POGO
Supreme Court Incorporation Project
As we have learned, the Bill of Rights originally only applied to the federal government.
Starting (more or less) with Gitlow v NY in 1925, more and more of the Bill of Rights has been
applied to the states. In this project, you will research and present the parts of the Bill of Rights
& their pertinent Supreme Court cases, which are now incorporated to the states.
While there are numerous websites to help you with your research, one of the best is
http://www.oyez.org/ .
You can also use:
http://www.streetlaw.org/en/Page/41/Supreme_Court_Case_Studies_By_Topic
https://supreme.justia.com/
http://www.course-notes.org/US_Gov_and_Politics/Case_Briefs
http://law.jrank.org/
Find out the following information about your case
1. History/background information about the case.
2. Main parties involved (individuals, organizations, or government offices, etc.)
3. Civil right or liberty being challenged/upheld and/or Constitutional question or issue being
challenged.
4. State in which the case originated.
5. Year of the case.
6. Arguments for both parties that went before the Supreme Court.
7. The final vote tally.
8. The Supreme Court’s ruling on the case (summarize the majority, consenting and dissenting
opinions).
9. Explanation of how the case affected a particular civil right/liberty to benefit America.
Create a box or bag using your research
This can be made from a bag/box of your choice (Ziploc, gift bag, lunch bag, shoe box, Amazon
delivery box, etc.). This should be school appropriate and decorated to reflect some type of
theme associated with your case(s) or civil liberty.
The bag/box should contain the following materials:
1. A one page fact sheet (typed) about your case (answering #s 1-9 above). (Use Gitlow case as
a model)
2. 2 visual items that you can use in your presentation to explain the Supreme Court decision (be
creative!).
3. A list of works cited should accompany the fact sheet.
Present the “box/bag”
1. Every person will make a 2-minute presentation to the class about your case using the box or
bag.
2. You will be graded on the presentation and the contents of the bag.
3. Students in the audience are required to take notes on the cases being presented.
First Amendment
Establishment Clause/Freedom of Religion
Engle v Vitale, Lemon v Kutzman
Free Exercise Clause
Wisconsin v Yoder
Freedom of Speech
Political: Schenck v US, Buckley v Valeo
Symbolic: TX v Johnson, Citizens United v FEC
Student Speech: Tinker v Des Moines
Freedom of the Press
Prior Restraint: New York Times v US
Libel, Slander: New York Times v Sullivan
Second Amendment
DC v Heller, McDonald v Chicago
Fourth Amendment
Search and Seizure/Exclusionary Rule
Mapp v Ohio
Search and Seizure: Warrantless Searches
Veronia School District v Acton
Fifth Amendment
Self-incrimination
Miranda v Arizona
Eminent Domain
Kelo v City of New London
Sixth Amendment
Right to Counsel, & Jury
Gideon v Wainwright, Escobedo v Illinois
Eight Amendment
Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Furman v Georgia, Gregg v Georgia
Ninth Amendment
Right to Privacy
Roe v Wade, Webster v Reproductive Health Services, Lawrence v TX, Gonzales v
Oregon
Bill of Rights
Freedom of Religion
Freedom of Speech & Press
Second Amendment
Fourth Amendment
Fifth Amendment
Sixth Amendment
Eighth Amendment
Ninth Amendment
4th
Daisy, Vinston
Jacob, Jarrett, Noah, Raina
Antonio
Alisa
Bianca, Nicole
Oliver
Sebastian
Jailene, Ella
6th
Rebecca
Bobby, Angelica, Rizza, Kristen
Ruby
Kyra
Grant
Drew
Mike
Ross
Gitlow v NY (1925)
History/background information about the case.
Benjamin Gitlow was accused of violating New York’s criminal anarchy law. Under that
statute, criminal anarchy was defined as promoting the doctrine that organized government
should be overthrown by force or violence, or that executive heads of government should be
assassinated. Gitlow was convicted under that New York statute.
Main parties involved (individuals, organizations, or government offices, etc.)
Petitioner: Benjamin Gitlow, publisher of The Revolutionary Age newspaper
Respondent: State of New York
Civil right or liberty or Constitutional question or issue being challenged/upheld
Does the NY statue violate the free speech clause of the First Amendment?
Does the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment extend First Amendment
protections to the states?
Arguments for both parties that went before the Supreme Court.
Gitlow argued that since there was no resulting action flowing from the manifesto's
publication, the statute penalized speech without any concrete action.
The New York courts had decided that anyone who advocated the doctrine of violent
revolution violated the law.
The final vote tally.
7-2 in favor of New York
The Supreme Court’s ruling on the case
The majority held that since the police power of states extends to creating laws that
criminalize statutory anarchy, the statute is sound and Giltow is guilty of violating the statute.
The minority found that Gitlow’s words posed little threat to society and thus the statute
was not constitutional.
Explanation of how the case affected a particular civil right/liberty to benefit America.
Even though Gitlow was found guilty of violating the NY statute, the majority reasoned
that the First Amendment was applicable to states though the Fourteenth Amendment due
process clause.