Overview In both your textbook and supplemental materials

Overview

In both your textbook and supplemental materials you have learned about how cases make it to the Supreme Court. In this SMALL ESSAY you will have a chance to choose a recent case from the 2014-2019 Supreme Court term, summarize it, think more deeply about its possible impact on politics/your own life and discuss this impact with others. Not all of these cases have been decided yet, so you may also need to find out the status of the case.

Getting Started

Step 1: Choose Your Case

Choose a case that has either been decided or will be decided this term:

You can go to OYEZ.ORG Links to an external site.cases for a list of current cases. If you decide to research some of the cases that have gotten a lot of press recently, you are welcome to choose one of these to research:

• City of Los Angeles v. Patel (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
• King v. Burwell (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
• Obergefell v. Hodges (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
• Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Step 2: Research Your Case

Find out the following information about your case:

• Has a decision been made in your case? If yes, what was that decision? How many Justices voted for/against the decision? (The page for the case you are researching on OYEZ.ORGLinks to an external site. will have this information – at the bottom of the page you can also see who voted for/against this as well as sort by ideology).
• What is the issue being discussed? Summarize the main points.
• What are the two sides of the argument? Summarize those.
• Why do you think this issue this issue is important? What impact could this have? 
• Do you think ideology impacted this case? If so, how?

Some places to go to research more about your issue:

• Oyez.org (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
• SCOTUS Blog (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (the Supreme Court Blog – the search feature will pull up information about your case)
• PCC Shatford Library Databases (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Try Opposing Viewpoints in Context or National Newspapers Core.  If accessing off campus, you will need to enter your LancerPoint ID and password.

Step: 3 Create Your Summary + Thought Questions

Combine the information you have found and create a 250-300 word summary and analysis of this issue for your initial post in your own words based on your research.

Post your summary of your article and the websites you got your information from. Make certain to include a citation. For help with citations you can check out this ezbib.com.

MAXIMUM PAGES NEEDED ARE TWO PAGES…KEEP IT SIMPLE AND BRIEF. Use the FACTS OF THE CASES ABOVE TO GUIDE YOU.