Pick ONE activity below. Then answer the following question:
What
was the activity about? What tasks were you asked to complete and what
did you learn from them. Comment on things you had not been aware of or
that you found important. Did this simulation/analysis change your view
of the topic?
1.
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/long/long_longman_media_1/2008_raised/Player/sim.youareyounglawyer.html
Determine characteristics of the federal judiciary and implications of the adversarial process.
Every
player in the judicial system has a responsibility to uphold the laws
set forth in the U.S. Constitution, and lawyers are no different. What
role do lawyers play in the judicial system? When do our constitutional
rights begin and end? How are legal disputes resolved? In this activity,
you will examine these and other issues as a young lawyer fighting for
your client's First Amendment rights against the local school system. In
the process you will learn about the complexity of the American court
system, understand the difficulty of defining whether or not something
is in violation of the U.S. Constitution, and identify the various ways
in which legal disputes can be settled.
2.
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/long/long_longman_media_1/2008_raised/Player/sim.youarethepresidentappajustice.html
Analyze the factors that play an important role in selecting judicial nominees.
Few
decisions that a president makes are as important as the selection of a
Supreme Court justice nominee. Both the media and Congress subject
nominees to intense scrutiny, as once appointed, the justices serve for
life. How are justices appointed? What qualifications do they need? What
factors make it more or less likely that a nominee will be appointed?
In this activity, you will examine these and other issues as a
Democratic president, attempting to have your nominee for the Supreme
Court confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. In the process, you
will learn about the various challenges that face presidents in
deciding who to nominate and better understand the roles played by both
the president and the Senate in the nomination and confirmation process.
3.
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/long/long_longman_media_1/2008_raised/Player/sim.youareaclerktosupremecourtjustice.html
Trace the process by which Supreme Court decisions are reached and assess influences on this process.
The
Supreme Court carries out judicial review, deciding what laws and
actions are constitutional, by carefully selecting the cases the
justices hear -- basing their decisions on earlier precedents. How does
the Supreme Court decide to hear a case? Which types of cases are worthy
of debate before the high court? What influences impact the Supreme
Court decision making process? In this activity, you will examine these
and other issues as a clerk to Supreme Court Justice Judith Gray. Your
primary role will be to filter the various cases by evaluating their
merit based on precedent, so Justice Judith Gray knows which cases are
worthy of debate in front of the full court. In the process you will
learn about the responsibilities of the law clerk in the U.S. Supreme
Court, identify the types of cases Supreme Court justices hear,
comprehend the role of legal reasoning in resolving legal conflicts, and
identify the importance of precedent and judicial review.
4.
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/long/long_longman_media_1/2008_raised/Player/comp.comparingjudiciaries.html
Assess the limits on judicial action and the role of the judiciary in a constitutional democracy.
Some
countries have strong judiciaries that serve as a check on executive
and legislative power, while other countries have judiciaries that lack
authority to challenge other branches of government. Some judiciaries
rely on precedents, while others rely on strict adherence to and
interpretation of existing legal codes. There is a great deal of
variation among the judicial branches of different countries. Are the
courts in other countries responsible for judicial review? How are
judges selected? What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a
legal tradition based on common law compared to one based on civil code
law? Does religion play a major role in judicial decision making in
democratic nations? In this activity, you will examine these and other
questions as you compare the U.S. judiciary with the judiciaries of five
other countries: Great Britain, Russia, Germany, Egypt, and Japan. In
the process, you will gain a better understanding of the similarities
and differences of judiciaries in different countries and those aspects
of the U.S. courts that are distinctively American.
5.
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/long/long_longman_media_1/2008_raised/Player/sim.youareasupremecourtjustice.html
Outline the First Amendment freedoms and the limitations on them.
The
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of speech.
Yet the process of applying this abstract right to concrete
circumstances is not so simple. Federal judges have had to classify
different types of speech, such as symbolic or commercial speech, and
establish standards or test to determine when speech should be
restricted. Under what circumstances, if any, are governmental
restrictions on speech justified? Should all types of speech be
protected? How has our interpretation of this freedom changed over time?
In this activity, you will examine these and other issues as a justice
on the Supreme Court who must decide how to rule on a case involving
freedom of speech. In the process, you will explore Supreme Court cases
that relate to freedom of speech, identify the various interpretations
of freedom of speech, and determine how to apply legal precedents
concerning free speech to the case presented in this activity.
6.
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/long/long_longman_media_1/2008_raised/Player/sim.youareapoliceofficer.html
Outline the First Amendment freedoms and the limitations on them.
