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Internet Activities: The Judiciary
 
 
 

Just the Facts, Please

  1. The Supreme Court (http://www.supremecourtus.gov)

    2. What is the history of the Supreme Court? How many justices have sat on the Court, and who served as Chief Justice? What are the traditions and procedures of the institution? Briefly discuss any three cases the Court has heard in the last year.

  2. Department of Justice (http://www.usdoj.gov)

    3. What is the role of the Department of Justice in protecting the following issues: Civil Rights, Disability Rights, Employment Discrimination, Educational Opportunities, Consumer Fraud, Immigration, and Youth Violence? What are some the laws the DOJ use to promote these issues?

  3. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) (http://www.fbi.gov)

    4. What is the motto and history of the FBI? What are the primary investigative responsibilities of the FBI?

  4. The Sentencing Project (http://www.sentencingproject.org/)

    5. According to their website, how many persons are incarcerated in the United States? What are the demographics of those in prison? How many are on probation? What is the estimated amount of money spent on building new prison facilities? Why won’t the "3 Strikes and You’re Out" law reduce crime? What is the current policy regarding crack/cocaine sentencing? What are the proposed changes in the crack/ cocaine sentencing laws?

  5. Death Penalty (http://deathpenaltyinfo.org)

What are the national statistics (by gender and by race) of the Death Row population? How many have executed since 1976 and in 2000? What are the goals of Moratorium 2000, ACLU Death Penalty Campaign, or Amnesty International Death Penalty Campaign? Why does the website argue that the death penalty is ineffective?
 
       
   
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Exploration

1. The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog. Its mission is "to investigate, expose, and remedy abuses of power, mismanagement, and government subservience to special interests by the federal government." Access POGO’s web site at http://www.pogo.org

  1. What are three issues of special interest to POGO?
  2. Select one of the categories listed on the left side of the main page. What are POGO’s criticisms of the industry? Do you find its complaints compelling?
  3. How would you become an intern for POGO?

 2. To review the "Visitor’s Guide" to oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court go to http://www.supremecourtus.gov/. Select the "Oral Arguments" link (at the top of the page) on the main website page. You will then see the sub-link "Visitor’s Guide to Oral Argument." Hit it and after reading the material, answer the questions below.

  1. Approximately how many cases are "granted review" of the more than 7,000 petitions filed with the Court each term?
  2. How many Justices must select a case before it can be heard before the entire Court?
  3. What are legal briefs?
  4. Why are "private conferences" so important to the work of the U.S. Supreme Court?
  5. Who are the primary "participants" in the Courtroom? Who are the "special guests"?
  6. Where are the rival attorneys seated in the Court? What is the significance of the white and red lights?
  7. What are the specific requirements regarding Courtroom seating and public attendance?

3. Go to the Federal Judiciary Homepage at http://www.uscourts.gov/. Select the link to "About the U.S. Courts" on the blue button bar at the top of the page. Then select the link to "Understanding the Federal Courts," then to "Structure of the Federal Courts," then to "district courts" in the second paragraph. Answer the following questions about the document retrieved.

  • How many U.S. district courts are there?
  • Each district court judge is appointed for life, with the exception of which courts?
  • How is the chief judge designated in each district?
  • Describe the responsibilities of magistrate judges.
  • Select the link to "Figure 3" which depicts a flowchart of how a civil case works its way through the federal court system. List the seven basic steps that each case follows through the system.

4. Go to the FindLaw website at http://findlaw.com/casecode/. This website maintains a substantial database of court opinions from the federal court system, including the U.S. Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals. Select the link to the "9th Circuit" in the right-hand column under the Court of Appeals Decisions section of the web page. Then select the link to "Recent Cases". List the top five most recent cases from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Briefly summarize the key points of case you find most interesting. As you can see, more and more federal case opinions are now available on the Internet. They are searchable by party, by year, and some by key words.

5. Go to the Northwestern University Oyez Project website at http://oyez.nwu.edu/. This site has an underlying multimedia Supreme Court database which can help you research information about past and present Justices as well as cases that have been heard before the Court. On the main site page, you will notice the separate links of "Cases," "Justices," and a "Virtual Tour." Regarding the latter, the related "Virtual tour of the U.S. Supreme Court" link allows you to take a 360 degree panorama of the building. You will need to have the appropriate software support to run this program.

Click-on the "Cases" link. You will find that Court cases can be searched by title, citation, subjects, or even date of the decision. As a test of the system, click on "title" and type in Roe v. Wade. Then hit "Docket" in the left-hand column. When was this case argued and who were the advocates? Now hit "Abstract." Summarize the "facts of the case," the "question presented," and the "Conclusion" of the case.

Now go back to the main website page and hit the "Justices" link. This will take you to "The Current Justices." Click-on William H. Rehnquist. Now hit the sub-links "Portrait and Overview," "Education/Work/Legal Experience," and "Biographical Sketch." After reading the material, answer the following:

  • When was Rehnquist born? When was he sworn in as Chief Justice?
  • In what state did Rehnquist first practice law? From what school did he get his law degree?
  • What federal positions did Rehnquist hold before being appointed to the Supreme Court?
  • In outline form, summarize the salient points of Rehnquist’s biography.
  
   
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