Law Day 2010 Winning Essays

All essays are in format.

6th Grade

7th Grade

8th Grade

"Should" Questions

    There are six possible "Should" questions below. Choose one that you would like to write about. You may create a "Should" question of your own, but you must use one of the Supreme Court cases listed below to support your opinion.

    1. Suppose that companies often allow employees to use their work cell phones to send and receive personal text messages. Should an employer be allowed to inspect personal text messages sent on a company cell phone?

    2. Suppose that an employee is sending lots of inappropriate personal e-mails from work. Should a company be allowed to read communications that employees send from their work e-mail addresses?

    3. Suppose a student creates a Facebook group to insult a teacher. Should a principal be allowed to suspend a student for disrespecting a teacher online?

    4. Suppose that jurors are using their cell phones to google for background information while serving on jury duty. Should jurors in Michigan be allowed to use electronic communications during a trial?

    5. Suppose that jurors are using their cell phones to send tweets about what is happening in the courtroom. Should one-way electronic communications by jurors be banned during a trial?

    6. Suppose that a juror sends a Facebook friend request to the prosecuting attorney while they are both involved in a trial. Should a judge have to declare a mistrial when there is inappropriate social networking activity by jurors during the course of a trial?