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The first amendment, module 9: the judicial system and current cases.
Article III of the Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the national government, which is responsible for interpreting the laws. At the highest level, the judicial branch is led by the U.S. Supreme Court, which consists of nine Justices. In the federal system, the lower courts consist of the district courts and the courts of appeals. Federal courts—including the Supreme Court—exercise the power of judicial review. This power gives courts the authority to rule on the constitutionality of laws passed (and actions taken) by the elected branches. The Constitution also promotes the principle of judicial independence—granting federal judges life tenure (meaning that they serve until they die, resign, or are impeached and removed from office).
Download all materials for this module as a PDF
Learning Objectives
- Describe judicial review and explain it is a key component of the American constitutional system.
- Describe judicial independence and explain why the Founding generation viewed it as an important feature of the federal judiciary.
- Examine primary source writings on the Supreme Court in Federalist, No. 78.
- Describe how a case gets to the Supreme Court.
- Identify how the judicial nomination process works and how a justice ends up on the Supreme Court.
9.1 Activity: Supreme Court “Class Photo”
- Student Instructions
- Teacher Notes
Purpose Article III of the Constitution establishes the national government’s judicial branch: the federal judiciary, headed by a single Supreme Court. In this activity, you will examine the current justices of the Supreme Court and learn how a Supreme Court nominee gets appointed to the Supreme Court.
Process As a class, discuss what you know about the Supreme Court and what you want to know by the end of this module.
- What do you know about the Supreme Court justices?
- What do you want to know about them?
Next, review and discuss the Info Brief: SCOTUS Class Photos presentation. Finally, read the Info Brief: Supreme Court document and complete the Activity Guide: Supreme Court worksheet.
Launch Display the image of the Supreme Court for students to view. As a large group, review a simple K- W- L activity to start student discussion based on the following questions:
Next, review the presentation with students and have them complete the worksheet. Ask students to compare and contrast the images of the court over time.
Finally, have students read the Info Brief: Supreme Court document and complete the Activity Guide: Supreme Court worksheet. Have students share highlights with the class.
Activity Synthesis Ask students to write three facts they learned about the Supreme Court and at least one question that they still have.
Activity Extension (optional) Now that students have a better understanding of the nominating process, students may research the nomination and Senate hearings process for a recent Supreme Court justice.
9.1 Visual Info Brief: SCOTUS Class Photos
9.1 info brief: supreme court, 9.1 activity guide: supreme court, 9.2 activity: key terms.
Purpose It is important to remember that Article III is a very short provision and doesn’t lay out many details about the Supreme Court and how it works—or even what the federal judiciary as a whole should look like. For example, it doesn’t set the number of Supreme Court justices, how many lower-court judges there should be in the federal judiciary, or when we should have any lower federal courts below the Supreme Court at all.
Furthermore, Article III can be a bit hard to understand without some background first. The basic ideas are simple enough, but the language is a bit more technical than other parts of the Constitution. In this activity, you will review the key terms of the module to help deepen your understanding of Article III.
Process Complete the Activity Guide: Key Terms - Judicial System and Current Cases worksheet.
After your worksheet is complete, your teacher will guide you through a bingo game using the key terms and definitions of Module 9.
Launch Begin the activity with key terms activity with the students. Have them review the definitions and answer questions. As a review, have students share their answers in the worksheet for all of the key terms. Finally, engage students in a fun, lighthearted activity of word bingo by reading the definitions of the terms. Have students build bingo sheets by placing the key terms on a bingo card or hand out premade cards. If your class needs more words for the bingo card, use a sampling of facts from the Info Brief: Supreme Court document. Don’t forget the FREE spot! If the students have the correct word, they’ll color, cover, or electronically mark in the box on their cards where the answer appears.
Activity Synthesis Have students apply their knowledge of the terms. Read and mark up a current news article that uses the terms.
