Students will use role playing to learn about the procedure and purpose of questioning witnesses for determination of fact in the adversarial process. They will discuss the evolution of justice over time, and so come to understand the historical motivations for our current system.
Mock Trial Plan
In this lesson, students will stage a mock trial to resolve a hypothetical dispute. They will develop an understanding of the trial process, the roles of those in the courtroom and their importance to the administration of justice, and the significance of their constitutional protections.
Teaching About Due Process and the Law
In this lesson, students will be presented with various cases of discrimination. They will identify the discriminatory practice, and discuss the difference between permitted and illegal discrimination. The instructor might then lead discussion about the difficulties in drafting laws that ensure no discrimination while not interfering too much with private citizens’ freedoms.
Voir Dire Simulation
In this lesson, students will role play real lawyers as they carry out a voir dire simulation for jury selection. They will draft lists of favorable characteristics of jurors beforehand to aid in their questioning. Then, students will be presented with a list of thirty potential jurors and will impanel either a six-person or a twelve-person jury based on the size of the class. By reflecting on the impaneled jury towards the end of the session, students will think critically.
Environmental Laws Timeline Activity
Students will have to select 25 environmental laws in American history from a much larger list. Their goal is to produce their own timeline of American environmental law history to present to the rest of the class. In doing so, they will develop critical thinking and analytic skills and articulate the importance of the Rule of Law to protecting the environment.
Environmentalism Then and Now
This PowerPoint presentation uses modern environmental images juxtaposed with historic images and facts, and then asks students: Is Going Green new? While it is clear that environmentalism and the environmental movement, even environmental law, are historic, it is worth discussing how today’s movement is different from the past. Today there are stricter laws, policy initiatives, social networks, and new technologies.
Exxon Valdez
This unit is composed of many parts highlighting the Exxon Valdez story, including a photograph presentation, maps, personal stories, and Supreme Court documents. Individual parts may be selected or combined for use in the classroom depending on classroom needs. The entire unit is designed to teach students about the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and its impact on the environment and larger society.
Different Treatment for Different Folks
The lesson begins with an illustration of the “separate but equal” doctrine – two water fountains are depicted, one labeled “colored” and the other labeled “white”. Students will discuss how this doctrine was used to justify separate treatment based on race, and that such a policy would not be legal today.
Equality for All: Do We Need an Equal Rights Amendment?
In this lesson, students will learn about the history and current relevance of the Equal Rights Amendment. They will have a mini debate on whether or not the amendment should be ratified, and discuss the implications of such an amendment.
Realizing the Dream Today
Students will analyze a political cartoon depicting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the title of his famous speech, “I Have a Dream.” Discussion of the meaning of the cartoon leads into a more general conversation about rights and equality.