Case Project

AMERICAN LEGAL HISTORY II

Rutgers, Newark: Fall 2019

Case Project

Directions:

Step 1 → Select a Supreme Court case related to one of our course themes (14th Amendment, Civil Liberties in Wartime, Civil Rights, or Freedom of Speech, Protest, and Political Speech). You can choose a case listed on our syllabus and discussed in class or a case related to the themes that we did not (or that we are not projected to) cover in class.

Step → Research the context of the case to get a sense of what important events or developments at the time might have impacted the case. Please go beyond the broad contextual introductions shared for cases discussed in class.

Step 3 → Read and analyze the case syllabus and the majority and dissenting opinions. For introductory overviews to the cases, I recommend https://www.oyez.org/ . For the full-text of the case syllabus and opinions, I recommend https://www.law.cornell.edu/ .

Step 4 → Construct a well developed 2 - 3 page response to the following two prompts. Please be sure to develop your response to each prompt evenly over the course of your essay:

· To what extent did the context and historical developments relative to your case have an impact (factor in the decision as well as the majority and dissenting opinions when discussing the impact)?

· Compare and contrast the majority and dissenting opinions while arguing which of those opinions has had a more enduring impact on law in American society.

Please be sure to utilize textual evidence in shaping your response. Please be mindful of plagiarism and carefully cite all of your sources. Please feel free to schedule a time to meet during office hours or reach out via email if you have any questions about this project.

Submit via Blackboard.