Activity Extension (optional) Now that students have a better understanding of key terms about the judiciary, ask the following questions:
- What is the primary role of the courts in our constitutional system?
- Why is it important for the judiciary to be independent of the other branches of government?
- How do the courts play a key role in our system of checks and balances?
- What part of the process did you learn about today that was new to you?
- What other questions do you have about the courts and their process for hearing cases?
9.2 Activity Guide: Key Terms - Judicial System and Current Cases
9.3 activity: the federalist no. 78 (hamilton).
Purpose The founders’ vision of judicial independence grew out of the colonists’ own experience under the British system. Judges were not independent within this system. Instead, colonial judges were seen as officers of the crown, who carried out the orders of the king and could be removed at his whim.
In this activity, you will learn more about the Founding generation’s original vision for the Supreme Court and the federal court system.
Process Read Federalist No. 78 by Alexander Hamilton and complete the Activity Guide: The Federalist No. 78 worksheet.
Launch The key arguments will fall under these big ideas:
- The judiciary is the weakest of the three branches of government.
- Judges have a duty to exercise judicial review to declare laws that are inconsistent with the Constitution unconstitutional.
- The power of judicial review is rooted in the principles of popular sovereignty—the idea that the powers of the government (and the authority of the Constitution) is derived from “We the People.” That authority is greater than the powers of elected officials.
- Judicial independence is a key component of the constitutional system—protecting judges from the influence of the other branches of government and leaving them free to exercise their independent judgment in a given case.
Each argument must be summarized and at least one quote has to be used to cite as evidence.
Activity Synthesis Have students discuss whether or not they agree with each argument Hamilton discusses in Federalist No. 78. Why, or why not?
Activity Extension (optional) Now that students have a better understanding of the Founding generation's original vision of the judiciary, ask the following questions:
- What recent cases have been in the news about the Supreme Court?
- Poll your family, friends, or community members to ask them their thoughts on the Supreme Court and its role in the government.
- Use this information to develop a graphic or one-page fact sheet on the history and role of the court, cite evidence from your readings, and share with people in your community.
9.3 Primary Source: Federalist No. 78
9.3 activity guide: federalist no. 78, 9.4 video activity: history of the supreme court.
Purpose In this activity, you will learn about the history of the Supreme Court.
Process Watch the following video about the history of the Supreme Court.
Then, complete the Video Reflection: History of the Supreme Court worksheet.
Identify any areas that are unclear to you or where you would like further explanation. Be prepared to discuss your answers in a group and to ask your teacher any remaining questions.
Launch Give students time to watch the video and answer the questions.
Activity Synthesis Have students share their responses in small groups and then discuss as a class.
Activity Extension (optional) Now that students have a better understanding of the history of the Supreme Court, ask the following questions:
- What era of the Supreme Court history do you find most interesting and why?
9.4 Video Reflection: History of the Supreme Court
9.5 activity: how does a case get to the supreme court.
Purpose So, how does a constitutional case get to the Supreme Court? Someone—often a single person—goes to court and argues that a law, an arrest, or a regulation is in conflict with the Constitution. When this happens, they may eventually be able to petition the Supreme Court to hear their case. However, the Supreme Court has broad discretion to choose which cases it decides each year. The Supreme Court receives about 10,000 petitions per year, and only agrees to hear about 65 of them. That’s not a lot! In this activity, you will study a real case and analyze how it got to the Supreme Court.
Process Begin by reading the Common Interpretation: Article III, Section 1 and the Info Brief: How Does a Case Get to the Supreme Court document for background information about Article III and the federal court system. Summarize by writing a paragraph how the judicial branch works today.
Next, work as a group to chart the path of a case to the Supreme Court. Your group will choose a historical case from the list of choices provided. Read about the case and work with your group to build a simple road map graphic to show the progression of this case to the Supreme Court. Be creative in your design. You can draw the path, sketch it out in a Word document, or use tools such as Piktochart .
