1. How do the news and entertainment media depict trials?
2. How are the federal courts organized?
3. How does the Supreme Court work?
4. Why do you think the media devotes more coverage to the president and to Congress than to the Supreme Court? What impression of our legal system do you get from the media?
5. Why do you think our legal system makes a distinction between civil and criminal cases? What are the key differences between the two types of cases?
6. How many Supreme Court decisions can you name? How might your life be different if those cases had been decided differently?
7. What is judicial power and how is it constrained?
8. What are the leading judicial philosophies? Which of the four judicial philosophies described in the text makes the most sense to you? What do you think the advantages and disadvantages of that philosophy might be?
9. What is judicial review? What role does judicial review play in our legal system? Why might it be important for the Supreme Court to have the power to decide if laws are unconstitutional?
10. Why is Marbury v. Madison important? In Marbury v. Madison, how did Chief Justice Marshall strike a balance between asserting the Supreme Court's authority and respecting the president's authority? Do you think justices should take political factors into account when ruling on the law?
11. Why do you think it might be important for judges to follow precedent? What do you think would happen if judges decided every case differently?
12. What qualities do you think are important in Supreme Court justices? Do you think the confirmation process is a good way of selecting justices?
13. How does public opinion affect who gets appointed to the Supreme Court? What role do you think public opinion should play?
14. Imagine you were helping prepare a nominee for the nominations process. What advice would you give?
15. How does the way the Supreme Court presents itself enhance its authority? Are there any disadvantages to seeing the Supreme Court this way?
16. Imagine that Congress kept its deliberations as secret as the Supreme Court does. Why might it be more acceptable for the Supreme Court to keep its deliberations secret than it would be for Congress to do the same thing?
17. Do you think it would be a good thing if reporters and bloggers told us more about the inner workings of the Supreme Court? What are the advantages and disadvantages of keeping the workings of the Court secret?