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Media coverage of the Trayvon Martin case has brought “Stand-Your-Ground” laws to the attention of many throughout the country. Some have speculated that George Zimmerman, charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of Martin, may cite Florida’s “Stand-Your-Ground” law in his defense. Florida’s “Stand-Your-Ground” law was passed in 2005. The law allows those who feel a reasonable threat of death or bodily injury to “meet force with force” rather than retreat. Similar “Castle Doctrine” laws assert that a person does not need to retreat if their home is attacked. Over half of the states in the United States have forms of “Stand-Your-Ground” or “Castle Laws” laws on their books, and more states are considering adding these laws. What constitutional protections and issues are related to these laws?

See the complete eLesson on Stand-Your-Ground laws.

Are you thinking of applying for the Constitutional Academy? Are you thinking of recommending your students to apply? Watch this video from a Constitutional Academy alum to learn more about what to expect during your time at the Academy. Email Academy@BillofRightsInstitute.org if you have questions or see our website at www.BillofRightsInstitute.org/Academy!

On April 2, the Supreme Court delivered a 5-4 decision in Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Burlington. The question in Florence centered around the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable search and seizures. The Court was asked to consider if the Fourth Amendment permits jail officers to conduct a suspicion-less strip search whenever an individual is arrested, including for minor offenses.

The Court upheld a lower court ruling that gave jails the authority to strip search persons entering a jail’s general population regardless of crime. Justice Kennedy, who wrote the majority decision, said “Courts must defer to the judgment of correctional officials unless the record contains substantial evidence showing their policies are an unnecessary or unjustified response to problems of jail security.”

In his dissent, Justice Breyer noted that, “a search of an individual arrested for a minor offense that does not involve drugs or violence—say a traffic offense, a regulatory offense, an essentially civil matter, or any other such misdemeanor—is an “unreasonable searc[h]” forbidden by the Fourth Amendment, unless prison authorities have reasonable suspicion to believe that the individual possesses drugs or other contraband.”

Use this eLesson to teach your students about the Florence case.

Bill of Rights Institute Resources:

Americapedia — Fourth Amendment

National Constitution Center Resources:

The Story Behind Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders — Video

New Resources:

Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders — Oyez

Supreme Court OKs routine jailhouse strip searches — AP

Questions to Consider:

1. What constitutional question was the Court asked to consider?
2. How did the Court rule? What was their reasoning?
3. Should the Court have considered questions of jailhouse security when determining the constitutionality of strip searches? Why or why not?
4. Do you agree with the Court’s ruling? Why or why not?

For Women’s History Month, A More Perfect Blog will feature profiles of influential and heroic female leaders from our middle school curriculum, Being An American: Exploring the Ideals That Unite Us. Use the profiles to start a class discussion on what makes a hero and how each of the people we describe is heroic.

Mary Beth Tinker fought for the right of students to respectfully express their personal views in public school.  Tinker was a thirteen year old middle school student from Des Moines, Iowa in 1965.  She opposed the war in Vietnam.  She, her older brother John, and other students decided to wear black armbands to school to protest the war and mourn the dead.  When they got to school, they were told they would be suspended from school until they returned without the armbands.

Tinker believed the punishment she faced was unjust.  She believed she had a right to express her views in a respectful and non-disruptive way.  She courageously wore the armband even though she knew she would be suspended.  She refused to give up the fight.  She and her brother took their case to the Supreme Court.

In Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) Tinker won her case.  The Court said that the armbands were “akin to pure speech.”  School must have the ability to keep order, but unless students truly disrupt school, they do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”  Mary Beth Tinker’s fight for justice became a landmark victory for public school students’ rights.

This week the Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in the Department of Health and Human Services v. State of Florida, et. al. (2012) case.   The case will decide the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act of 2010.  The justices will hear arguments about several portions of the law including whether the Court has jurisdiction in the case, whether Congress has the power to enact a minimum health coverage provision, whether the “Individual Mandate” portion of the law is within the powers of Congress, whether the law infringes upon the principles of federalism and/or state sovereignty.  Twenty-six states have challenged the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act.  The Supreme Court’s decision is expected in June.

Bill of Rights Institute Resources

United States Constitution

Bill of Rights

Additional Amendments

Federalist 39

Federalist 45

Federalist 46

News Resources

Justices Hear Argument That Health Case Is Premature, New York Times

First round of Supreme Court health care hearings not about health care, FOX News

Supreme Court opens historic health care arguments, Washington Times

Dueling chants as demonstrators vent over U.S. healthcare law, Chicago Tribune

Supreme Court weighs whether health care mandate’s penalty a tax, Boston.com

TV would be a Supreme distraction, South Bend Tribune

The Court and Healthcare Reform, Oyez.org

Oral Argument Audio, Department of Health and Human Servs. v. Florida, SupremeCourt.gov

Discussion Questions:

1. What are the facts in the case? What are the constitutional questions?

2. What is the “Individual Mandate”?

3. What is the Anti-Injunction Act of 1867? Should it apply to this case?

4. What is federalism? Should it apply to this case?

5. What is the Commerce Clause? How does the Solicitor General, arguing in favor of the constitutionality of the law, say it should be interpreted to apply this case? How do the states argue it should be interpreted to apply to this case?

6. Listen to the oral arguments. Which arguments do you find most persuasive, and why?

7. Why do you think people approve or disapprove of the Affordable Health Care Act?

8.  Do you agree that the Supreme Court should not allow cameras in the courtroom?  Why or why not?

Extensions

A. Conduct a class debate on the constitutionality of the Affordable Health Care Act.

-Randomly split the class into two groups.

-Assign each group one of the editorials below to assist in their arguments.

