1. What are the powers and structure of the federal courts?
A U.S. Government Lesson

2. The Judicial Branch The Supreme Court The Judicial Branch
Look at the words below and determine how much you might already know about them.
The Supreme Court
The Judicial Branch
Supreme Court cases

3. Jeopardy Rules for Practice Round
The teacher determines if the answer is correct.
When a group is called upon by the teacher, the group can discuss and answer the Jeopardy question together.
The teacher can call “time” when a group takes too long in deciding on an answer.
If a group misses an answer, other groups can choose that question when it is their turn.

4. Jeopardy Rules for Round 2
The teacher determines if the answer is correct.
The teacher calls on one group member in each group and ONLY that group member can answer the question.
That group member can use the study guide to help answer the question.
The teacher can call “time” when a group member takes too long.

5. The Federal Court System
Constitution
The Supreme
Court
Numbers
Only
Landmark
Supreme Court
Cases
Legal Terms
$100
$100
$100
$100
$100
$200
$200
$200
$200
$200
$300
$300
$300
$300
$300
$400
$400
$400
$400
$400
$500
$500
$500
$500
$500
Final Jeopardy

6. 1 - $100 The three branches of the U.S. government.
What are the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch?

7. 1 - $200 The highest court in the land created by the Constitution.
What is the Supreme Court?

8. 1 - $300 Name one responsibility of the Supreme Court.
What are…. cases that interpret the Constitution; OR involve foreign ministers or ambassadors; OR those cases that are between two states, citizens of two states, OR between the United States and foreign governments? An
The Supreme Court can also hear cases that have been appealed in the lower federal courts.

9. 1 - $400
The document guarantees an impartial trial with a jury of your peers.
What is the Constitution?

10. 1 - $500 The length of time a U.S. Supreme Court justice can serve.
What is their lifetime?

11. 2 - $100 The title of the “head judge” of the Supreme Court.
What is the Chief Justice? The current chief justice is Justice John Roberts.

12. 2 - $200 This person nominates Supreme Court justices to the bench.
Who is the President of the United States?

13. 2 - $300
The group that approves the nomination of a Supreme Court justice.
What is Congress or the Senate?

14. 2 - $400 The process by which the Supreme Court hears a case.
What is judicial review?

15. 2 - $500
What the Supreme Court can do to a law it finds unconstitutional.
What is “null and void”?

16. 3 - $100
This is number of branches of U.S. government.
What is 3?

17. 3 - $200
The number of Supreme Court justice positions.
What is 9?

18. 3 - $300 The current number of vacancies on the Supreme Court bench.
What is 1? Antonin Scalia passed away in 2016, and Congress has waited to appoint a new Supreme Court justice.

19. 3 - $400
The number of U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals (federal courts).
What is 13?
The federal government has divided the states into 13 districts for the purpose of hearing cases appealed by the lower federal courts.

20. 3 - $500
This is the number of federal District Courts in the United States.
What is 94?

21. 4 - $100
This landmark case determined what types of cases the Supreme Court would hear.
What is Marbury v. Madison?

22. 4 - $200
This Supreme Court case gave us “separate but equal” opportunities and eventually led to the Jim Crow laws.
What is Plessy v. Ferguson?

23. 4 - $300
This Supreme Court case allowed students of any race to attend school for equal opportunity to an education.
What is Brown v. the Board of Education?

24. 4 - $400
This Supreme Court case allowed students freedom of speech, as long as it did not disrupt the school day.
What is Tinker vs. Des Moines School District

25. 4 - $500
This Supreme Court case determined the 2000 presidential election.
What is Bush v. Gore?

26. 5 - $100
The process in which the Supreme Court hears a case based on certain criteria.
What is Judicial Review?

27. 5 - $200
When a case is sent to a higher court because the rule of law is being challenged.
What is on Appeal?

28. 5 - $300
The legal power or ability of a specific court to hear a case.
What is Jurisdiction?

29. 5 - $400
The promise written on the Supreme Court building and guaranteed by the Constitution.
What is Equal Justice under the Law?

30. 5 - $500 The number of cases the Supreme Court chooses per year.
What is the Docket? The Supreme Court has a docket of about 150 court cases a year.

31. Final Jeopardy
Who is the civil rights attorney who argued the Brown v. Board of Education case and later became a Supreme Court justice himself?
Thurgood Marshall

32. Two Minute Paper
Which Supreme Court case do you believe is the most important for students? Why? Explain your reasoning.
Is there a Supreme Court case that seems unfair to students? Why? Explain your reasoning.

33. Mind Map Example
Mind Map from: Baiba. (2013, January 5). Using mind maps with students. B’s Life with English: Teaching EFL with Technologies [web log]. Retrieved from

34. Show how these words relate to the
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
Supreme Court
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. District Courts
State Courts
Constitution
Judicial
Branch