Political Science - Final Project
Mr. Bielecki
Instructions :
Each student will select a Supreme Court case from the list provided, research the case, and prepare a 12-15 slide presentation using Microsoft Power Point. In preparing your presentation (which will not be given to the class, but handed in as a print out for evaluation) and research paper you should obtain and read the Court decision(s), and all relevant legal briefs and articles pertaining to the case.
After thoroughly researching your case (for opinions try looking here: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/index.html
) and carefully reading the Court decision(s) you need to prepare your presentation to thoroughly address ALL of the following:
1) What is the background of the case? (What events occurred to begin the case?
When? Where? Who are the parties involved? Etc.)
2) What is the legal history of the case? (How did the case get to the Supreme Court?
What path did the case take through the court system? IMPORTANTLY – What were the lower courts’ rulings?)
3) What are the major issues of the case? (What law or Constitutional provisions are at issue in the case? For example, is it a freedom of speech case, property rights case, etc. – for help with these issues consult your text book, Chapters 4 & 5 will be particularly helpful)
4) How did each side present their arguments before the Supreme Court? (What prior cases and rulings did each side call upon? How did they make their arguments that a particular law or action was defendable/illegal/unconstitutional?)
5) What did the Supreme Court decide? (Who won the case? What was the vote?
IMPORTANT – What did their decisions say? If their were concurring or dissenting opinions, how did they differ in their view from the majority?)
6) Was this a major/landmark case? If so, why? (Did the case overturn existing precedent in its area? Has the case had implications on cases following it?)
Your presentation should have 1 introductory slide with your name, the case you are presenting, and a title (try to make it insightful and attention grabbing), then have 1 overview slide (a table of contents), then at least 1 slide (likely 2) on each of the 6 questions above – each slide should have at least 3 solid points, then you need 1 concluding slide, and 1 final slide where you hyper link your sources or cite any articles or books used (you must have at least 3 sources. You should include several pictures in order to make your presentation look nice. Lastly, be sure that you proof read your presentation.
Good Luck !

Here is the list of possible Supreme Court Cases:
Gideon v. Wainwright
Chaplinsky v. State of New Hampshire
O’Brien v. U.S.
Dambrot v. Central Michigan University
Reno v. ACLU
U.S. V. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc.
Engle v. Vitale
Santa Fe Independent School District, Petitioner v. Jane Doe
Adardand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena
Furman v. Georgia
Gregg v. Georgia
Buckley v. Valeo
Dickerson v. U.S.
Boy Scouts of America and Monmouth Council, et al., Petitioners v. James Dale
Burlington Industries, Inc., Petitioner v. Kimberly B. Ellerth
Abrams v. U.S.
Zelman v. Simmons – Harris
Gitlow v. New York
Lemon v. Kurtzman
School District of Abington Township, PA v. Schempp
Miranda v. Arizona
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Texas v. Johnson
Red Lion Broadcasting Company v. FTC