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.

The six Supreme Court cases have links to research material. The opinions of the court are often preceded by a "syllabus" that summarizes the actions of the court. Generally, each syllabus begins with a paragraph summary and is followed by numbered summaries of the holdings (rulings) that are found in the case. A one or two sentence summary of the court's holding is often found near the end of the summary paragraph. The syllabus often gives references to page numbers of the opinion. Because findlaw.com has each case on one web page that users scroll through (rather than one web page for every page of the official opinion), citations and page numbers are listed in green colored brackets throughout the opinion. The page number is the last number within the green bracket. Footnotes are blue underlined numbers. Students might wish to read certain pages that are referenced in the syllabus. The full opinion may provide useful quotations or ideas for the essays. It is not necessary for students to read and understand the entire Supreme Court Case.

“A Legacy of Liberty — Celebrating Lincoln's Bicentennial” the ABA theme for this year’s Law Day, was used to generate this year’s “Should” questions. The case law topics that all six of the questions relate to was considered and debated during our Civil War period and during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.

1. Suppose that a newspaper has obtained illegally leaked, classified documents about American involvement in Iraq. Should a newspaper be allowed to print classified documents that could affect our national security?

See New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971)
(then click on “written opinion” and “oral arguments”)

See Landmark Supreme Court Cases and the Constitution: New York Times v. U.S. (1971)

2. Should there be limitations on the freedom of the press during wartime?

See Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919)
(then click on “written opinion”)

3. Should the president nominate Supreme Court justices who have a history of judicial activism?

See Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857)
(then click on “written opinion”)

See Landmark Cases: Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

See A Glossary of Political Economy Terms: Judicial Activism

4. Should political candidates speak out against court decisions that they disagree with?

See Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857)
(then click on “written opinion”)

See Speech on the Dread Scott Decision

5. Should our representatives be elected through a process of free and open debate?

See F.E.C. v. Wisconsin Right to Life, 551 U.S. ___ (2007)
(then click on “written opinion” and other links)

See Landmark Supreme Court Cases and the Constitution: F.E.C. v. Wisconsin Right to Life (2007)

6. Should the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay have the right to habeas corpus?

See Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507 (2004)
(click on “Case Media” links)

See Case Unit: Ex Parte Merryman and Debates on Civil Liberties During the Civil War

See Case at a Glance: Enemy Combatants: Does the Military Commissions Act of 2006 Violate the Suspension Clause?