Your assignment is to choose one court case from the syllabus, and to conduct an in-depth analysis of the constitutional issues involved. The main goal of the paper is to answer a seemingly simple question: What lasting impact, if any, did this case have on the development of American constitutional law? In order to answer this question, you will first need to provide the reader with some background. In particular, you should explain what constitutional principle or provision is being contested in your case or episode (e.g., freedom of speech, free exercise of religion, cruel and unusual punishments, etc.). You will then need to give the reader an overview of the state of constitutional law before the episode in question. (For example, how did courts or elected officials act when confronted with similar cases in the past?) Finally, you should explain how the groups or individuals at the heart of your case used constitutional arguments to advance their interests. What were the strongest constitutional points on each side of the dispute, and what constitutional obstacles did each side have to overcome? This background material should lay the groundwork that will allow you to answer the primary research question: How was American constitutional law changed by this case or episode? (Note: You may find that your case or episode did not produce a significant constitutional change; that is a perfectly valid finding if supported by the evidence.)A Note on Sources: Your paper should cite at least five outside sources. Examples of acceptable outside sources include academic books, journal articles, and primary historical sources (such as political speeches or Supreme Court oral arguments). The casebook for this course may be cited, but it will not be counted as one of your outside sources. Some of the best places to locate outside sources include:• The JSTOR electronic database of academic journal articles• The Lexis-Nexis electronic database of law review articles• The HeinOnline electronic database of older law review articles• The New York Times and other major newspapers (searchable online)• Oyez.com (contains audio recordings and transcripts of oral arguments for most Supreme Court cases decided in the last 30-40 years)
