Warren Court Research
From 1953 to 1969, Chief Justice Earl Warren led a liberal majority in the United
States Supreme Court. This Court ruled on issues that were very controversial for the
times, and often went against public opinion. The Warren Court was responsible for
ending segregation, ending prayer in public schools, and ruled on many issues regarding
legal rights of American citizens. Roe v. Wade (1973) is also included here for its liberal
nature during the time, although it did not occur during the Warren Court, and is an issue
that is still debated in 2014.
For this activity, there will be 6 groups’ research six different cases:
1. Engle v. Vitale (1962)
2. Abington School District v. Schempp (1963)
3. Baker v. Carr (1962)
4. Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
5. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
6. Roe v. Wade (1973)
Each group will research one of these cases, and create a short presentation
explaining the:
- Facts of the case (what happened that lead to legal action)
- Constitutional Question (Can be found on OYEZ.org)
- The final decision (who won and why, what was the vote tally)
- The cultural impact on society.
- Your opinion on the outcome.
Each group will then give a short presentation (5 minutes) on Monday (4/28) or
Tuesday (4/29) about their specific case. Below I have listed some useful websites for
your research.
Web- Sites:
- http://www.oyez.org/
- http://www.supremecourt.gov/
- http://www.loc.gov/
- Reading from the class web- site also contains some of these cases