Marbury v. Madison is arguably the most important landmark case in the history of the Supreme Court. A fact-filled lesson provides background information about the case and two others related to the concept of judicial review. Scholars...

High schoolers identify the branches of Indiana's judicial system and determine the differences between the different courts and different types of cases. Students create a flow chart showing how a court case works its way through the...

High schoolers explore how the structure of the state and federal judicial systems affect them. They select an appropriate media and create a presentation on the structure of the judicial system, the criminal judicial system and a guide...

Most people support the idea of an independent judiciary in theory until they hear about a court case that violates their principles. An informative resource explains why the concept is important. It also provides scholars of criminology...

Learners examine the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Supreme Court cases in order to broaden their understanding of the US Judicial System. They research a variety of textual and Internet resources to create a tri-fold brochure,...

Students explore the constitutional guarantee of the right to trial by jury. In this U. S. Constitution lesson, students read or view Twelve Angry Men and respond to discussion questions regarding the jury. Students examine the...

Young scholars compare and contrast juvenile and adult courts in the United States. In this judicial system lesson, students read and discuss articles and statistics in order to determine why juveniles may be tried as adults and examine...

The Supreme Court gets all the glory, but very few federal cases make it to the highest court. An interesting lesson explores the structure of the lower levels of the federal court system. In addition to outlining the organization of...

Students identify the courts that make up Michigan's judicial system. They state the responsibilities of each court and diagram a flow chart of how a case moves to the Michigan Supreme Court. They participate in a quiz about the current...

Learners explore ancient Egyptian culture and government. For this social studies lesson plan, students compare the legal system from ancient Egypt to our current American legal system. Links are included for web searching Egypt and the...

The government at the local level acts as perhaps one of the most relevant government systems to many in their communities. Learners discover how the local government shapes their lives and the similarities and differences between the...

How does a judge in the federal judicial court decide on a verdict? Give your middle and high schoolers a better idea of how final decisions are made in the judicial system. Then split your class into four groups, assigning each group a...

Students investigate some basic facts about the Supreme Court by examining the United States Constitution and one of the landmark cases decided by that court. The operation of the Supreme Court forms the focus of the activity.

Learners learn basic facts about the Supreme Court by examining the United States Constitution and one of the landmark cases decided by that court.

Who has the power? Scholars investigate the creation of the three branches of government in the United States Constitution. They analyze just why the framers created the branches the way they did.

Students are introduced to the three functions of government (legislative, judicial, and executive). They read and discuss a story about an overworked king who must handle all the tasks of government. Students give a description of the...

Students examine the role of Supreme Court justices. In this judicial branch lesson, students consider the civil rights and civil liberties as they investigate Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940) and West Virginia State Board...

We hear a lot about the importance of the rule of law, but most people do not really know what those words mean. The lesson is a webpage that defines the rule of law, explains why it is important in a democratic society and provides...

Seventh graders explain that the judicial branch of Utah's government interprets laws and reviews the consitutionality of laws.

What's the best way to make sense of the Constitution?  A helpful lesson contains both the text of Article III and annotation of each of its sections, breaking it down into easy-to-understand parts. It also includes links to a...

Students create a series of drawings to show the process of how the Supreme Court does its work. The drawings may be in strip cartoon form or a series of separate illustrations.

Why study landmark Supreme court cases? A helpful lesson offers a brief but valuable argument for the importance of these cases in the field of criminology. It introduces scholars to some key terms necessary for studying court cases and...

How can one court acquit someone of a crime, while another convicts the person of the same one? It's all because of the differences between civil and criminal trials. An informative resource provides scholars in the field of criminology...

Courtrooms are complicated. In addition to the many rules, there are a number of people whose jobs are not very clear to the casual courtroom observer. With the resource, individuals identify some of these roles and review more...