Using NewsHour Extra Feature Stories

Overview: NewsHour Extra features stories can help students identify and interpret key issues in current events. This activity anticipates one class period, but the follow-up essay might be assigned as homework, or in another period.

Warm Up: Use initiating questions to introduce the topic and find out how much your students know.

Main Activity: Have students read NewsHour Extra's feature story and answer the questions on the reading comprehension handout.

Discussion: Use discussion questions to encourage students to think about how the issues outlined in the story affect their lives and express and debate different opinions.

Follow-up: Students can write an 500-word editorial on the topic expressing their views and send it to NewsHour Extra [extra@newshour.org] for possible publication.

Evaluation: Students are graded on their answers to reading comprehension questions and/or their editorial.

Story: President Bush Nominates Roberts To Be Supreme Court Chief Justice: 09/06/05
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec05/chief_9-06.html

Initiating Questions:

1) What does the Supreme Court do?

2) What are some laws that impact your life?

3) What qualities are important for a Supreme Court Justice?

Reading Comprehension Questions: (click here for printout)

1. Who is John Roberts?

President Bush has nominated John Roberts to be the next chief justice of the U.S. Supreme

2. How is the position of chief justice different from associate justice?

The most important duties of the chief justice involve overseeing the day-to-day tasks of the court.

When a case goes before the nine justices, they listen to the opposing arguments and discuss the legal issues surrounding the case. This discussion, and the vote which follows, is moderated by the chief justice.

When the chief justice is a part of the majority, he or she has the opportunity to either write the opinion or delegate the task to another justice. Much of the power of the chief justice stems from this responsibility. Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes (1930-1941) described this power as "a special opportunity for leadership."

The other significant duty assigned to the chief justice is to head the Judicial Conference, an organization which helps oversee the U.S. court system.

3. What is a "majority opinion"? Why are opinions important?

The court then issues a "majority opinion," describing in legal terms why the justices on the winning side voted as they did. The court also provides a "dissenting opinion" which provides the losing justices an opportunity to explain why they disagree with their colleagues.

Supreme Court opinions serve as the basis for many other lower court decisions and are therefore heavily scrutinized by lawyers and judges across the country.

4. What is known about Roberts' legal philosophy?

Because Roberts spent most of his career as a lawyer hired to argue clients' cases, not much is known about his personal legal beliefs.

5. Who decides whether the Senate will vote on the Roberts nomination?

The 18 senators on the Judiciary Committee will ask Roberts questions and then vote on whether to report the nomination to the full Senate. A majority vote of the Senate is required to confirm a nominee.

6. Who is Arlen Specter and what are his concerns about the current Supreme Court?

The committee chairman, 75-year-old Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, will control the hearings. Specter, who recently lost his hair due to treatment for cancer, has said Roberts will likely be confirmed, but added that there will be questions about recent Supreme Court rulings overturning laws created by Congress.

"[Supreme Court justices] have taken over a great deal of Congress' authority in striking down very important legislation which we enact… key provisions are declared unconstitutional because the court does not think we have a sufficient factual record where I think we have a very extensive record," he said.

"They have challenged our method of reasoning, and I do not believe they have any stature to say that our reasoning is deficient to theirs so that when we select people for the Supreme Court, I think that the Senate is under a very heavy responsibility to do our best to have a proper allocation of power among the branches of government."

7. Who is Patrick Leahy and what is he planning to ask Roberts?

His Democratic counterpart, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, said Congress won't approve Roberts without close scrutiny.

"I wanted to make sure he understands there's a lot of discrimination in the United States today. We have laws that try to redress that and is he going to be open to the application of those laws?"

Discussion Questions (more research might be needed):


1. Do you think Roberts will be confirmed? Why or why not?

2. What are some issues that you predict the courts will have to deal with in the next decade or two?

3. Read, watch or listen to this NewsHour story about the past Supreme Court session:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june05/scotus_6-28.html

List the Supreme Court decisions mentioned. Write down whether you agree or disagree with each decision. There is no way to know exactly how Roberts would have voted, but take a guess from what you've read so far. Would it have changed the final decision?

Write a 300-500 word essay on either of these topics providing clear examples. Send your completed editorial to NewsHour Extra (extra@newshour.org). Exceptional essays might be published on our Web site.