DIRECTIONS

• READ: Living Democracy p. 562 – 571.

• REFER to the study guide for guiding questions and required terms.

• LAST homework of the year!!!!

DIRECTIONS

• CREATE: a timeline of campaign finance reform. Indicate on your timeline the limitations placed on campaign finance by each reform effort and the decision in each key Supreme Court case.

• CHOOSE one or two or even more of the documents listed on this site, read it or them,  and take some notes which will help you tomorrow in class. These are documents submitted in court to demonstrate evidence that campaign contributions buy access and influence with politicians and parties. That will be the focus of our discussion tomorrow.
  http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/cfmemos.html

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR YOUR TIMELINES. . .

• Buckley v. Valeo (1976): http://www.campaignfinancesite.org/court/buckley1.html
  

• Effects of the McCain Feingold Camaign Finance Law (BRCA): http://www.ncpa.org/iss/gov/2002/pd021502a.html
  

• FEC: Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002: http://www.fec.gov/pages/bcra/bcra_update.shtml

DIRECTIONS:

• READ: Living Democracy p.552-562

• REFER: to the study guide for guiding questions, note taking guidelines, and required terms

DIRECTIONS

• READ: Living Democracy Chapter 14 p. 536- 540 & p. 543 – 550

• REFER: to the study guide for guiding questions and required terms

Directions:

• READ: Living Democracy Chapter 13: Interest Groups–you should complete the chapter by Friday.

• TAKE NOTES on the chapter–refer to the study guide for questions and terms

What’s on the horizon: You will apply the information presented in this chapter by analyzing an interest group. You may review the assignment here. Over the weekend, you will read the chapter on interest groups in Point of View in preparation for a 4 Corners Debate on Monday.

We will do hold oral argument on Monday and Tuesday.

• If you are a JUSTICE, you should be prepared to turn in your questions for the cases on both days. You will also be responsible for writing a brief paragraph explaining how you would rule on each case. The lawyers should have posted their briefs on the wiki pages for you to read. They also have listed several precedent cases which are important in their arguments. You should also be prepared to turn in a works cited. If you included this with your judicial philosophy you are all set.

• If you are a LAWYER, you need to post your brief to your wiki page (http://classof2009honors.wikispaces.com/) along with several precedent cases which are important to your argument. You should link the cases to Oyez and provide a one to two sentence explanation of why these cases are important. Kimber’s page is a great example of what to do: http://classof2009honors.wikispaces.com/indiana. Be sure to include a correctly formated works cited.

What’s on the horizon.

• On Wednesday, we will begin our next (abbreviated) unit which will take us on a quick journey through interest groups, political parties and elections.

• The homework for next week is to read Living Democracy, Chapter 13. A new study guide is posted for this chapter. We will be reading the chapters on Political Parties and Elections the following week (not every page however!). I would definitely use the opportunity this weekend to start to read ahead and space it out so you finish the chapter by next Friday. I updated the schedule to reflect these changes.

• Over the weekend, you will be reading the chapter in Points of View on Interest Groups in preparation for a 4 Corners Debate on Monday.

• Please email me if you have questions or concerns and I’ll get back to you a.s.a.p.–ccsark@gmail.com!

We will plan oral argument for next MONDAY and TUESDAY.

If you are a JUSTICE,

• SEND me or POST  on Google Documents your judicial philosophy. Don’t forget to invite me as a collaborator if you use Google Docs (ccsark@gmail.com)

• BEGIN  to research the cases we will argue next Monday and Tuesday. You should familiarize yourself with the facts of the case and the constitutional question. Use Oyez as a starting point.

• KEEP  in mind your research is intended to help you write excellent questions for oral argument. You need to know enough to figure out where you stand on the issue from your particular point of view.

If you are a LAWYER,

•  SEND or POST on Google Documents the facts of your case and the constitutional issue you are arguing. (Don’t forget to invite me as a collaborator if yo use Google Docs (ccsark@gmail.com))

• BEGIN to outline your argument. Identify the two or three precedent cases that are the basis of your argument. Post those cases on your wiki page: http://classof2009honors.wikispaces.com/ 

Directions

If you are a Justice,

• READ and take notes on p.180 – 198 in Living Democracy. You need background information on each of the amendments.

• REVIEW the requirements for the judicial profile and begin making notes for yourself.  A list of the cases which will be “on our docket” is on the project page.

 If you are a lawyer,

• READ: the appropriate section in Living Democracy. If you are doing a 4th Amendment case, read p.181 – 184; if you are doing a 5th Amendment case, read p.184 – 185; if you doing a 6th Amendment case, read p.186 – 188; if you doing an 8th Amendment case, read p. 189 – 190; if you are doing a right to privacy case, read p. 191 – 195.

• RESEARCH: the facts of your case and the constitutional question. Begin with the Oyez site. Then take a look at the notes I will send you (and post) on the briefs submitted in your cases and the majority and dissenting opinions. You will need to draw from more than one source for these facts.

DIRECTIONS

• READ & TAKE NOTES: Points of View Chapter 14, “Civil Liberties,” p.220 – 229.

• PREPARE: for seminar discussion on Monday. Eleanor, Kelsey and Alia are leading.

• CHOOSE: a case for the brief writing assignment. This is due next Thursday. You will have class time on Tuesday (2nd period) to work on it. You can read a description of the assignment here.

DIRECTIONS FOR MONDAY NIGHT

• PREPARE: to write your brief. You can get to the assignment description here.

• IDENTIFY: the facts of the case, the constitutional question presented and how the Court decided. Identify precedent setting cases that you can use to support your agreement with or disagreement with the Court’s decision.

• PLEASE NOTE:Your brief is due 1st period Thursday morning. We do not have class on Wednesday afternoon because of the mentorship presentations.

WHAT’S COMING UP

• READ: a description of our Moot Supreme Court here. I need ONE more justice please.  I will be posting possible cases for the lawyers to choose from. You and a partner will choose a case and present the two sides–petitioner and respondent.

Directions:

• READ: Living Democracy p.175 – 180.

• USE: the study guide to identify key questions and required terms.

• MAKE: a list of the following cases as you read and the precedents that they establish
  • Engel v. Vitale (1962)
  • Abington Township v. Schempp (1963)
  • Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971–the Lemon Test is important!
  • Lee v. Weisman (1992)
  • Edwards v. Aguillard (1987)
  • Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
  • West Virginia v. Barnette (1943)
  • Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beficiente Unaio de Vegetal (2006)