The Supreme Court: Understanding the Judicial Branch and the Balance of Power

During this four week, self-paced course, learners will spend each week focusing in on a different aspect of the judicial branch of government and its contribution to the overall governance of the United States.  Using lessons which correspond to national learning standards, the materials and case studies will explore each issue in depth. 

The first week of this class will focus on federalism and the challenge that the Supreme Court has in upholding the Constitutions balance of state and federal authority and power. Questions such as: What are the arguments in favor of a weak national government that gives more power to states versus a strong national government that holds more power than state governments? What is federalism? How has the Supreme Court further defined the balance of power under federalism? How is federalism evident today? will be considered as we study the case of McCulloch v. Maryland to better understand the Supreme Court’s contribution. 

The second week of class, we will turn to consider the fourteenth amendment and the Supreme Court’s application of it. Why were the promises made by the post-Civil War amendments so important? Learners will analyze and compare important Supreme Court decisions involving the Fourteenth Amendment and civil rights. Learners will also study how the Court applied the Fourteenth Amendment to questions involving the liberty of contract and protections for working people. By looking at the application of the fourteenth amendment from post civil war through to the new deal learners will understand how this amendment is associated with due process and equal protection, as well as understanding the impact of the Supreme Court on workers rights at the beginning of the century. Finally, in these case studies, learners will be able to understand and identify the importance of dissent in Supreme Court decisions. 

In the third week of this course learners will struggle with the same challenges faced by the Supreme Court -- how to balance the rights of individuals to exercise their civil liberties and the needs and goals of others in society. Students will reflect on their own ideas of liberty, and learn how to define and identify civil liberties. Through a historic case study involving the Pledge of Allegiance, they will analyze First Amendment rights in light of laws passed to increase citizenship, knowledge of our country, and patriotism.  By analyzing two Supreme Court cases where individual rights conflicted with societal goals: Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940) and West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943), learners will understand the challenges faced by the Supreme Court to uphold this delicate balance. 

Finally, the fourth week will turn to the power and importance of precedence. Learners will begin to understand the definition of precedent and why courts think it is so important. In this lesson, learners will examine the role of precedent in Supreme Court decisions -- why precedents are usually followed and what justices take into consideration when they overturn precedents. Students will analyze the case of Dickerson v. United States (2000), which most Court watchers predicted Chief Justice William Rehnquist would use to overturn the precedents established in Miranda v. Arizona (1966).

Using a combination of pre-taped video lectures from the teacher, readings, audio visual support in understanding the case context, the course will engage learners to work to consider how the Supreme Court works and fits in to the larger scheme of the three branches of American government.