-Give the groups time to research and use any resources available to support their argument.  (They have to stay on the side of the argument in the article they read even if they personally disagree.)

-Allow each side to argue its case and then allow for debate.
Why the health care reform law is unconstitutional, CNN

Opinion: Exchange would offer high-quality, affordable health care, LoHud.com

B. Have students read Federalist Papers 39, 45, and 46 and discuss the questions: What concerns did people have about the balance of power between the federal government and state governments in 1788? What solutions does Madison say the Constitution offers? What actions does Madison say states may take when they perceive the federal government is acting outside its constitutional authority? How, if at all, have these concerns or proposed solutions changed in 2012?

For Women’s History Month, A More Perfect Blog will feature profiles of influential and heroic female leaders from our middle school curriculum, Being An American: Exploring the Ideals That Unite Us. Use the profiles to start a class discussion on what makes a hero and how each of the people we describe is heroic.

Mary Tsukamoto devoted her life to ensuring civil rights for all Americans. She was born in San Francisco to parents who had come to California from Japan. She attended a segregated school, and helped her family grow modest crops despite laws banning Japanese people from owning the land they farmed.

In 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II. President Roosevelt was concerned that people of Japanese decent might aid the Japanese. Roosevelt signed an Executive Order creating detention camps. 120,000 people of Japanese descent – most of them American citizens – were rounded up and forced to live in the camps. They lost their possessions, their livelihoods, and their dignity.

Tsukamoto worked to make sure the story of Japanese Internment would not be forgotten by history. She recorded her experience in a book: We the People: A Story of Internment in America. She also worked with the California History Museum and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC to develop exhibits about Japanese Internment. Despite her experience, she remained committed to self-government. In 1990, Mary Tsukamoto wrote: “Only in a democracy can we correct mistakes. I am proud to be an American.”

Photo Credit: “Gila River Camp, Arizona.” Wartime Relocation Authority.

For Women’s History Month, A More Perfect Blog will feature profiles of influential and heroic female leaders from our middle school curriculum, Being An American: Exploring the Ideals That Unite Us. Use the profiles to start a class discussion on what makes a hero and how each of the people we describe is heroic.

Harriet Beecher Stowe used the power of her pen to open the eyes of a nation to the injustices of slavery.  She was born in Connecticut in 1811.  She lived in a Protestant, abolitionist tradition: her father was a minister, her brother a theologian, her husband a clergyman.

When Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, Stowe knew she had to act.  At the time, women had few ways to engage in politics.  She could not run for office, or even vote, but she was undeterred.  Ever resourceful, she found a political voice in her writings.  She began to do research by interviewing former slaves and others who had personal experience with slavery.  Her first novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, told of the abuse suffered by enslaved people and families in emotional, human terms.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin sold 10,000 copies in its first week and was a bestseller in its time.  She reached peoples’ hearts and minds in a way that politicians had not been able to do.  Historians believe that the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin sped up the outbreak of the Civil War, as more and more people believed the nation had a duty to end slavery.  Harriet Beecher Stowe’s writing truly changed a nation’s view of justice.

Photo Credit: “Harriet Beecher Stowe.” Published by Johnson, Fry & Co., 1872, after Alonzo Chappel.  Part of African American Odessy, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs, Washington DC 20540.  Digital ID: cph 3a12898.

For Women’s History Month, A More Perfect Blog will feature profiles of influential and heroic female leaders from our middle school curriculum, Being An American: Exploring the Ideals That Unite Us. Use the profiles to start a class discussion on what makes a hero and how each of the people we describe is heroic.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought for all of the ideals of the Declaration of Independence – that all people are created equal.  Stanton was born in New York Stat in 1815.  She received a formal education, unlike most women of her time.  She did well in school, impressing her teachers and classmates with her intelligence.  But as a woman, she could not attend the college of her choice.

Stanton was disturbed by women’s lower legal status.  She helped organize the first women’s rights convention in the US in Seneca Falls, New York.  At that convention, the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions was read.  This document, based on the Declaration of Independence and written by Stanton, declared the legal equality of men and women, and listed the legal rights women should have, including the right of suffrage (voting).  Her work helped launch the women’s movement which eventually won women the right to vote.

Stanton knew she was fighting for something bigger than herself.  She did not live to see the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.  Susan B. Anthony wrote when Elizabeth Cady Stanton died, “Mrs. Stanton was always a courageous woman, a leader of thought and new movements.”

PHOTO CREDIT: “Elizabeth Cady Stanton.” Digital ID: cph 3a28976. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-28195.

For Women’s History Month, A More Perfect Blog will feature profiles of influential and heroic female leaders from our middle school curriculum, Being An American: Exploring the Ideals That Unite Us. Use the profiles to start a class discussion on what makes a hero and how each of the people we describe is heroic.

Anne Hutchinson stood up to a religious theocracy (where the church and the government are the same) in defense of religious liberty.  A well-educated minister’s daughter, Hutchinson came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634.  She became a midwife, and she made friends.  Soon she began to invite women to her home for Bible study.

Over the years, Hutchinson attracted a following.  Almost sixty people, both men and women, joined her group.  The discussions at her home soon became more like sermons.  She criticized the teachings of the colony’s ministers.  For anyone – and especially a woman – to go against the official religion of the colony was a crime.  Colony ministers charged Hutchinson with eighty-two “erroneous opinions.”  But she did not keep silent.  She courageously defended her beliefs.  In the end, Hutchinson was convicted and banished.

Hutchinson’s struggle helped spread the values of respect and religious liberty.  In 1789, the Constitution banned religious tests for public office; the First Amendment, adopted in 1791, stopped the federal government from establishing a religion; finally, all the states ended their official churches by the early 19th century.  Anne Hutchinson’s struggle helped religious liberty take root.