Classroom Ready Resource
JUST THE FACTS:
THE JUDICIAL BRANCH AND THE LAW
Introduction:
This lesson presents facts about Article III of the Constitution and the federal courts, as well as
information about Supreme Court interpretations related to some of the rights guaranteed in the
Bill of Rights (specifically those related to police powers and rights of the accused). The lesson,
which can be used to introduce or review information about the judicial branch, allows students
to become teachers of their peers. Be sure to give students some time to understand their facts
and consider the best way to teach them. In-depth debriefing is also a key element of the
lesson; consequently, we recommend asking an attorney to assist with the debriefing.
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
•
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Identify basic information about the Constitution, Article III, the federal courts, and court
and police proceedings.
Teach others about the Constitution, Article III, the federal courts, and court and police
proceedings.
Materials and Preparation:
You will need to prepare sufficient fact cards for each student to have one card. Two sets of
cards are included with the lesson. You can select one set of facts or choose from both sets
those facts you wish to introduce/review. Each student can have a different fact, or you can
select ten facts and give each fact to two or three students.
An attorney can be helpful in debriefing the lesson, providing depth and asking probing
questions. Make sure the resource person has the fact cards in advance so he/she can prepare.
Procedure:
Part I: Each One/Teach One on the Judicial Branch
1. Tell students that, in this lesson, everyone is going to be both a teacher and a learner. Hand
out one fact card to each participant. If you are using a smaller number of cards, ask
students who have the same card to work together for the first step: reading the card,
highlighting the most important information, identifying any questions they have about the
information, and deciding how to present it to their classmates.
Adapted from a lesson written by Carolyn Pereira and Diane Farwick. © 2012, Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago
Classroom Ready Resource
2. Explain that students will have 15 minutes to teach their information verbally to as many
other students as possible, while also learning facts from their classmates. Students should
circulate around the room, sharing information with one person at a time. Let students know
that they will be reporting on what they learn so they should pay close attention and ask
clarifying questions as they learn from classmates. If you want an accountability tool to make
sure students learn from a sufficient number of their classmates, have them take a piece of
paper and divide it into sixths or eighths (depending on how many other students you want
them to talk to); they can record what they learn in the blocks on the paper.
3. After the allotted time has elapsed, use the following questions to prompt discussion of the
information taught and learned. Invite the resource person to assist you in facilitating the
discussion, asking probing questions, adding additional information/insights, and helping to
answer student questions.
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What did you learn from a classmate? (“Teachers” of the information should not report on
what they taught, but they can be asked to verify the responses.)
What new information did you learn about the Constitution, the judicial branch/courts, and
individual rights?
What did you learn that surprised you?
What questions do you have about any of the information presented?
Part II: Essays on the Judicial System
1. To bring closure to the lesson, ask each student to write a paragraph using what they
learned in this lesson. Provide several topic sentences from which students can choose. The
following are some examples, but the sentences you select will depend on the fact cards
used:
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If I am accused of a crime, I will be glad we have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
As a Supreme Court Justice, I would argue that Amendment II means . . . because.
I think Supreme Court Justices should have the following five characteristics . . .
I was surprised to learn that . . .
I don’t understand . . .
Extension:
Fact cards not used in the lesson can be used as the starting point for follow-up activities.
For example, small groups could take a card, find more information about the fact provided, and
prepare a poster that teaches others about the fact. Groups could also take an entire set of facts
and try to create a structure for organizing all of the facts (e.g., an outline, a concept web).
Students could also conduct research on Supreme Court Justices mentioned in the fact cards.
Adapted from a lesson written by Carolyn Pereira and Diane Farwick. © 2012, Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago
Classroom Ready Resource
What characteristics and qualifications do the Justices share? How are these characteristics
linked to the duties that the Justices fulfill?
Resource Person:
An attorney would be a useful resource person in this lesson to assist with the debriefing of the
peer-teaching activity, adding depth and background information to the discussion.
Adapted from a lesson written by Carolyn Pereira and Diane Farwick. © 2012, Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago
Classroom Ready Resource
Student Handout
Fact Set 1: Article III and the Federal Courts
The Supreme Court is made up of nine
justices appointed by the president with the
approval of the Senate. They serve for life
as long as they show “good behavior.”
If the president is tried for impeachment in
the Senate, the chief justice supervises this
trial. When the Senate is in session for any
other reason, the vice president of the
United States presides.
The Supreme Court does not decide
whether a person is guilty or innocent. It
decides whether laws and government
actions are constitutional. It also deals
with legal issues, such as whether proper
procedure was followed in a trial.
The Constitution does not establish
qualifications for a justice. It does not say
that a Supreme Court justice has to be a
lawyer.