Select a case from the historical case list.
Compare your roadmap to the one provided on how the typical case gets to the Supreme Court today .
Launch Have students read Common Interpretation: Article III, Section 1 and Info Brief: How Does a Case Get to the Supreme Court. Then, discuss with students how the judicial branch works and how the cases start with We the People and get to the Supreme Court.
Activity Synthesis As a final activity, have students select a historical court case to build their path to the Supreme Court infographic. Students should identify the typical path, short-cuts, and areas where cases get blocked by exploring data on how many cases are heard at each level of the court system and analyzing what are the criteria for cases to get past certain checkpoints.
Activity Extension (optional) Now that students have a better understanding of how a case gets to the Supreme Court, ask the following questions:
- What is one thing you learned about cases that reach the Supreme Court?
- What surprised you about these cases?
- Were there any similarities?
- If you were to write a letter to the people in these cases before they took up the fight, what would you tell them?
9.5 Primary Source: Marbury v. Madison (1803)
9.5 primary source: mcculloch v. maryland (1819), 9.5 primary source: dred scott v. sandford (1857), 9.5 primary source: plessy v. ferguson (1896), 9.5 primary source: west virginia board of education v. barnette (1943), 9.5 primary source: korematsu v. united states (1944), 9.5 primary source: brown v. board of education (1954), 9.5 primary source: tinker v. des moines independent community school district (1969), 9.5 info brief: how does a case get to the supreme court, 9.5 info brief: how does a case get to the supreme court graphic, 9.6 activity: supreme court in review.
Purpose The Supreme Court’s term typically lasts from the first Monday of October to the end of June.
Opinions are released throughout the term, with the last of the opinions (often on the most important and controversial cases) coming out at the end of June—although there’s no deadline because the justices set their own schedule.
In this activity, you will explore some of the most significant cases that the Supreme Court heard last term.
Cases for 2021–2022 Term:
- Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022)
- Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022)
- New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen (2022)
Process After you review these three cases of the last term, use the information from the NCC website and SCOTUSblog to complete the Activity Guide: Supreme Court in Review worksheet.
Be prepared to share your briefs (explainers) you have developed in small groups.
Launch Give students time to review three of the high-profile cases of the last term and write short briefs (explainers) for each case.
Activity Synthesis Have students share their briefs with one another in small groups.
Activity Extension (optional) Now that students have a better understanding of current Supreme Court cases, ask students to write a short opinion for the Supreme Court for one case based on the facts presented and the constitutional issues in question.
9.6 Activity Guide: Supreme Court in Review
9.7 test your knowledge.
Congratulations for completing the activities in this module! Now it’s time to apply what you have learned about the basic ideas and concepts covered.
Complete the questions to test your knowledge.
This activity will help students determine their overall understanding of module concepts. It is recommended that questions are completed electronically so immediate feedback is provided, but a downloadable copy of the questions (with answer key) is also available.
9.7 Interactive Knowledge Check: The Judicial System and Current Cases
9.7 printable knowledge check: the judicial system and current cases, 9.8 extended activity: building consensus.
Purpose The Supreme Court can offer a model for how to offer arguments in a constructive, cooperative way so that people with opposing views can meaningfully listen to one another, consider different viewpoints, learn from one another, and possibly change positions or reach a compromise.
In this activity, you will explore the process for building consensus and the value of listening to arguments from other perspectives.
Process Watch the Supreme Court Spotlight video from the National Constitution Center where U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer (Ret.) provides an insider perspective on what happens behind closed doors at the Supreme Court.
As you watch the video, record the following information:
- Three interesting facts about the Supreme Court presented in the clip.
- Two rules for discussion in the Supreme Court.
- One word that is repeated by Justice Breyer.
Launch Before you begin, have students think about an argument they’ve had recently and write down a few notes about it. Who was involved? What was the issue? Were you able to come to a resolution? Why? Why not? Share with the class if time permits.
Activity Synthesis After viewing the video clip, students can share their 3-2-1 notes in their small group. Ask students to circle any ideas that are shared by more than one person. Have each group choose a representative to share out to the whole class. The teacher may choose to have different groups give their responses for only one aspect of the 3-2-1 notes. However, ask each group to share the one word that was repeated. This is powerful because the same word may be repeated many times signifying its importance. Encourage this because some students may be upset that another group already said their answer.
Activity Extension (optional) Looking for more tools on civil dialogue practice in your classroom? Check out the civil dialogue toolkit and corresponding lessons.
Previous Module
Module 8: the presidency and executive power, next module, module 10: the first amendment.
The First Amendment protects some of our most cherished rights, including religious liberty, free speech, a free press, the right to assemble, and the right to petition our government for a redress of grievances. Together, these essential rights are connected to the freedom of conscience—protecting our ability to think as we will and speak as we think. As we examine the First Amendment’s text and history, we will explore debates over the First Amendment’s five freedoms, analyze landmark Supreme Court cases, and examine how the First Amendment has been used by ...
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Activities - Supreme Court Activity
The following activities are designed to make students aware of the impact that the Supreme Court has on their lives and why they should care about the workings of the Court, and the justices who are appointed to it. See the summaries of Supreme Court Landmarks .
Activity #1
Student justices: an exercise in impartiality.
In preparation for this activity, teachers should direct students to do research on the list of Supreme Court Landmarks .
When justices decide a case, they are not free to let their personal opinions affect the outcome. Rather, justices must put aside any personal biases and decide the case solely according to the law.
The students are organized into teams. Each team is assigned one case from the The students are organized into teams. Each team is assigned one case from the Supreme Court Landmarks . The students on each team review the case collectively, and then each student is asked to make a list of any biases that he/she may have about the case or any facts about their lives that may affect their decision-making process. The students also compile a list of facts that they deem relevant to the case, and facts that they deem irrelevant. In preparation for this event, teachers should have their students research these cases.
After completing these lists, the students talk about the case, their biases, and what they consider relevant facts in the case. The purpose of this exercise is to provide students with a means for recognizing their own biases, especially when the requirements of the law conflict with their personal feelings about the issues.
Finally, group members state how they would vote on their particular case if they were justices on the Supreme Court. The student justices provide and discuss the reasons for their votes, including their opinions on how the issues in the case could have an impact on students.
Activity #2
Student justices: an exercise in collegiality.
All groups are assigned the same case from the All groups are assigned the same case from the Supreme Court Landmarks page. The groups use the same procedures used for Activity #1, e.g., list their biases, determine the relevant points of the case, and decide how they would rule on the case if they were justices. After coming to a consensus, one member of each team is selected as a spokesperson. The spokesperson presents to the large group the team's biases, relevant points upon which members based their opinions, the group's decision, and their reasoning. The number of groups voting for each party in the case is recorded. The party receiving the most votes wins its case.
Activity #3
Judicial perspective.
The host judge provides some background information about himself/herself and discusses the ways he/she deals with overcoming personal biases in order to follow the law. The judge then takes questions from the students.
Activity #4
Student journalists and pundits: an exercise in civil discourse.
Students divide into groups. Each group re-enacts a news interview program during which a panel discusses an assigned case from the Supreme Court Landmarks handout. Each group selects a moderator. The remaining members of the group divide relatively evenly into two sides, one for each party to the case. Members of each side take on a certain role and present their arguments from the perspective of their assumed role, e.g., a lawyer, legal scholar, and/or a legal commentator. The moderator asks thought-provoking questions that the panelists debate. At some point, students in the audience also may ask questions when recognized by the moderator.
DISCLAIMER: These resources are created by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts for educational purposes only. They may not reflect the current state of the law, and are not intended to provide legal advice, guidance on litigation, or commentary on any pending case or legislation.