Discussion Board

The Federal Judiciary has the power of judicial review, which is the power to review the constitutionality of government laws, regulations, and procedures.  Not only this, but the Supreme Court has the final say over what the constitution means and allows for.

In the past 2013-2014 term, the Supreme Court had to deal with some very controversial issues, including the following

–          Affirmative action (Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action)

–          Political contributions (McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission)

–          Public prayer (Town of Greece v. Galloway)

–          Search and seizure (Riley v. California)

–          Contraceptive coverage (Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores)

–          Pollution regulations (Environmental Protection Agency v. EME Homer City Generation)

–          Capital punishment (Hall v. Florida). 

For this discussion board, pick a court case from the 2013-2014 session that you find appealing and in your response, explain in your own words the facts of the case, what the constitutional issue at stake was, how both sides argued this issue, and what the Supreme Court ultimately decided.

Here is a link that provides a complete list of all the cases heard in the 2013-2014 session including the facts, arguments, and Supreme Court ruling: http://www.oyez.org/cases/2013.  The above cases are likely the most interesting to choose from, however, feel free to choose whichever case you want.

Instructions

You will have until March 26th by 7:00pm to post a response.  Your response should include the following:

1. An answer to the question provided in a minimum of 10 quality sentences (1 point).
2. The only evidence you are required to provide for this assignment is what you find on oyez.org.  However, you are welcome to integrate any outside source that you may find (1 point)
3. A full citation of evidence used (1 point).