Few women have been appointed to serve
on the Supreme Court. Sandra Day
O’Connor was appointed by President
Ronald Reagan in 1981 and served until
early 2006. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was
appointed by President Bill Clinton in
1993. Sonia Sotomayor joined the Court in
2009, and President Barack Obama
nominated Elena Kagan to become a
Justice in 2010.
Two African Americans have served on
the Supreme Court. Thurgood Marshall
was appointed by President Lyndon
Johnson in 1967 and served until 1991.
Clarence Thomas was appointed by
President George H.W. Bush in 1991. He is
still serving on the Court today.
The Supreme Court has the power to
decide whether actions of the President and
Congress are constitutional. The Court
claimed this power in the case of Marbury
v. Madison in 1802.
John Jay was the first chief justice of the
Supreme Court. The current chief justice is
John Roberts. The chief justice who did the
most to increase the power of the Supreme
Court was Chief Justice John Marshall.
The Constitution provides fewer details
about the judicial branch than about the
The Supreme Court is the highest court
in the land. Below it in the federal courts
Adapted from a lesson written by Carolyn Pereira and Diane Farwick. © 2012, Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago
Classroom Ready Resource
legislative and executive branches. See
Article III of the Constitution for what it
does say.
The Supreme Court meets from the first
Monday in October through June.
Decisions are usually announced on
Mondays. Articles on the decisions can be
found on the Internet on Mondays or in the
newspaper on Tuesday during most weeks
of the session.
The only crime defined in the Constitution
is treason. The Constitution says treason
“shall consist only in levying war against
them [the United States], or in adhering to
their Enemies, giving them Aid and
Comfort.” A person can only be convicted
of treason if there are two witnesses to the
act or the person confesses.
A law to punish a person for something
that was not against the law when the act
was committed is called an ex post facto
law. The Constitution forbids such laws.
(See Article I)
are the Courts of Appeals and District
Courts.
One of the first things done by the first
Congress elected under the Constitution
was to pass the Judiciary Act of 1789.
Because the Constitution provided so few
details about the federal court system,
Congress had to solve many issues. One
big question was whether decisions in state
courts could be appealed to federal courts.
They can be as long as the case raises a
constitutional question.
An order making a police officer show that
a person is in jail for a good reason is
called a writ of habeas corpus. A police
officer does not have to do this if there is a
rebellion or invasion. (See Article I)
All persons accused of a federal crime
(except in cases of impeachment) should
have a jury trial and be tried in the state
where the crimes were committed. (See
Article III)
Adapted from a lesson written by Carolyn Pereira and Diane Farwick. © 2012, Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago
Classroom Ready Resource
Student Handout
Fact Set 2: The Bill of Rights and Supreme Court Interpretations
People are protected against unreasonable
searches and seizures. In most cases,
before police officers can search or take
anything from anyone, they must get a
search warrant from a judge. (Amendment
IV)
Persons cannot be forced to testify against
themselves. That is why people have the
right to remain silent. (Amendment V)
A person cannot be tried twice for the same
crime. This is called double jeopardy.
However, a person can be retried if a jury
fails to reach a verdict in a case.
(Amendment V)
People have the right to criticize the
government. They can talk to each other,
write about their concerns, or march
peacefully to let the government know
what is bothering them. (Amendment I)
A person accused of a crime has the right
to a speedy and public trial by an
impartial jury, to have an attorney, and to
confront witnesses against him/her.
(Amendment VI)
The government cannot favor one religion
over another one. It must not stop anyone
from believing or not believing in a
religion. (Amendment I)
When anyone is found guilty of a crime,
the punishment must not be cruel and
unusual. (Amendment VIII)
The Bill of Rights was written to protect
people from actions of the federal
government. The Supreme Court has
decided that most of the protections in the
Bill of Rights now apply to the actions of
state and local governments.
Until 1967, juveniles did not have the same
rights as adults. For example, they did not
have the right to hear the witnesses against
them. In a case called In re Gault, the
Supreme Court ruled that juveniles
should have due process rights.
Throughout history, people have disagreed
about whether Americans have the right to
own a gun if they are not in the Militia. “A
well-regulated Militia, being necessary to
the security of a free State, the right of the
people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be
infringed.” In 2008, the Supreme Court
ruled that the right applied to everyone, not
just militia members (Amendment II).
Until recently, every member of a jury had
to agree in order to find a person guilty. In
1972, the Supreme Court ruled that a jury
trial did not require a unanimous verdict.
Still, 47 states and the federal courts still
require unanimous verdicts in criminal
cases but most allow non-unanimous
verdicts in civil cases.
No person can be “deprived of life, liberty,
or property” without due process of law.
(Amendment V)
Adapted from a lesson written by Carolyn Pereira and Diane Farwick. © 2012, Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago