Mock Supreme Court Assignment

Goal: To write a legal argument to deliver in front of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Role: Pretend you are a lawyer who has been hired to represent a client who is suing, or one who is being sued, on a Constitutional issue. Your case has made it all the way to the Supreme Court, the highest court in America, through the appeals process. You are one of the greatest legal minds in America! Choose a case to argue from the attached list of suggestions, and sign up for the side you want to take. One lawyer per side. Have several choices in case your first choice has already been selected.

Audience/Situation: Your oral argument will be delivered before the class “Supreme Court”, made up of 9 of your esteemed peers. Court members will rotate based on who is not a lawyer during each trial. Participation as a member of the Supreme Court will also be a required part of “Mock Supreme Court”, and you will be graded on your ability to ask meaningful questions and engage in a legal debate with both the lawyers presenting oral arguments and the other 8 Supreme Court Justices. You will also be graded on the quality of your legal opinion, after you have heard both oral arguments. Expect to be a Supreme Court Justice at least twice.

Product: You must produce a 2 page argument (preferably typed, double spaced, 1 inch margins, 12 point font. If you are handwriting the argument, it should be 4 handwritten pages. You will not be penalized for handwriting). Your argument must contain the following. Fill in the information below and use this as an outline before you begin writing your argument:

**Your argument must begin with : “Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the court….”

1) An introduction of your Constitutional Question, an overview of your client’s situation, and an explanation of why you are here arguing for your client’s constitutional rights.

Constitutional Question:______________________________________________________________________________________

Side I am taking:____________________________________________________________________________________________

Overview/Explanation of WHY this side of the argument is “right”. Use LOGIC to prove your argument (For your case, visit www.debatabase.org , find your constitutional question, and read the pros and cons of this debate question as the starting point for research on this topic. Summarize the key information from the debate that will help your client) Explanation should also attempt to get the Justices to EMPATHIZE with your client’s position. Use all empathy strategies we have learned:

2) Constitutional Amendment (s) I am using to make my argument:

Amendment 1:_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Explanation of EXACTLY HOW YOUR INTERPRETATION of this amendment supports your side of the Constitutional Debate. Take language directly from the amendment. Make a direct connection between the language of the amendment and your argument.

Amendment 2 (optional):______________________________________________________________________________________

Explanation of EXACTLY HOW YOUR INTERPRETATION of this amendment supports your side of the Constitutional Debate. Take language directly from the amendment. Make a direct connection between the language of the amendment and your argument.

3) Cite two past Supreme Court rulings and explain EXACTLY how those rulings prove that the court should rule in your favor during this trial. Your language should read something like, “As you yourselves ruled in Roe v. Wade, “(insert quote directly from the court case you are citing)”. Therefore, you must also rule for this because________________________.”

** Use the class “Constitutional Amendment Workbook” as the starting point for your research. I will also give you suggestions for cases to research, helpful websites, and assist you as you search for appropriate quotes. We will spend several days in the library.

Past Supreme Court Case you are using to prove your argument:__________________________________________

Explanation of how this case proves WHY the court should rule in your favor. Make a direct connection between exactly what the Supreme Court Justices said in this other case and your current case. Explain how your interpretation of what they said is evidence that your argument is the correct and consistent Constitutional argument.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Past Supreme Court Case you are using to prove your argument:__________________________________________

Explanation of how this case proves WHY the court should rule in your favor. Make a direct connection between exactly what the Supreme Court Justices said in this other case and your current case. Explain how your interpretation of what they said is evidence that your argument is the correct and consistent Constitutional argument.

4) CLOSE: Definition of Justice that supports your argument:_______________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Explanation of how this definition of Justice proves WHY the court should rule in your favor, using evidence.