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JUSTICE IN THE CLASSROOM

RULE OF LAW & JOHN MARSHALL
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
Chief Justice Marshall’s Court & Cases
Middle/Junior High School US/VA Civics
Objectives: Students will be able to:
ff evaluate a primary source document and draw conclusions about the role of the Supreme Court;
ff discover the facts about Marbury v. Madison by using the Justice in the Classroom Chapter 4 video clip; and
ff apply the idea of judicial review to a more modern Supreme Court case to understand the long-term importance
of the Marbury decision.
Standards
Virginia SOL: CE.10b
What is judicial review?
National: NSS-USH.5-12.4 Era 4
NSS-C.5-8.3
Expansion & Reform (1801-1861)
Principles of Democracy
Approx. Time: One 90 minute block or two 45 minute blocks
HOOK: The day has finally come for you to get your first job! You are excited to interview with the store manager of
your favorite store where you have been dreaming about working for as long as you can remember. Your interview
goes perfectly, and the manager offers you the job. You totally accept. The manager instructs you to come in the next
morning to begin your new dream job. You can barely sleep that night, but you get up early and go right to the store
to begin your new job. When you ask for the manager, a different person appears. You tell the new manager that you
are here to start your job. The new manager gives you an unfriendly look and asks when you were hired. You reply,
“Yesterday.” The manager shakes his head and says he is sorry but the old manager does not work there anymore and
he has someone else he wants to hire for the position so the job is no longer yours.
How would you feel if this happened to you? What would you do about it?
Today, you will learn how a situation like this led to one of the most important Supreme Court decisions called Marbury
v. Madison. You will also learn how Chief Justice John Marshall’s decision defined the role of the judicial branch giving it
the power to review all laws and actions of the federal government and declare them unconstitutional, if necessary.
CH4-MS1
Last Update: August 3, 2016
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Websites cited within lesson plans are for instructional purposes only and should be used with the guidance of professional educational personnel.
* This website is used for instructional purposes only and is not supported or endorsed by The John Marshall Foundation.
JUSTICE IN THE CLASSROOM

RULE OF LAW & JOHN MARSHALL

MIDDLE SCHOOL
Chief Justice Marshall’s Court & Cases
Judicial Power: Clear As Mud!
Read the following passage from the Constitution, Article III, Section 1:
“The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court…”
1. Does the Constitution give a detailed description of what power the Supreme Court has? 2. What do you think is meant by “judicial power?”
As you can see, the Supreme Court’s power was not really clear in the Constitution. For the most part, the Court had
very little expressed power. Chief Justice John Marshall will change that forever.
Using the Justice in the Classroom Chapter 4 video clip, answer the following questions: (Approx. 10 minutes)
1. Who did President John Adams appoint as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
2. In the early days of the nation, why was the Supreme Court so weak?
3. Give one example of how John Marshall changed the way the court did business.
4. With how many presidents does John Marshall’s term overlap? 5. What is a “landmark” case? CH4-MS2
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Websites cited within lesson plans are for instructional purposes only and should be used with the guidance of professional educational personnel.
* This website is used for instructional purposes only and is not supported or endorsed by The John Marshall Foundation.
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JUSTICE IN THE CLASSROOM

RULE OF LAW & JOHN MARSHALL

MIDDLE SCHOOL
Chief Justice Marshall’s Court & Cases
6. What year was the Marbury v. Madison case decided? 7. Who did President Adams appoint as Justice of the Peace? 8. What did President Thomas Jefferson tell Secretary of State James Madison to do about Marbury’s
commission? WHY did he tell Madison this?
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9. What did Marbury do about Madison’s actions?
10.The Supreme Court ruled that the Judiciary Act of 1789, that Marbury used to make the Supreme
Court force Madison to give him his commission, was unconstitutional. This creates the idea of judicial review. What IS judicial review?
11.The Supreme Court declared that the Constitution is to be considered law that is superior to the “ordinary” of of the or .
CH4-MS3
Last Update: August 3, 2016
J U S T I C EI N T H E C L A S S R O O M . N E T
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Websites cited within lesson plans are for instructional purposes only and should be used with the guidance of professional educational personnel.
* This website is used for instructional purposes only and is not supported or endorsed by The John Marshall Foundation.
JUSTICE IN THE CLASSROOM

RULE OF LAW & JOHN MARSHALL

MIDDLE SCHOOL
Chief Justice Marshall’s Court & Cases
Judicial Review In Action
Judicial review is not just the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws and actions of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
unconstitutional, it is also the power to declare STATE laws and actions unconstitutional, making the Constitution
SUPREME over ALL laws. One great example of this is the Loving v. Virginia case.
Watch the following video (approx. two and one half minutes) and answer the questions.
❙❙ Link : https://goo.gl/G19jCc *
1. Why were Mildred and Richard Loving arrested in Virginia?
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2. What was the punishment for their “crime?”
3. What did the Supreme Court decide?
4. How is this decision an example of judicial review?
CH4-MS4
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J U S T I C EI N T H E C L A S S R O O M . N E T
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Websites cited within lesson plans are for instructional purposes only and should be used with the guidance of professional educational personnel.
* This website is used for instructional purposes only and is not supported or endorsed by The John Marshall Foundation.
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JUSTICE IN THE CLASSROOM

RULE OF LAW & JOHN MARSHALL

MIDDLE SCHOOL
Chief Justice Marshall’s Court & Cases
Struggling Learners: If students have trouble understanding the documents or drawing conclusions, you should
have them work in pairs or small groups to discuss answers. Have the pairs or groups share their answers with the
class to guide the others.
Post Assessment:
Struggling Learners: Exit Slip - Have each student complete an “exit slip” at the end of the lesson, describing
ff what they learned,
ff what they found interesting, and
ff what questions they may have.
Advanced Learners: Have students
ff review the online article (below) about Supreme Court cases every teenager should know,
ff select a case,
ff create a poster for that case, and
ff explain how it is an example of judicial review.
Have them share with the class and allow sufficient discussion about the cases. (This is great for class discussion!)
❙❙ Link: https://goo.gl/jH1Fj1 *
CH4-MS5
Last Update: August 3, 2016
J U S T I C EI N T H E C L A S S R O O M . N E T
© 2 016 T H E J O H N M A R S H A L L F O U N DAT I O N
Websites cited within lesson plans are for instructional purposes only and should be used with the guidance of professional educational personnel.
* This website is used for instructional purposes only and is not supported or endorsed by The John Marshall Foundation.
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JUSTICE IN THE CLASSROOM

RULE OF LAW & JOHN MARSHALL

MIDDLE SCHOOL
Chief Justice Marshall’s Court & Cases
EXIT SLIP
Things I Learned Today …
Things I Found Interesting …
Question I Still Have …
❙❙ Link: https://www.formsatlas.com/screenshot/exit-slips-template.html *
CH4-MS6
Last Update: August 3, 2016
J U S T I C EI N T H E C L A S S R O O M . N E T
© 2 016 T H E J O H N M A R S H A L L F O U N DAT I O N
Websites cited within lesson plans are for instructional purposes only and should be used with the guidance of professional educational personnel.
* This website is used for instructional purposes only and is not supported or endorsed by The John Marshall Foundation.
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