So What Does It All Mean?
Interpreting the Constitution— The Supreme
Court
1) --Below is a list of cases that deal with the Supreme
Court’s interpretation of a specific issue. With a partner,
you will select THREE cases and produce a PowerPoint
presentation FOR EACH CASE (4 slides per case) that
explains the [1st SLIDE] Title of the case AND year
2) [2nd SLIDE] What are the facts of the case? (2 points)
3) [3rd SLIDE] What is the important question that the Court
addressed? (3 points)
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4) [4 SLIDE] What was the Court’s conclusion in the case? What did they decide? (3 points)
5) [LAST SLIDE] Provide us with a single bulleted point that tells us what this decision means. (2
points)
Example: “Miranda v. Arizona found that every person must be made aware of their legal rights upon arrest”
6) You will then present your findings to your classmates in class. (5 points)
7) Create a scenario for your classmates based on your case—see box below. (5 points)
To assist you, go to:
http://www.oyez.org (Unless otherwise noted below)
Use the search box at the top of that page to find your case—type it in CAREFULLY. Oyez will help
you figure out #1-3 above. You will have to provide an answer to #4 on your own.
ISSUE: Fourth Amendment Rights
Search and Seizure—The Expectation of Privacy
 California v. Ciraolo (1986)
 California v. Greenwood (1988)
Unreasonable Search and Seizure
 Terry v. Ohio (1968)
 Minnesota v. Dickerson (1993)
 Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz
 New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)—NOT 1984!
 Vernonia School District v. Acton (1995)
 Safford Unified School District v. Redding (2008)
Warrant Clause
 Arrests: Riverside County v. McLaughlin (1991)
 Searches: Chimel v. California (1969)
 Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
 Nix v. Williams (1984)
Create a Scenario
Upon the completion of your
Powerpoint slide, write up a scenario
based on your case. Do this as a
MSWord document. Try not to make
it exactly like your case, but similar
enough that the case law would apply.
This is worth 5 points (25% of your
assignment) and it may be used in the
actual scenarios we do in class.
AMENDMENT 4: “The right of the
people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated, and no warrants
shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be
searched, and the persons or things to
be seized.”