Describes the author's experiences as an immigrant to the United States in 1940 and his subsequent tutoring of an elderly Hungarian lady in her preparations for the citizenship examination. (GEA)

Discussing civil and criminal law, state and federal courts, and law in the workplace and marriage, this article provides a quick look at legal issues apt to be important to the average person. The article demonstrates how student's lives, work, and families are affected by the law. (GEA)

Examines the concept of federalism in terms of its past history and its encouraging future. Calls for a revival of concern for federalism not simply as a convenient administrative arrangement but as a fundamental constitutional value. (BSR)

Reviews recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. The decisions involve student rights, the Gramm-Rudman budget law, homosexuals' right to privacy, the regulation of state primary elections, pregnancy and employment policy, Miranda Rights, and the legality of certain police searches. (JDH)

Prepared as a Law Day speech for the State Bar of Texas, this article examines law and lawyers in the United States, past, present, and future. Includes sections on the adversary system, the legal profession, historical legal theory, and the rule of law. (GEA)

Describes an Illinois state law test which is constructed to promote discussion and debate about topics which directly affect students and other citizens. Provides questions which can be used as a basis for tests in any state and includes a discussion guide which answers test questions according to Illinois state law. (GEA)

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)

Examines the pros and cons of various methods of judicial selection (appointment, election, merit selection, etc.) and outlines strategies for making the issues meaningful to students. Discusses the background and importance of judicial independence and describes the appropriate conduct of judges in the political arena. (GEA)

Identifies five great ideas of the U.S. Constitution as power, liberty, justice, equality, and property. The first of two installments, article focuses on how ideas of power and liberty are presented in the Constitution. It also discusses how people may exercise power through voting and public protest and liberty through their First Amendment…

Presents a lesson plan in which students learn about diversity in general and examine issues of diversity in school settings. Explains how students can design a plan or proposal to promote understanding and appreciation for diversity and to combat diversity problems at school. Includes objectives, background, and student handouts. (DK)

Provides an overview of some of the decisions made by the Supreme Court in 1996. Includes a brief profile of the court, a graphic display illustrating its role in the federal court system, the number of signed opinions by each justice, and a profile of chief justice William H. Rehnquist. (MJP)

Provides a brief review of recent education-related issues facing Congress. Discusses attempts to tighten discipline guidelines concerning emotionally disturbed students currently protected under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, indecent material and the Internet, school prayer, and criticisms directed at the preference for…

Presents a lesson plan dealing with the right to vote. Identifies groups which were not allowed to vote at the time of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, and explores why the vote was denied and what changes in society would have allowed the groups to vote. (BSR)

Describes seven activities for teaching secondary social studies students about court juries. Students observe and discuss the actual selection of a jury, play shadow-jury in an actual court case, interview jurors, research student courts, and survey and discuss student opinions on jury-related issues and court decisions. (AM)