ESSAY DUE APRIL 30, 2015
Good morning,
In our efforts to continue to collaborate with educational partners such as you, we want to let
you know of an exciting opportunity for your students. As you may know, our bench, the
Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, holds numerous outreach events for
students and educators, such as Constitution Day, Read Across America, Educators Day, court
visits and mock trials, where we provide civics education and understanding about the role of
the judiciary.
However, now we want to hear from the students. We want to give your 8th grade students an
opportunity to educate us about their views and perspectives.
To celebrate National Law Day (May 1), the Superior Court wants your students to answer this
important question: “Magna Carta to Ferguson - 'Do you think you would be treated fairly
under the law? Why or why not?'"
In this written word contest for any and all 8th graders in Santa Clara County, students can
submit traditional essays, poems or any other form of writing on the role of civil rights in
American society, existence of bias in all parts of our culture, and fairness and equality under
the law. This is designed to be an open-ended question that reflects each student's personal
story and opinion.
Questions and submission are to be emailed to lawday@scscourt.org byFriday, May 1, 2015.
Submissions must include the student’s first and last name, as well as the name of her or his
school in the subject line of the email. The essay contest is open to all 8th graders in Santa Clara
County.
There is no limit on the number of submissions. With that in mind, we applaud any of your 8 th
grade teachers who would like to utilize this as a class assignment (rather than an extracurricular activity). Also, prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place will be presented to the winners and
certificates of participation will be given to all who have submitted a traditional essay, poem or
any other form of writing on this subject. (Prizes are being donated by the Santa Clara County
Bar Association.)
Thank you again for your continual support of our civics education program.
Best,
Hon. Julia Alloggiamento
Chair, Court Community Outreach Committee
Judge of the Superior Court
Shooting of Michael Brown
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the shooting of Michael Brown. For the protests that followed, see Ferguson
unrest.
Shooting of Michael Brown
Location of Ferguson, Missouri, within St. Louis County, and St. Louis
County within Missouri
Time
12:01 p.m. – 12:03 p.m.
Date
Saturday, August 9, 2014; 8 months ago
Location
Ferguson, Missouri, U.S.
38.73847°N 90.27387°WCoordinates:
Coordinates
38.73847°N 90.27387°W[1]
Participants



Darren Wilson (police officer)
Michael Brown (deceased)
Dorian Johnson (accompanied Brown)
Deaths
Michael Brown
Injuries
Darren Wilson (during struggle)
Charges
None filed
Litigation
Wrongful death lawsuit pending
The Magna Carta
You won't likely get a lot of enthusiasm from kids if you want to discuss the history of human rights, but
the Magna Carta is all about fairness, and that's something most kids are interested in. When kids
understand that the Magna Carta is simply a tale of how the English stood up to a royal bully, it becomes
much more relevant to their experience. The facts of the Magna Carta help your child understand what
a watershed document it was in influencing the protection of
Background
After the death of Richard the Lionheart, the English throne and the taxation that paid for the wars in
France and the Middle East passed to his brother John. But unlike King Richard I, King John I repeatedly
lost land to France, which angered the English nobles. To make matters worse, King John I repeatedly
demanded more taxes to pay for the unsuccessful wars. He also arrested people without cause or trial,
bickered with the pope to the point of excommunication, seized church land and wealth, and the nobles'
lands without permitting them any defense. In 1215, the noble landowners got fed up with the king's
oppression and led a rebellion to takeover London and force King John I to accede to their demands.
Purpose
The English nobles composed the Magna Carta to curb the power of the king and protect themselves
from abuse of power. They derived ideas from Roman and early medieval law to push back against kings
who crossed the line in their bids for power. They felt that without definite action on their part, the king
would strip them of all their rights under the law.
Limiting the King's Power
The Magna Carta spelled out the people's guaranteed rights. At first, it only applied to the aristocracy,
but eventually expanded to include commoners. It formally required the king to follow the established
laws rather than ruling according to his desires. It gave the nobles the right to seize the king's castles if
he did not abide by the law and respect their rights. Of course, the king was not favorably inclined to
agree to such terms, but on June 19, 1215, at Runnymede, the nobles forced his hand and King John I
signed the Magna Carta. However, he did not abide by the agreement.
Rights
Many of the rights listed in the Magna Carta were just a reiteration of what was already in the law,
although the nobles did add some new ones. These rights influenced the development of democratic
law through time and still hold sway today as part of due process. For example, the Magna Carta
established the right of habeas corpus, meaning that the authorities have to prove to a judge that they
have just cause to detain a person. It guarantees that prisoners will have their day in court and cannot
be held secretly or indefinitely without being informed of the charges against them. The Magna Carta
said that the king did not have the right to take away other people's rights, so he could not arrest them,
imprison them or seize their land or possessions without a trial by jury. It set the rule of law over the
personal preferences of the king and guaranteed individual civil rights.
http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/magna-carta-kids-11691.html
Shooting of Michael Brown and
Subsequent Protests in Ferguson, Missouri
The shooting of Michael Brown occurred on August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.
Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was fatally shot by Darren Wilson, 28, a white Ferguson police officer.
The disputed circumstances of the shooting and the resultant protests and civil unrest received
considerable attention in the U.S. and abroad, and sparked a vigorous debate about law enforcement's
relationship with African Americans, and police use of force doctrine in Missouri and nationwide.
Shortly before the shooting, Brown stole several packages of cigarillos from a nearby convenience store
and shoved the store clerk.[2] Wilson had been notified by police dispatch of the robbery and the
suspect's description. He encountered Brown and Dorian Johnson as they were walking down the
middle of the street. Although Wilson's initial contact with Brown and Johnson was unrelated to the
robbery, Wilson said that he recognized that the two men matched the robbery suspect
descriptions.[3][4] Wilson backed up his cruiser and blocked them. An altercation ensued with Brown and
Wilson struggling through the window of the police vehicle until Wilson's gun was fired. Brown and
Johnson then fled, with Wilson in pursuit of Brown. Brown stopped and turned to face the officer. The
entire interaction eventually resulted in Officer Wilson firing at him several times, all striking him in the
front. In the entire altercation, Wilson fired a total of twelve bullets;[5] the last was probably the fatal
shot.[6][7][8] Brown was unarmed. Brown was moving toward Wilson when the final shots were fired.
Witness reports differed as to whether Brown had his hands raised.[9]
The shooting sparked unrest in Ferguson. Protests, both peaceful and violent, along with vandalism and
looting, continued for more than a week, resulting in night curfews. The response of area police
agencies in dealing with the protests received significant criticism from the media and politicians. There
were concerns over insensitivity, tactics and a militarized response. Missouri Governor Jay
Nixon ordered local police organizations to cede much of their authority to the Missouri State Highway
Patrol.
On November 24, 2014, it was announced that the St. Louis County grand jury had decided not
to indict Wilson.[10] On March 4, 2015, the U. S. Department of Justice cleared Wilson of civil rights
violations in the shooting, finding that witnesses who corroborated his account were credible while
those who incriminated him were not,[11][12] and that according to the evidence, Wilson shot Michael
Brown in self-defense.[13][14]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Michael_Brown