Court Case Portfolio
Mr. Snidman
AP U.S. Government
(2015 – 2016)
This is an on-going assignment that you will complete in cooperation with your group. You will
research and create a brief for each of the following cases. They will be done in segments with
each segment due at a different date throughout the year. You should expect that the completed
cases will appear on the unit exams and you should expect periodic quizzes over the cases you
have completed. You will also have a court case test.
Your research can be done using books, law journals and approved on-line sources. You should
be clear about all of the important facts and components of a case before you create your brief.
This is not a unified paper that weaves the cases together; it is a collection of independent briefs.
Each brief should be no more than one page in length, double-spaced.
The following is the format for each brief:
Name of the Case
Year
1st sentence = question of law – stated as a question and kept as straightforward as possible.
2nd sentence = Constitutional ties – stated simply as “This case was based on the ___ clause” or
“This case is based on the _______ clause of the _________ Amendment.”
3rd two to four sentences = circumstances of the case. Do not get overly detailed but be sure to
identify the critical circumstances that help make the case important.
4th multiple sentences = finding / rationale of the Court – explain what the Supreme Court ruled and
try to be clear as to why they ruled that way.
5th = one or two sentences on what the case has meant to society.
The expectation is that each brief will be focused, neat, and error-free. You should stay consistent in
your choice of fonts.
When you turn the briefs in, you must have them organized in chronologic order with the oldest case
first and the most recent case last.
This is a group project that will merit a group assessment. You will need to complete your
portion of the assignment in advance, so that your group members may review your work for
accuracy.
SEGMENT 1 – Due _______________________
Gibbons v. Ogden
Marbury v. Madison
McCulloch v. Maryland
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US v. Lopez
Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States
SEGMENT 2 – Due _______________________
Alden v. Maine
Clinton v. New York
Printz v. US
US v Nixon
SEGMENT 3 – Due _______________________
Baker v. Carr
Reynolds v. Sims
Buckley v Valeo
Bush v Gore
Shaw v. Reno
Smith v. Allwright
Wesberry v. Sanders
SEGMENT 4 – Due _______________________
Brown v. Board of Education
Korematsu v. US
Plessy v. Ferguson
Scott v. Sandford
Shelley v. Kraemer
SEGMENT 5 – Due _______________________
Craig v. Boren
Gratz v. Bollinger
Grutter v. Bollinger
Reed v. Reed
Regents of U.C. v.Bakke
SEGMENT 6 – Due _______________________
Engel v. Vitale
Employment Division v. Smith
Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. Hialeah
Lemon v. Kurtzman
Santa Fe School District v. Doe
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier
Miller v. California
Gitlow v. New York
2
SEGMENT 7 – Due _______________________
Barron v. Baltimore
Brandenburg v. Ohio
NY Times v. Sullivan
NY Times v. US
Schenck v. US
Texas v. Johnson
Tinker v. Des Moines (School District)
Katz v. U.S.
McDonald v. Chicago
SEGMENT 8 – Due___________________________
In re Gault
Gideon v. Wainwright
Griswold v. Connecticut
Mapp v. Ohio
Miranda v. Arizona
Roe v. Wade
Terry v. Ohio
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