AP
Government and Politics; Law and Society H/HH
Task: Present a PowerPoint presentation about a landmark ACLU Supreme Court case.
1. What is a landmark case?
A landmark decision is the outcome of a legal case (often thus referred to as a landmark case) that establishes a precedent that either substantially changes the interpretation of the law or that simply establishes new case law on a particular issue. (Wikipedia)
For the purposes of this assignment you will select a landmark case from the list provided below. All of these cases involve civil liberties and include a party in the case which was defended by the American Civil Liberties Union. These cases have all established important precedents which have helped to shape the federal courts’ definition of our most cherished civil rights and liberties in the United States.
You must inform Mr. Crown of your case by Wednesday, October 27. This project is due the day you return from winter break.
2. You will work in groups on this project to create a PowerPoint presentation. Your PowerPoint must address each of the following items and/or issues.
a. Name of the case and names and backgrounds of each party in the case.
b. The facts of the case summarized and stated with accuracy and brevity.
c. The role the ACLU played in the case.
d. The Constitutional question which is at the heart of the case. Specify the amendment(s) or clause(s) in question.
e. Previous court decisions relevant to the precedent established in the case.
f. Arguments for both sides or parties in the case and a summary of the decision reached and precedent established by the Supreme Court.
g. Aesthetic value of your PowerPoint –form, style, presentation.
h. Bibliography with at least five sources in MLA style.
3. Your presentation must be longer than three minutes but must not exceed five minutes.
4. One of your sources must be the actual Supreme Court Decision for your landmark case. I will show you how to download the actual decision handed down in your case from the website Findlaw.com
Landmark Cases
Gitlow v. New York, 268 U.S. 652
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 347 U.S. 483
Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643
Engle v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421
Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335
New York Times v. Sullivan 376 U.S. 254
Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478
Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436
Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503
Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15
New York Times v. United States, 403 U.S. 713
Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238
United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683
Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1
Regents of University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265
Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397
R.A.V. v. St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377
Planned Parenthood of Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833
Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640
Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558
Reno v. ACLU, 521 U.S. 844
Knowles v. Iowa, 525 U.S. 113
For a more comprehensive list of landmark cases see: