Source: http://www.socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/publications/se/6601/660114.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 08:18:57+00:00

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As social studies educators, we know that using controversial Supreme Court cases in the classroom can stimulate discussion, increase knowledge of issues and institutions, and help students hone their critical-thinking skills. Thus, it is worth asking what makes a particular case controversial and which cases are best for classroom use.
A Supreme Court case might have three dimensions of controversy: political, popular, and legal. A case is politically controversial by spurring action or reaction in other branches or institutions of government. For example, the famous case of Brown v. Board of Education engendered significant resistance by several state governments and ultimately forced the U.S. executive and legislative branches to act. Also, on numerous occasions Congress has obviated Supreme Court decisions through the constitutional amendment process. The Fourteenth Amendment reversed the Courts Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) decision by guaranteeing black Americans citizenship, and the Sixteenth Amendment overturned the Courts decisions in Pollock v. Farmers Loan and Trust Co. (1895) and other cases that had ruled income taxes unconstitutional. Controversial cases with this dimension can lead to student learning about the structures of government, federalism, separation of power, and checks and balances, as well as about the issues of the particular case.
A Supreme Court case is popularly controversial when addressing an issue, often moral or religious, that deeply divides society. Discussions of such cases focus on the public reaction to a decision, often prompting grassroots efforts, protests, and political organizing. Classic examples include the movements espousing right to life and school prayer. Popularly controversial cases allow for students to learn about informal political processes and to discuss and analyze values.
In legally controversial cases, legal scholars, writers, and judges respond not so much to the outcome of the case, but to questions about the rationale that the Court used to reach its result. Legal controversy lends itself to critical-skill development by offering students the opportunity to examine precedents, logic, analogy, and consistency in the case.
Few controversial cases fall into only one category because the categories themselves overlap. For the sake of analysis, let us consider a few historical Supreme Court cases.
In this case, Chief Justice John Marshall established the Courts power of judicial review by declaring an act of Congress unconstitutional. Under the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress had granted the Court the power to act in an area not covered by Article III of the Constitution. Although there is no indication that this case was popularly controversial, it did provoke Congress and may have been a factor in Jeffersons attack on the Court, leading to the impeachment of one justice.5 In addition, the validity, scope, and limits of judicial review have been legally controversial since the opinion was written, most recently in the confirmation hearings for Robert Bork, who argued that the judicial prerogative should be limited by the original intent of the founders.
Not all controversial Supreme Court cases immediately reveal themselves, and some, immediately controversial, become less so over time. The decision in Korematsu v. United States sustained the conviction of a Japanese American citizen who violated the exclusion orders of the U.S. military in California during World War II. The Court deferred to the judgment of the military that the exclusion of all Japanese Americans was necessary to defend the coast from potential espionage and sabotage. The Court followed similar reasoning in other cases. With the distractions of war, little popular controversy arose over the decision, but in subsequent years, legal scholars have roundly criticized the results and worry that the case is still good law and a dangerous precedent in times of national crisis. Belatedly, Congress did apologize for the internment of Japanese Americans and passed a reparations bill in acknowledgment of this great injustice.
So how does the case of Bush v. Gore stack up as a controversial case? Near the time of the election, it excited popular controversy, and legal controversy continues. Moreover, the decision has spawned several voting rights lawsuits seeking redress under the Courts equal protection rationale. In addition, the federal government and various state and local governments are researching and implementing new voting systems in response to the decision and the Florida election debacle. In short, Bush v. Gore has all the dimensions of a case that will likely join the ranks of the Supreme Courts most controversial decisions.
1. CBS News Poll (Dec. 14-16, 2000) available at www.pollingreport.com.
2. See Jurist: The Legal Education Network at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Forum (www.jurist.law.pitt.ed).
3. Gary Kamiya, Against the Law, available at www.salon.com.
4. For discussion, see Lawrence Baum, The Supreme Court (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 1998), 175-178.
5. Baum, 23-24; John A. Garraty, The Case of the Missing Commissions, in Quarrels That Have Shaped the Constitution (New York: Harper & Row, 1987), 7-19.
6. Donald A. Downs, Eichman, United States, v., in The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court, ed. Kermit Hall (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 246.
7. Warren S. Apel,, A Brief History of Flag Burning, available at www.equilax.com.
8. Lydia Saad, Most Americans Would Give Old Glory Legal Protection, Poll Analysis, The Gallup Organization (July 6, 1999) available at www.gallup.com.
9. See Rosalind Rosenberg, The Abortion Case, in Quarrels That Have Shaped the Constitution, ed. John Garraty (New York: Harper & Row, 1987), 351-378.
10. Joseph Carrol, Majority of Americans Say Roe v. Wade Decision Should Stand, Poll Analysis, The Gallup Organization (January 22, 2001) available at www.gallup.com.
11. The Supreme Courts Miranda Decision, Poll Analysis, The Gallup Organization (June 27, 2000) available at www.gallup.com.
Marshall Croddy is Director of Program and Materials Development for Constitutional Rights Foundation in Los Angeles, California. Classroom materials on controversial U.S. Supreme Court cases are available on the foundations website (www.crf-usa.org).

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