Unit 5: The Judiciary Inquiry Organizer

Guiding Question: What is the role of courts in the American constitutional order?  

Objectives:  

• Students will explain the purpose of courts.  
• Students will describe the connections between the U.S. Supreme Court and the constitutional principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors of the United States government. 
• Students will differentiate court levels and describe the difference between state and federal courts, and the difference between civil and criminal trials.  
• Students will describe the facts, issues, holdings, reasonings, decisions, and opinions of landmark Supreme Court cases. 
• Students will analyze documents to explain how Supreme Court cases relate to foundational documents and other primary or secondary sources. 

Unit Introduction	Resources  Student Video Introduction  Primary Source and Activity: Map of Federal Court Districts  Primary Source: Infographic of Levels of Courts  Primary Source: John Locke, Second Treatise of Government  Lesson: The Rule of Law
What Are the Roles and Responsibilities of the Different Court Levels, and How Do These Courts Interact?	Resources  Background Essay: Original Design of the Court  Primary Source: Federalist #78, May 28, 1788  Primary Source: Article III  Primary Source and Activity: Map of Federal Court Districts  Primary Source: Infographic of Levels of Courts  Lesson: Judicial Review   Supplemental Resource  Judiciary Act of 1789
How do Landmark Cases Impact the Way Government Works and the Daily Lives of Citizens?	Resources  Background Essay: Timeline of Periods of the Court  Supreme Court DBQ  Supreme Court Cases Scenarios: How Would You Decide?  Discussion Guide: Landmark Cases
How Does the Judiciary Help Balance the Powers Between the Branches of Government?	Resources  Background Essay: The Court Over Time  Point – Counterpoint  The Supreme Court is not the Final Authority on the Meaning of the Constitution The Supreme Court is the Final Authority on the Meaning of the Constitution
Why Do We Defer to the Supreme Court for the Final Say over the Constitution?	Resources Video on Precedent  Lesson: Precedent and Change
Assessments	Resources  Multiple Choice Questions  Version 1  Version 2  AP-style Free Response Question