Landmark Supreme Court Cases Due Process Folder Pass | Civics & American History

Teach Miranda v. Arizona, Gideon v. Wainwright and in re Gault with this Due Process Landmark Supreme Court Cases Folder Pass, perfect for middle and high school Civics, American History, and American Government students! Students act as junior lawyers assembling the facts of these three cases as they work through the Folder pass, including reading the case files (one-page informational texts detailing the key concepts behind each case), examining the evidence (primary source quotes, images, and even videos!), and completing a comprehension review and short essay response on what they have learned!

In this hands-on activity, students compile evidence from these three Landmark Supreme Court cases to prove (for a fictional client’s case) how the Supreme Court has protected American citizens’ due process rights in the past. This activity can be followed by my Due Process Mystery Investigation, in which students defend a client who has had their due process rights violated during a criminal investigation!

Aligned to the Florida State Standards for Middle School Civics:

• SS.7.CG.3.11: Analyze the effects of landmark Supreme Court decisions on law, liberty and the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.

This Landmark Supreme Court Cases Due Process Folder Pass includes:

✯ “Case Files” on the following Landmark Due Process Supreme Court Cases: Gideon v. Wainwright, Miranda v. Arizona, and in re Gault. Students will investigate the key concepts, vocabulary, historical context, and impact related to three of our most important due process Supreme Court rulings in this activity. Each folder is designed to look like a “case file” with a reading passage, evidence bag, and envelope containing the Supreme Court’s verdict!

Each folder in this Folder Pass includes:

• A one-page reading passage that details the historical background and main ideas of Gideon v. Wainwright, Miranda v. Arizona, and in re Gault.
• Primary source “evidence” that enriches their understanding of each case. These include historical photographs, primary source quotations from the Supreme Court’s majority opinions and the text of the Bill of Rights, and QR Codes to YouTube videos on each case. (These videos are optional and can be omitted if your students can’t use the internet in your classroom!)
• A “verdict” envelope that details not only the Supreme Court’s ruling but the lasting impact of the case.

✯ A 3-page Comprehension Review, where students compile their notes on each of the Supreme Court cases. Questions include comprehension of key facts and vocabulary, collecting evidence to support a claim, and analyzing primary source quotations.

Sample questions include:

• Which Constitutional Amendment did Clarence Gideon claim had been violated during his trial? How so?
• What was the central question in Miranda v. Arizona?
• Consider this quote from Justice Abe Fortas: “Under our Constitution, the condition of being a boy does not justify a kangaroo court.” What does this quote mean in relation to in re Gault?

✯ A short essay response in which students synthesize what they have learned into a brief essay on how the Supreme Court has protected our constitutional right to due process in the past.

This activity is an engaging, hands-on lesson in the importance of our due process rights, and hopefully students will walk away much more knowledgable on how the Supreme Court has protected our right to a fair trial throughout history!

This resource comes as a non-editable PDF and includes Answer Keys.

 

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