Reference no: EM133761060

Assignment Instructions:

For this assignment, you should choose a U.S. Supreme Court criminal case discussing a topic covered in this class (e.g., Fourth Amendment search and seizure, self-incrimination, etc.). You may not use a case you wrote about in another class.

Read through the case opinion, taking notes as you go. You need the following information:

A. Introduction:

1. Identify the name of the case and the year the Supreme Court issued the opinion;

2. Identify the parties involved in the case.

3. Briefly describe the focus and controversy of the case.

B. Facts - identify the facts relevant to the Court''s ruling in the case (leave out extraneous detail)

C. How did the case move through the courts before reaching the U.S. Supreme Court?

1. Which court had original jurisdiction in the case?

2. How did the lower courts rule?

3. Who appealed? On what grounds?

D. How did the U.S. Supreme Court rule in the case?

1. What did the Court decide?

2. What was the reasoning of the majority opinion?

3. Was there a dissent or concurring opinion?

4. What was the reasoning of any concurring or dissenting opinions?

E. Conclusion: How does the Court's ruling in the case affect Americans today?

1. Has the Court's ruling in the case affected other rulings in other cases?

2. Has the Court's ruling affected the interpretation and enforcement of any particular laws and how those laws are enforced?

3. If applicable: Has the Court's ruling in this case affected you, or someone you know, personally?

Next, write your essay. If you organized your information based on the suggested outline above, then you just need to flesh out what you learned and put it into a footnoted two- to three-page essay. Your first paragraph is the introduction (the information under letter A of your outline), the second paragraph is the information under letter B, and so on.