Bringing+Judiciary+into+Social+Studies+Curriculum

Federal Judicial Center __**Bring Judiciary into the Classroom--all cases reflect great public debates**__

__**Components:**__
 * Court process and legal questions
 * Parallel public debates
 * Media and public opinion
 * The human dimension--the stories of individual people (judges; parties in the case;)

Bush v. Orleans--enriching the study of Civil Rights Litigation:
 * The unfinished story of Brown v. Board
 * State governments' resistance to desegregation
 * Citizen pressure on the federal courts
 * The limits of court enforcement


 * Begin:**
 * 1) Picture of Ruby Bridges walking out of courthouse; what are the students thoughts about what this picture represents, before you explain the context. Helps show history as a story....
 * 2) Go to Bush v. Orleans Parish School Board
 * Judge Skelly Wright--issued an order, in 1956, that desegregation must take place. Three Questions:
 * What is legal basis for this decree?--Brown v. Board; Constitution
 * What implementation process does this decree imply?--"All deliberate speed."
 * What conflicts are inherent in this ruling?--No actual time frame; no specific instructions on how to do this; no consequences if not followed;
 * These directions are just too loose; creates a challenge to implementing the Brown ruling.
 * Legal decisions are seldom simply about an objective determination of law--must be studied in social and cultural context.
 * 1) Show famous (youtube) clip of Little Rock Nine, and the angry mob approaching children; federal troops brought in; Elizabeth Eckford; Discussion between Eisenhower and Faubus;
 * 2) Ruby Bridges
 * 3) Use primary sources (newspapers, letters, court decisions, etc.) and simulation (__**school board meeting--showing interaction between pros and cons of this**__) in these cases.