A) a Supreme Court case of your choosing, in which you provide:
1) a brief summary of the particular case in question, as well as the Constitutional question involved (What
constitutional issue needed to be cleared up by the court?)
2) a brief background of the Court’s previous rulings in this issue area
3) how you think the case should be/should have been decided, based on
Constitutional
precedent and/or
interpretation (not simply your gut feeling!)
NOTE: You cannot choose Roe v. Wade or Brown v. Board of Education as your topic. Both cases have
been covered excessively in previous class papers and are also thoroughly discussed in class.
B)
a recent or pending bill or legislative action of your choosing (national or California state level), in which
you:
1) provide a brief background and history of the legislation in question, explaining its purposes, as well as the
political issues it addresses
2) identify the major players or groups involved (supporters and opponents, including policymakers, interest
groups, etc.), and well as the basic parts of their public arguments and any private benefits which they may get if
the legislation is passed or rejected (i.e. an oil company will not publicly push for legislation because it helps
increase their profits)
3) identify and explain the reasons for the eventual outcome (will it or did it pass and why?)
NOTE: The bill does not have to be recent or pending but newer bills are easier to find information on.
C)
a particular interest group, PAC (political action committee), political party, or political organization active
in current politics, in which you discuss:
1) the organization, its goals, its primary issue area(s), its resources, and its leadership