May 24, 2016

THE BASICSTopic: Dissent and the Supreme Court

Articles “If Citizens United Falls, Will Progressives Notice?” (5/2016) (The Atlantic) “Immigrant with Arson Rap Loses Court Battle” (5/19) (Courthouse News Service) “Today in 1986: SCOTUS upholds aerial surveillance by police” (5/19) (Legal Solutions Blog) “Supreme Court rules Spokeo not done with privacy lawsuit” (5/17) (CNET) “A Jury Asked for Life, The Judge Chose Death: Alabama Prepares to Execute 65-Year-Old

Suffering from Dementia Tonight” (5/12) (Atlanta BlackStar) “Elena Kagan Is the Best Writer on the Supreme Court” (3/1) (Slate)

Questions to Consider How does the Supreme Court make decisions? What is a majority opinion? What is a dissenting opinion? What impact have dissenting opinions made? Do dissents have an influence on future opinions?

Do dissents identify issues which should be part of a conversation about justice? Does dissent point to future majority decisions? What are the reasons for a dissent on a judicial opinion? Doe dissents remind us that issues look different in different periods of history? How do dissenting opinions leave the door open to policy changes in the future? Do dissents harm the Court’s prestige and authority? Does the tone of a dissent matter? What was the role of Justice Antonin Scalia as a dissenter on the Court? Who might replace him

as the most eloquent/frequent dissenter? What is the role of Ruth Bader Ginsberg as dissenter in many important cases involving individual

rights? Does a dissent need to refer to key legal principles such as equal protection and due process?

Does it take courage to dissent? Does it require certainty to dissent? Does dissent need both courage and certainty?

Can we predict who would be in the majority and who would be dissenting in any given case? Are surprises in the grouping of dissenters an affirmation of the work the Court does?

Is dissent patriotic? Is dissent damaging? How is the right to dissent guaranteed under the First Amendment?

THE EXTRASPre-teaching, Extensions & Further Reading

“Looking back: Famous Supreme Court dissents” (7/29/15) (Constitution Daily) “What’s the Point of a Supreme Court Dissent?” (1/21) (The Nation) “Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Dissenting for Democracy” (People for the American Way)

Lesson Plans

“Reflections on Dissent” (The Supreme Court, PBS) “Korematsu v. United States & Robert H. Jackson’s Dissenting Opinion” (2/1) (The Robert H. Jackson

Center)

What’s the Connection? Constitutional

“Tinker v. Des Moines: Establishing the Right” (Shmoop) “The power of a Supreme Court dissent” (opinion) (10/29015) (The Washington Post)

Oregon “Gonzalez v. Oregon (2006)” (Street Law)

Students “Protest and Dissent Guidelines” (Harvard Law School)

Oregon State Social Science Standards8.19. Examine important Supreme Court decisions prior to 1880 and the impact of the decisions on government practices, personal liberties, and property rights. 8.26. Examine a controversial event, issue, or problem from more than one perspective. HS.32. Examine and evaluate documents and decisions related to the Constitution and Supreme Court decisions (e.g. Federalist Papers, Constitution, Marbury v. Madison, Bill of Rights, Constitutional amendments).HS.59. Demonstrate the skills and dispositions needed to be a critical consumer of information.HS.60. Analyze an event, issue, problem, or phenomenon form varied or opposing perspectives or points of view.

CCSS Anchor Standards2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. 8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

We the People Lesson ConnectionsMiddle School, Level 2

Unit 4, Lesson 21: How does the U.S. Supreme Court use the power of judicial review?

High School, Level 3 Unit 4, Lesson 25: What is the role of the Supreme Court in the American constitutional

system?