US History 1CP
Supreme Court case paper
For this assignment, imagine that you are a member of the United States Supreme
Court. For one of the cases listed below, you will write either a concurring (agree with)
or dissenting (don’t agree with) opinion concerning the Court’s decision on the case.
You should write as though you were a justice on the Supreme Court during the year that
the case was decided. Your paper should be 3 typed pages. You must use proper MLA
format – Times New Roman, double-spaced, 12 font, 1 inch margins, parenthetical
citations, and a works cited page. You must also carefully proofread your paper.
Paper requirements – 3 typed, double-spaced pages and a works cited page.
1. Background on the case – What was case about? Who were the major parties
(people) involved in the case? Who brought the case to court? Why?
2. Supreme Court case – Who was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at the
time of the case? What constitutional issues were at stake in this case (hint – each
case will involve at least one amendment of the Constitution)? What was the
Supreme Court’s decision? In what year was the decision made?
3. Your concurring or dissenting opinion – Do you agree with the Supreme Court’s
decision in the case? Why or why not? You may use first person (I, we, us) in
this part of the paper only. You need facts to back up your points and support
your opinion. Facts can be statistics, events that occurred in response to that court
case, etc.
4. An annotated bibliography in proper MLA format.
5. Parenthetical citations for each quote and paragraph in proper MLA format.
6. A works cited page in proper MLA format. You should use at least 3 credible
websites and 1 database such as Facts on File, EBSCO Online, Gale Virtual
Reference Library, SIRS knowledge source, etc.
7. Paper must be submitted to www.turnitin.com on the day it is due. Paper will
count for two test grades.
8. Due dates:
a. Topic – Thursday, 12/1.
b. Annotated bibliography with all 4 required sources – Monday, 12/12.
c. Final paper (hard copy and submitted to turnitin.com) – Wednesday,
12/21.
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Your signature: _______________________________________________________________
Your parent’s signature: ________________________________________________________
Supreme Court cases
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) – Slaves were considered “property” and the government could not
take that away.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) – Created the separate but equal clause.
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Bainette (1943) - Free Speech Clause of the First
Amendment to the United States Constitution protected students from being forced to salute the
American flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance in school.
Korematsu v. US (1944) – Japanese-Americans in internment camps during WWII.
Everson v. Board of Education (1947) – Religious clause of First Amendment applies to state and
federal laws.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and ended segregation.
Mapp v. Ohio (1961) – Criminal procedure: evidence obtained in violation of 4th Amendment
may not be used in criminal prosecutions.
Engel v. Vitale (1962) – Prayer in schools.
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) – Criminal procedure: a lawyer will be provided in criminal cases
when a defendant can’t afford one.
Miranda v. Arizona (1966) – Criminal procedure: “You have the right to remain silent…”
In re gault (1967) – Juvenile delinquents accused of crimes must be afforded many of the same
due process rights as adults
Epperson v. Arkansas (1968) – Teaching evolution in school.
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) – Defined the constitutional rights of students in public schools.
Roe v. Wade (1973) - The constitutional right to privacy extends to a woman's decision to have an
abortion.
Wooley v. Maynard (1977) – Freedom of religious and political beliefs. A state cannot
constitutionally require citizens to display the state motto upon their vehicle license plates when
the state motto is offensive to their moral convictions.
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) – Affirmative action and quota systems in
college admission.
United Steelworkers of America v. Weber (1979) – Affirmative action hiring programs are
permitted.
New Jersey v. TLO (1985) – Search and seizure of students in public school.
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988) – School newspapers and the 1st Amendment.
Texas v. Johnson (1989) – Destroying the American flag.