Paper #2
The object of this paper is for you to analyze the politics involved in a civil liberties or civil rights Supreme Court case. For this paper, you will be drawing upon Unit II, Unit III, and Unit IV chapters, and lecture notes. You may find it necessary to do a little background research on the topic chosen; if so, make sure to cite sources properly.
Pick a civil liberties or civil rights court case (the more recent, the better). Read the case documents and answer the questions below to help in your analysis.
Pick cases from these two websites: Civil Liberties:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_landmark_court_decisions_in_the_United_States
https://www.aclu.org/defending-our-rights/court-battles/supreme-court
Civil Rights: http://www.civilrights.org/judiciary/supreme-court/key-cases.html
It may be helpful to use www.oyez.org for more case information.
The paper is six pages, double-spaced, 1" margins, 12-point font. You may use any citation format and style, as long as you are consistent throughout the paper and the citation is clear.
Consider these questions in your court case analysis:
Chapter 10/11 Questions
Does the case represent a form of political participation, and if so, what kind? By whom? Do the parties in the case fall into the categories of who we would expect to participate in the first place (why/not?)? Does this case fall into a larger context of other forms of participation at the time (i.e. social movements, protests, etc.)?
Chapter Eight Questions
Is there interest group participation in this case? If so, how-directly or indirectly? What does the type of group(s) involved tell you about the politics of the case? Consider partisanship, ideologies, larger social movement context, etc.
Chapter Two Questions
What part of the Constitution does the case bring up? What is the Supreme Court's majority opinion's interpretation of this part of the Constitution? Is it a break with precedence (i.e. a new interpretation?)? Does this interpretation constitute an example of informal Constitutional change (why/not)?
Chapter Three Questions
Does the case involve questions of federalism? If so, what is the conflict? How does the Court resolve these conflicts? Which type of federalism does their ruling represent?
Which level of government is supposed to enforce the new interpretation of the law?
Chapter Four/Five Questions
Which civil liberty/right is in question? What is the conflict between the two parties in the case? How does this case advance civil liberties/rights-what makes is a civil liberty/rights issue? How does this case fit in to the history of U.S. civil liberty and rights issues?
Chapter 15 Questions
How do the politics of the court affect the interpretation of the Constitution in this case? Consider the justices on the bench and their ideologies. Are these ideologies apparent in the ruling (provide examples)? In the majority and dissenting opinions, explain evidence of the different judicial philosophies abut the Constitution (strict, interpretive, etc.). Is a new policy being introduced by the ruling or does it uphold the current interpretation of the Constitution?