Judicial Branch, Day 4 - Class Recap

Here's my mom, Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, at a parade in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Welcome to your weekend! I enjoyed starting the mock trials today in class. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets Addressed:

Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different branches of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Oye Como Va" by Carlos Santana. Selected for today because of last weekend being Cinco de Mayo (remembering a famous Mexican victory over the French) and because Carlos Santana is an amazing Mexican-American guitarist. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 5/10/18:
News Brief – Francesca
Mock Trial Prep
Present Cases
The National Judiciary

Homework: Read the blog. Look at your grade and improve it, if possible! Next news brief: Sofia.

News Brief: Francesca had the news brief today and talked about this story: CNN.com - Unbridled Trump storms global stage. We talked about the recent diplomatic moves that President Trump has made and discussed their possible impacts.

If you are 16 and not already registered to vote, here's the online enrollment form:

Oregon Secretary of State: Voter Registration

Yay for participating in our democracy! :-)

Mock Trial Prep: I gave the class about 20-25 minutes to finish preparing to present the four cases in the mock trial. Again, I know this was somewhat complicated, but I think we got the hang of it eventually!

Present Cases: During class, we were only able to get to two cases. The first was Morse v. Frederick, involving the humorous (but serious Constitutional issue) of a student holding a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" sign outside of a school in Alaska as an Olympic torch relay went by. In class, the judges found 4-1 for Frederick (the student) in being able to do this as protected free speech. In the actual case, the judges ruled for Morse. Here is the overview:

Oyez.org - Morse v. Frederick

Next, we did a mock trial for the Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 case. This was looking at issues of racial diversity in schools, as well as students being able to attend their own neighborhood school. In class, the judges split 3-2 on this, with the parents winning the case against more diverse schools. Here's the actual case overview:

Oyez.org - Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1

That was it for the day! Next class, we will do the last two trials and then move on with the rest of the judicial branch unit. Remember to hang on to all of your mock trial materials and notes - you will be turning them in! See you Thursday!