What is the Supreme Court? Article III of the US Constitution lays out the power and authority of what was thought to be the weakest of the branches in the new United States government.

But is it really?

We will explore the Supreme Court cases that make the court what it is today. From creating the power of “judicial review” (when the courts can review the actions of the executive and legislative branches to decide if those actions are following the Constitution) to outlining what the rights of the citizens of the United States are protected from government interference, we will explore many of the cases that make this country’s laws what they are today.

While there will be a natural progression of court cases starting from the beginning of the United States to the present, students can jump into the classes at any time and feel like they understand what is going on.

In each class, we will start with a background to what is going on at the time the case in question is in front of the Supreme Court, we will go over the facts of the case, students will then make the argument for which side they believe to be correct, and finally, we will go over what the Supreme Court decided and why.

Students will learn to think at a deeper level while also learning to read and pick out the important details.

While the classes are subject to change based on input from students and current events, here is the general guideline for this class:
Fall 2022 Schedule:

Week of September 4 - September 10: Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Week of September 11 - September 17: McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Week of September 18 - September 24: Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Week of September 25 - October 1:  Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
Week of October 2 - October 8: Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
Week of October 9 - October 15: Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
Week of October 16 - October 22: Katz v. United States (1967)
Week of October 23 - October 29: New Jersey v/ TLO (1985)
Week of October 30 - November 5: Schenck v. United States (1919)
Week of November 6 - November 12: Stromberg v. California (1931)
Week of November 13 - November 19: Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
Week of November 20 - November 26: Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
Week of November 27 - December 3: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Week of December 4 - December 10: Korematsu v. United States (1944)
Week of December 11 - December 17: Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Tentative Spring 2023 Schedule (will be updated in December 2022)

Week of January 2 - 8: Chisholm v. Georgia (1793)
Week of January 9 - 15: Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Week of January 16 - 22: McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Week of January 23 - 29: Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Week of January 30 - February 5: United States v. E.C. Knight (1895)
Week of February 6 - 12: Schechter Poultry Corp v. United States (1935)
Week of February 13 - 19: NLRB v. Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation (1937)
Week of February 20 - 26: Wickard v. Filburn (1942)
Week of February 27 - March 5: United States v. Lopez (1995)
Week of March 6 - 12: Korematsu v. United States (1944)
Week of March 13 - 19: Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
Week of March 20 - 26: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Week of March 27 - April 2: Lochner v. New York (1905)
Week of April 3 - 9: Meyer v. Nebraska (1923)
Week of April 10 - 16:  O’Gorman and Young, Inc. v. Hartford Fire Insurance Company (1931)
Week of April 17 - 23:  United States v. Carolene Products (1938)
Week of April 24 - 30: Brown v. Board of Education
Week of May 1 - 7: Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
Week of May 8 - 14: Miranda v. Arizona
Week of May 15 - 21: Roe v. Wade

If there is great interest in this class, I will add other cases to the list to explore.

I look forward to going on this educational journey with you!