SUPREME COURT REPORT
This outside assignment consists of reading about one of the issues that has recently faced our U.S. Supreme Court and preparing a written report on your observations. I have provided a link for each case that provides a wealth of information regarding each issue. Please choose to write on one of the following Supreme Court cases set forth below.
Purpose of the Assignment:
The purpose of this exercise is to understand the legal issues involved and the method by which courts arrive at decisions. I would like for you to outline the legal issue being presented and analyze the arguments on both sides of the case. Do your best to cite the legal topics you think are involved from the text. Remember this assignment is also a measure of your ability to think critically. Provide depth and reasoning to your answers. While a portion of the grade will reflect whether you read the material, the majority of the grade will consist of your own analysis of the issues at hand. Please give your opinion on how you would vote if you were on the Court. This is not a political paper so your opinions must be based on legal reasoning. Only in answer to item 6 below should you express a political opinion if you chose to do so.
Report:
Each report should be between 1200 and 1500 words. You should provide the following information:
1. Name of the case(s)
2. Type of issues involved (Substantive vs. Procedural rights, Bill of Rights, Equal Protection, etc.) Try to be specific
3. A description of basic facts of the case
4. The decision of the court and the reasoning of the majority opinion and the reasoning of the dissenting opinion if any. You should also set forth which judge wrote the decision.
5. Your personal opinion on the decision itself.
6. Your personal thoughts on the legal system and the issues involved in the case.
Please make sure that your paper addresses all six of these items.
In order to accomplish the six items set forth above you should first read the decision in the case. The website that I have linked to with the cases is called SCOTUSBLOG (SCOTUS is an acronym for Supreme Court of the United States) and it will contain the decision of the court. In addition to the decision of the court this website contains commentary and additional material/resources that will help you understand the case. Although this website should contain all of the resources that you need, you may consult any other articles /resources to help you understand the case.
Citations: If you quote from the court’s decision there is no need to provide a citation although you should identify if the quote is coming from the majority opinion, the concurring opinion, or the dissenting opinion. If you quote outside sources you should provide a citation.
Commerce Clause Independent Federation of Business vs. Sebelius http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/national-federation-of-independent-business-v-sebelius/Can Congress force you to purchase health insurance. Commerce Clause.
Same Sex Marriage:Obergefell v. Hodges http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/obergefell-v-hodges/ . May states deny same sex marriage .
Gene Patents:Assoc. for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. Are human genes patentable?
Criminal DNA Samples:Maryland v. King
Does the 4th Amendment allow police to collect and analyze DNA from people arrested and charged with serious crimes
Search and Seizure; Florida v. Jardines and Florida v. Harris
Is a search by a trained police dog the kind of inspection that must be done so that it does not violate the constitutional right to privacy?