For this assignment, you will write one essay. Your goal is to demonstrate a good grasp of the relevant readings and course themes, and to analyze and evaluate these things in a coherent and insightful fashion. Your essay should be clear, well-argued, and firmly grounded in the relevant texts. You should offer competent citations to the course readings when appropriate (parenthetical citations with a page number are sufficient). Essays that fail to meet these criteria will be heavily penalized.
There is no need to employ any sources outside the readings assigned on the course syllabus. As long as you are employing course readings, there is no need for a works cited page.
Your typed essay must be 1500-2000 words long. Please double-space, use reasonable font and margins, and number your pages. Also, please provide a word count for your essay. Essays that fail to provide a word count, and/or do not fall within the word requirement, will be docked points. See the syllabus.
I’d advise a few things: (1) Try to offer a solid thesis statement for your essay; (2) Divide your essay into paragraphs with good transitions between ideas. Make sure that each sentence follows from the one that precedes it; (3) PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD.
Let me know if you have any questions. I’m happy to help.
The Essay Questions:
Please answer only one of the following essay questions. If you answer more than one question, I will only grade your first response.
Q1. Write an essay explaining the significance of the following decisions in the development of the Supreme Court’s reasoning on freedom of speech: Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942); Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969); Texas v. Johnson (1989); R.A.V. v. City of Saint Paul (1992). Is there any rhyme or reason to the Court’s trajectory in these cases? Offer reasons for your opinion and develop your argument with reference to the decisions (including any dissents you deem relevant). You may assume I am familiar with the facts of the cases.
Q2. In class, we’ve been discussing the post-1937 development of “civil liberties jurisprudence” in defining and defending the rights of citizens (as opposed to the older, more legislative-centered tradition of civil liberty). With this in mind, write an essay discussing the significance of the following in the ascendency of “civil liberties jurisprudence” in freedom of religion cases: West Virginia v. Barnette (1943), Everson v. Board of Education (1947), Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), Wallace v. Jaffree (1985). You may discuss any dissenting opinions you deem particularly relevant. Focus on thoughtful analysis rather than simply reporting the particular facts of the cases.
Q3. Write an essay explaining the significance of the following for the Supreme Court’s reasoning on free exercise of religion: Sherbert v. Verner (1963); Oregon v. Smith (1990); City of Boerne v. Flores (1997); Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores (2014). How does the reasoning of each case build upon (or respond to) the reasoning in the cases preceding it, if at all? You may discuss any dissenting opinions you deem particularly relevant. Focus on thoughtful analysis rather than simply reporting the particular facts of the cases.
