JUDGES ON TRIAL: Examining the Selection of Supreme Court Justices

April 8, 2002

JUDGES ON TRIAL
Examining the Selection of Supreme Court Justices

Grades: 6-8,9-12

Subjects: Civics, Social Studies

Related New York Times Article
"More Battles Loom Over Bush's Nominees for Judgeships, By NEIL A. LEWIS", April 8, 2002

Overview of Lesson Plan:: In this lesson, students investigate how different branches of government affect or aid the appointment of a Supreme Court justice nominee and the responsibilities of a judge.

SUGGESTED TIME ALLOWANCE: 1 hour

OBJECTIVES:
Students will:

Define and describe the three branches of American government and the system of checks and balances based on their prior knowledge.
Examine what issues surround the nomination and approval of a Supreme Court justice by reading and discussing "More Battles Loom Over Bush's Nominees for Judgeships."
Investigate how each of the three branches of government affect or aid the appointment of a Supreme Court justice nominee.
Develop and present a poster illustrating how the three branches of government affect or aid the appointment of a Supreme Court justice nominee, as well as offering ideal descriptions of Supreme Court justice candidates; analyze the characteristics of a Supreme Court nominee and defend which candidate would serve the American people most fairly.

RESOURCES / MATERIALS:

student journals
pens/pencils
paper
classroom blackboard
copies of "More Battles Loom Over Bush's Nominees for Judgeships" (one per student)
resources about the United States government, Supreme Court, Constitution, judges and related information (civics textbooks, computers with Internet access, periodicals, library resources)
pieces of poster board or construction paper (one per small group)
markers

ACTIVITIES / PROCEDURES:

WARM-UP/DO NOW: Students respond to the following prompt in their journals (written on the board prior to class): "Fold a piece of paper in your journal into thirds vertically. Label each column with a branch of the American government. Then, in each column, list ways in which that branch maintains and ensures the democratic process." After a few minutes, allow students to share their responses, and write student responses on the board in three columns. Discuss the following questions: Do the branches have equal power? How does each branch represent the beliefs and opinions of the American people? Does it matter if a branch does not do what the public wants? Why or why not? How do decisions in one branch impact the two other branches?
As a class, read and discuss the article "More Battles Loom Over Bush's Nominees for Judgeships," focusing on the following questions:
1. What issues are the White House and Senate battling over, as outlined in this article?
2. Why is Priscilla Owen a controversial candidate?
3. What power does the Senate Judiciary Committee have? What did the Democrats do in March 2002?
4. What message does Mr. Schumer believe the Democrats are sending to President Bush?
5. What does Schumer believe President Bush is trying to do?
6. What has become a big issue in the selection of Supreme Court justices?
7. For what type of candidate is President Bush looking?
8. Why is the rejection of Mr. Pickering a controversial issue?
9. Which candidates are the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee favoring? Why?
10. Which candidates are President Bush seeking to nominate? Why?
11. Why is Justice Owen under close scrutiny?
12. Why is ideology an important factor in choosing a Supreme Court nominee?
Divide students into three groups. Explain that each group will be assigned to one of the three branches of American government and exploring the process of becoming a Supreme Court justice. Each group will be responsible for researching and developing a short oral presentation to share with a small group of students in the class. Assign each group one of the branches of government (executive, legislative and judicial). Students should use all available classroom resources to research the following questions as they relate to the Supreme Court nomination process (written on the board for easier student access):
- What are the main roles and functions of your branch in the American government as a whole?
- How does your branch of government maintain and ensure the democratic process?
- Where within the Constitution are the roles and responsibilities of your branch outlined or defined?
- Who or what committees or parties in your branch are involved in the process of determining Supreme Court justices? How many members are involved, and what are their functions?
- When in the timeline of nominating and approving a Supreme Court justice does your person, committee or party get involved?
- Why does your branch of government need to be involved in this process?
- How does your branch of government help maintain the system of checks and balances in determining who sits on the Supreme Court?
- Within the Bush administration, who are the specific people in your branch currently in discussions on this matter?
- Within the article "More Battle Loom Over Bush's Nominees for Judgeships," how is your branch of government currently involved?
After groups complete their research, "jigsaw" students so that they form groups of three, each group having one member representing each branch of government. Each member of the group should present his or her assigned branch of government to the other students in the group, focusing on the questions answered through the larger group research.
WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: Each small group creates an illustrated poster showing how the three branches of government affect or aid in the appointment of a Supreme Court justice nominee. Each group should also identify characteristics that they feel an ideal Supreme Court candidate should possess, based on the research gathered during class. In a future class, each group will present their poster and Supreme Court candidate qualities to the class. As a follow-up after all groups have presented, each student should prepare a detailed explanation in response to the following question: "Which ideal Supreme Court candidate would you nominate? Why would this candidate's qualities best serve the nation's democratic process?" Students should present their opinions, and the class should vote to elect their ideal candidate. Results may be posted in the school newspaper.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

What role does objectivity play in the nomination and appointment of a Supreme Court justice?
How long is the term of a Supreme Court justice, and why?
Why is choosing a Supreme Court judge such an important issue?
Why is there controversy over what President Bush is trying to do with regards to the Supreme Court? How do you feel about this?
Why is there controversy over what the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee trying to do with regards to the Supreme Court? How do you feel about this?

EVALUATION / ASSESSMENT:
Students will be evaluated based on written journal entries, participation in class and group discussions, thoughtful completion and presentation of posters, and thoughtful completion of written responses evaluating worthiness of ideal Supreme Court justice candidates.

VOCABULARY:
federal, nominee, post, opponent, provoke, denunciation, blunt, ideology, counsel, mainstream, competence, philosophy, precedent, restraint, extract, moderate, dissent, unconscionable, activism, engender, spectrum

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

Conduct a debate about the appointment of Supreme Court justices for lifelong terms. Explore the benefits and drawbacks in the only lifelong appointment in the American political system.
Select a controversial quotation from the article that you find interesting, and write a detailed response to it explaining the point of view behind the speaker's words. Do you agree or disagree with this person's opinion? Why or why not?
Write a persuasive essay responding to the following question: "Can a person truly be impartial?" Think about this question in terms of what is expected from a Supreme Court justice. Back up your opinion with facts from the article and personal experience.
Develop a guide, textbook chapter or other creative piece about some of the controversial appointments made by recent presidential administrations (such as those of Presidents Clinton, Bush, Reagan and Carter). Who was involved? What was the big issue or issues? What was the outcome?
Create a timeline showing the history behind controversial Supreme Court issues such as abortion, affirmative action, freedom of speech and civil rights. Be sure to include key issues, landmark cases and decisions.

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:
Global History- Select three different countries and research their judicial systems. How are they similar to and different from the American judicial system? Are their any aspects of these foreign systems that you believe should be incorporated or rejected by our lawmakers? Create a comparison/contrast poster of your findings.

Journalism- Create an editorial that responds to the following: "Where is the voice of the American public during the nomination process for Supreme Court justices? Do you think the public should have more or less of a say?" Be sure to back up your opinion with facts.