Bill of Rights and Amendments Presentation

Resources: The United States Constitution and the 27 amendments in Appendix A of Constitutional Law, and appropriate websites.

Prepare a 10- to 12-slide presentation using a presentation software of your choice, for example, Microsoft® PowerPoint® or Prezi.

Include the following in your presentation:

How and why do amendments become part of the Constitution?

What problems with the original document motivated the adoption of the Bill of Rights?

What have been the effects of the Bill of Rights?

What problems with the original document, or changes in society, led to later amendments?

Then, discuss one of the following: (1) Thirteenth through Fifteenth Amendments; OR (2) Seventeenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-Third, Twenty-Fourth, and Twenty-Sixth Amendments; OR (3)Twelfth, Twenty-Second, and Twenty-Fifth Amendments.

What have been the effects of these later amendments?

Include introduction and conclusion slides and speaker notes.

Cite at least three sources to support the content of your presentation.

DISCUSSION 2

Review the simulation "You are a Supreme Court Justice Deciding on a Free Speech Case."

Read Appendix B: Briefing and Analyzing Cases in Constitutional Law.

Choose a U.S. Supreme Court case that covers the First Amendment (free speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition). Do not use any of the cases mentioned in the "You are a Supreme Court Justice" simulation.

Use the Supreme Court of the United States website to locate a case.

Follow the FIRAC model in Appendix B to brief the case.

Complete the FIRAC Worksheet provided

FIRAC Worksheet

Appendix B: Briefing and Analyzing Cases in Constitutional Law offers a model to brief a court case. FIRAC stands for Facts, Issue, Rule(s), Analyze, and Conclusion.

Read about this model and see an example of it in Appendix B. Then, select a United States Supreme Court case on the First Amendment and complete a FIRAC analysis using the worksheet below.

SUPREME COURT case:

FACTS: Lay out the facts of the case. (200 words)

ISSUE: Identify the legal issue.(50 words)

RULE: What provision of the First Amendment applies to the issue you have defined? (50 words)

ANALYZE: Analyze the case, applying the law to the facts of the case. (300 words)

CONCLUSION: Draw a conclusion. (200 words)

Reference

Hall, D. E. & Feldmeier, J. P. (2012). Constitutional law: Governmental powers and individual freedoms (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.