Unit 8- Bill of Rights in Current Events

Learners can:

• analyze the content of selected current events articles related to the Bill of Rights

• describe Bill of Rights issues that appear in current events with classmates

​Lesson Overview

Although the Bill of Rights has existed for more than 200 years, the way people and the courts interpret its protections varies depending on the circumstances of individual cases, as well as the prevailing judicial ideology of the particular court. As a result, there is no clear and absolute way to define exactly how and when the Bill of Rights applies in every scenario.

Technological advances present new circumstances that can change the way the Bill of Rights is understood.

For example, in 2023 the Supreme Court heard a Fifth Amendment double jeopardy case in Smith v. United States. Read the details of the case below, and think about how the court might rule under the unique circumstances of this case.

Smith vs. United States 2023

• Timothy Smith was indicted in the Northern District of Florida for hacking into the computers of a business located in that district.

• Smith claimed he was tried improperly because he hacked the business from his home in Mobile, Alabama, located in the Southern District of Alabama.

• Additionally, the company's servers were located in a different jurisdiction, the Middle District of Florida.

• A federal court ruled that Smith was tried in the wrong jurisdiction and should stand for re-trial in Alabama. Smith claimed the court violated his Fifth Amendment protection from double jeopardy.

​Should the defendant be tried again for the same crime because he used the internet and his location and the location where the crime occurred were different?

​Ruling in Smith v. United States (2023)

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Smith could be tried again for the same crime because when a conviction is obtained by an error, the remedy is that the defendant is entitled to a retrial.

Essential Question:

How do different sources report on news stories related to the Bill of Rights?

In this activity, you will analyze two different articles related to the Bill of Rights.

You will be able to determine what they are ruling on the cases and if you agree with the decision being made.

In this unit, you have learned about the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution that prohibit the government from denying fundamental rights without due process.

DISCOVER