Understand the historical background which led to the writing of the Fourth Amendment and its inclusion in the Bill of Rights.
• Recognize situations (as interpreted by the courts) in which a search warrant is or is not needed.

Glossary