Writing a Supreme Court Opinion

Description

Assignment Prompt In this assignment, you will write a three- to four-paragraph Supreme Court opinion for the fictional case of United States v. Fields. Remember, you are serving as a Supreme Court justice. Your opinion must summarize the facts of the case, state your decision, and cite precedent to support your ideas. Assignment Instructions Step 1: Carefully review the progress you have made up to this point. a) Take time to review the facts. (1) Why was Abel Fields convicted? (2) What law was he convicted under? (3) How did the appeals court rule on the case? (4) What has Fields argued in his case before the Supreme Court? (5) What are Fields’s prosecutors arguing? b) Take time to review precedent. (1) What did New York Times v. Sullivan demonstrate about the right to make false statements? (2) What did Texas v. Johnson demonstrate about the right to disagreeable speech? Step 2: Develop a three- to four-paragraph opinion. a) Your opinion should be three to four paragraphs long and written in your own words. b) The introduction should: (1) Review the facts of the case Page 2 | (2) Summarize previous decisions made by lower courts c) The main body should: (1) Explain your opinion clearly in the form of an argumentative claim (2) Cite precedent to support your opinion d) The conclusion should: (1) Describe the importance of the decision you have made (2) Explain how the decision will influence future laws