If You Have 2.5 to 3 Hours with a Group
Conduct realistic courtroom simulations with these Bill of Rights programs that center on realistic scenarios in which law-abiding teens could find themselves. Jury deliberations are the centerpiece of these events that leave participants motivated to serve willingly when called to service.
First Amendment
Realistic Courtroom Simulations: Three landmark Supreme Court cases are updated with social media and school protest scenarios that anyone can relate to easily.
Preparation Time: 30 minutes.
Program Duration: 2.5-3 hours.
Student Audiences: High school, community college, and university students.
- Elonis v. U.S.—Off Campus: Teens on Facebook
- Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier—On Campus: Teens on Facebook (Civil Case)
- Morse v. Frederick—At a School-Sponsored Event: Teens’ Self Expression Can Be Curbed by Schools
Student or Adult Audiences: High school and community college students, adults, and lifelong learners.
- U.S. v. Alvarez—Does the First Amendment Protect Lies?
Fourth Amendment
Realistic Courtroom Simulation: When school officials search the backpacks of contemporary teens at school, the scenario looks a lot like New Jersey v. T.L.O and so does the courtroom action.
Preparation Time: 30 minutes.
Program Duration: 2.5-3 hours.
Student Audiences: High school, community college, university students.
- New Jersey v. T.L.O.—On Campus: School Officials Search of a Teen’s Backpack
Fifth Amendment
Realistic Courtroom Simulation: The evergreen story of Miranda v. Arizona and the teen-relevant J.D.B. v. North Carolina that extended Miranda rights to minors, set the stage for a fictional scenario in which law-abiding high school students could find themselves.
Preparation Time: 30 minutes.
Program Duration: 2.5-3 hours.
Student or Adult Audiences: High school, community college, and university students; and adults.
- Miranda v. Arizona—What are Miranda Rights?
- J.D.B. v. North Carolina—Do Teens Have Miranda Rights, Too?
Sixth Amendment
Realistic Courtroom Simulation: The legacy of Gideon v. Wainwright comes through in In re Gault and in a believable, but fictional scenario.
Preparation Time: 30 minutes.
Program Duration: 2.5-3 hours.
Student or Adult Audiences: High school, community college, university students; and adults.
- Gideon v. Wainwright—Indigent Defendants and the Right to Counsel
- In re Gault—Do Teens Have the Right to an Attorney, Too?
- Carey v. Musladin—Victims’ Free Expression Rights v. Defendants’ Right to an Impartial Jury
Resources produced by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. For more, go to http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources.