1. 06.03 Assignment Instructions
Complete a chart showing how the First Amendment impacted a landmark Supreme Court Case. You will
explain what the case was about and identify two current cases relating to this amendment.
Amendment I - Freedoms, Petitions, Assembly Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press, or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.
Which landmark case will you use to as your
primary example?
Visit the Bill of Rights Institute Landmark Supreme
Court Cases or do quick webs search to find a case.
Note: use search terms like “landmark cases
amendment 1”
Brown v. Board of Education
What is the landmark case about & how was this
amendment upheld?
Please respond in three to four complete
sentences.
Was a landmark United States Supreme Court case
in which the Court declared state laws establishing
separate public schools for black and white
students unconstitutional. The decision
overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of
1896, which allowed state-sponsored segregation,
insofar as it applied to public education. Handed
down on May 17, 1954, the Warren Court's
unanimous decision stated that "separate
educational facilities are inherently unequal." As a
result, de jure racial segregation was ruled a
violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment of the United States
Constitution. This ruling paved the way for
integration and was a major victory of the civil
rights movement.
List two current court cases relating to this
amendment.
Do a quick web search for current court cases.
Note: These cases must be from the last five
years.
1. John Doe #1 v. Reed (2010)
The Supreme Court ruled that the government’s
disclosure of the names of voters who signed a
referendum petition did not violate the First
Amendment
2. Christian Legal Society v. Martinez (2010)
The court ruled that a student organization at a
public university was not free to limit their
members to those who shared their belief system
if that resulted in discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation.