The business of social justice is too important to be left in the hands of those "social scientists" who are primarily responsive to majority fashion, prejudices, and power. (Author)

This activity designed for secondary students provides extensive background on the differences between the executive, the judicial, and the legislative branches of government. Through the case study method, students learn how the powers of the three branches co-exist and conflict. (BSR)

Offers a learning activity in which secondary students are given background on Supreme Court jurisdiction. Students are then presented with various situations in which they must decide "if the court would hear the case" or not. (BSR)

The Constitution is a living document whose meaning was not fixed forever at the Philadelphia Convention. Focuses on the slavery compromise and the Fourteenth Amendment to demonstrate defects of the document and its promising evolution through 200 years of American history. (PS)

Offers a midterm report on United States Supreme Court Cases. The cases dealt with voting rights, affirmative action, jury bias, the handicapped status of AIDS victims, religious holidays for teachers, and political spending of nonprofit corporations. (JDH)

Highlights eight resources available from ERIC for teaching about the U.S. Constitution. (Author/BSR)

Explains that in the 1780s the main political issue in the United States was a solution to problems which would make possible the creation of a great continental power and provide for the settlement and legal organization of the lands west of the Appalachians. Elaborates by explaining the ordinances of the 1780s which brought about this change.…

Section 15 of the 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guaranteed equality to Canadians by April 17, 1985. This study was designed to investigate preparation during the three-year deferral period by federal and provincial/territorial governments to harmonize legislation in the area of education with the Charter's guarantees. (MT)

Examines the work of the framers of the U.S. Constitution in their efforts to improve upon the Articles of Confederation and yet limit the power of unbridled government. (JDH)

Describes a lesson which relates the U.S. Constitution and state and federal actions to the everyday lives of high school students. Students use a time line of a person's life events in order to identify the points at which the state or federal government intervenes. The authority for this intervention is then sought in the U.S. Constitution. (JDH)

Suggests that the United States Supreme Court is moving toward a broad, constitutionally enforcable right of access. Offers support for this from an examination of the opinions delivered in "Richmond" and their logical implications. (FL)

Reviews the proposed Constitutional amendment regulating voluntary prayer in public schools, and charges that it would undermine precedents ensuring the separation of church and state. Discusses the nature of prayer and the role of the public schools. (JAC)

Examples in which federal legislation appears to have stepped beyond constitutional bounds in seeking to affect integral governmental functions and operations of the states. (Author/MLF)

Reviews the historical evolution of the principle of judicial review from its birth under Justice Marshall in the early 19th century to its present state and traces the attendant changes in the role of the U.S. Supreme Court. Available from: Managing Editor, Journal of Politics, Southern Political Science Association, 107 Peabody Hall, University…

Two recent decisions by federal courts of appeals bring into focus the competing policy considerations underlying administrative adjudication and the right to a jury trial. In both cases the safety regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act were violated. (LBH)