Few
people deal with civil liberties as frequently as police officers.
Originally granted to citizens through the Constitution’s Bill of
Rights, the nature of these freedoms has evolved over time through
judicial review and legislation. Police officers must understand the
current, practical interpretation of our First Amendment rights, the
Fourth Amendment protection against “unreasonable searches and
seizures,” the Fifth Amendment protection from self-incrimination, and
many others. When can the police search private property? Can people be
arrested for criticizing the government? How much power does law
enforcement have if they suspect someone of being a criminal? In this
activity, you will examine these and other issues as a New York City
police officer confronted with several different real-world scenarios
involving civil liberties and constitutional rights. In the process you
will better comprehend the concepts of constitutional rights, learn the
rules regarding search and seizure, and understand how suspects should
be treated by law enforcement.
7.
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/long/long_longman_media_1/2008_raised/Player/sim.balibertysecurityinwar.html
Characterize the constitutional rights of criminal suspects.
In
times of war, our government must balance civil liberties with security
needs. Often challenged during these times are the Fourth Amendments
protection from unreasonable search and seizure; the Fifth Amendments
right to due process and protection from self incrimination; the Sixth
Amendments right to legal council; the Eighth Amendments protection from
cruel and unusual punishment; and the Fourteenth Amendments mandate of
equal protection under the law. Do police need a warrant when search the
property of a suspected terrorist? Do privacy rights apply to
electronic communication? Can the FBI arrest a suspected terrorist with
little or now evidence? In this activity, you will examine these and
other issues as a U.S. Attorney General trying to protect the public
from an impending terrorist attack. In the process, you will discover
the limits of police power, learn the rules regarding search and
seizure, comprehend the role of due process, understand the uses and
limitations of racial profiling, and recognize the constitutional
boundaries of civil liberty and national security.
8.
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/long/long_longman_media_1/2008_raised/Player/comp.comparingcivilliberties.html
Evaluate the roles of institutions and the people in protecting civil liberties.
Civil
liberties are individual rights protected from government violation and
interference. Although the Framers of the U.S. Constitution regarded
civil liberties as "self-evident,” not all governments around the world
guarantee civil liberties? What type of variation exists? Do all
democratic governments guarantee the same civil liberties to the same
extent? Do all or most authoritarian or autocratic governments refuse to
guarantee civil liberties? What happens in countries prone to conflict
or war? In this activity, you will compare civil liberties in the United
States with those in six other countries. In the process, you will gain
a better understanding of the factors that impact a government’s
likelihood to protect the civil liberties of its citizens.
9.
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/long/long_longman_media_1/2008_raised/Player/comp.comparingcivilrights.html
Compare and contrast the efforts of various groups to obtain equal protection of the law.
Every
nation in the world struggles to some extent with the problem of
discrimination, the treatment of someone according to a classification
that is based on something other than individual merit. As a result,
minority groups tend to press for civil rights--rights and protections
against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by governments or
individuals based on categories such as race, sex, ethnicity, national
origin, age, religion, or sexual orientation. How do varied histories of
immigration, slavery and attitudes toward minorities shape the
disposition of governments towards protecting the civil rights of their
citizens? How does the list of protected groups and protections vary
around the world? In this activity, you will compare the civil rights
issues faced by the United States with those of five other countries:
Great Britain, Brazil, Germany, China, and South Africa. In the process,
you will gain a better understanding of the factors that impact a
government’s likelihood to protect the civil rights of its citizens,
particularly racial and ethnic minorities.
10.
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/long/long_longman_media_1/2008_raised/Player/sim.youaremayorcivrights.html
Assess the status of civil rights in the United States today.
Although
Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal in the
Declaration of Independence, it took the Civil War and the passage of
the Fourteenth Amendment to transform Jefferson's ideal into law. The
Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal treatment under the law and has
gradually been extended to include racial and ethnic minorities, women,
and people with disabilities__populations with well-documented histories
of unequal treatment. Yet many questions remain. Is affirmative action
reverse discrimination? Why do some groups receive legal protection
against discrimination while others do not? What constitutes sexual
harassment? These types of questions reveal the difficulties inherent in
extending fundamental rights to populations with well-documented
histories of unequal treatment. In this activity, you will examine these
and other issues as the mayor of Tampa, FL attempting to resolves civil
rights issues that have come to your attention. In the process, you
will identify the types of issues classified as under the umbrella of
civil rights, learn important court decisions that have shaped civil
rights legislation, understand why the Supreme Court has deemed
discrimination to be lawful in certain situations, and identify the
limitations of affirmative action.
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