Judicial Branch and Supreme Court Cases
Below you will find C-SPAN Classroom resources relating to the topics and categories listed above. Click on each title to expand the section and view the featured resources.
The Process and Structure of the Judicial Branch
Video Clip: Touring the Supreme Court (2:49)
Bell Ringer: Juries - Checking Governmental Excess (4:28)
Bell Ringer: The Federal Court System (6:38)
Bell Ringer: The Role of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (2:33)
Video Clip: Chief Justice Roberts on the Role of the Supreme Court (2:15)
Bell Ringer: U.S. Court of Appeals (2:06)
Lesson Plan: Jury Trials in Criminal Cases (5 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Jury Selection Process (8:30)
Bell Ringer: The Immigration Court System (5:09)
Bell Ringer: The Purpose of Criminal Court Proceedings (1:27)
Bell Ringer: Life Tenure of Supreme Court Justices (2:15)
Video Clip: Justice Breyer on Packing the Court and Term Limits (3:18)
Bell Ringer: Elected vs. Appointed Judges (5:03)
Bell Ringer: The Legitimacy of the Supreme Court (4:39)
Bell Ringer: How the Supreme Court Decides Which Cases to Hear (6:28)
Video Clip: Justice Thomas on Questioning During Oral Arguments (4:23)
Bell Ringer: The Process of Deciding Supreme Court Cases (4:37)
Bell Ringer: Granting Certiorari (3:11)
Video Clip: Justice Elena Kagan on Legal Precedent (5:02)
Bell Ringer: Disagreements on the Supreme Court (2:11)
Bell Ringer: Stare Decisis and Judicial Decisions (1:26)
Bell Ringer: Independence of the Supreme Court (7:30)
Bell Ringer: Changing the Size and Scope of the Supreme Court (1:35)
Bell Ringer: The Power of the Supreme Court (3:18)
Bell Ringer: Federalist 78 and Marbury v. Madison (6:08)
Lesson Plan: Constitutional Role of the Federal Court System (6 Video Clips)
Lesson Plan: Researching a Supreme Court Justice (4 Video Clips)
Lesson Plan: The Steps in a Supreme Court Case (5 Clips)
Bell Ringer: How the Court Operates (2:34)
Bell Ringer: Collegiality and Friendships on the Supreme Court (9:58)
Judicial Interpretation
Lesson Plan: How Should the Constitution be Interpreted? (6 Clips)
Lesson Plan: Justice Clarence Thomas and Originalism (10 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Original Public Meaning and Originalism (8:15)
Bell Ringer: Judicial Philosophies and the Supreme Court (4:54)
Bell Ringer: Justice Sotomayor on Supreme Court Decisions (1:39)
Bell Ringer: Justice Kagan on Constitutional Interpretation (4:45)
Bell Ringer: Judicial Interpretation and Political Ideology (6:33)
Bell Ringer: Judicial Interpretation and the Idea of Courts Creating Law (2:50)
Bell Ringer: Spirit of the Law and Judicial Interpretation of Statutes (7:18)
Bell Ringer: Justice Thomas on Judicial Review (6:26)
Bell Ringer: Judge Kavanaugh Discusses the Idea of Judges as Umpires (1:41)
Bell Ringer: The Living Constitution vs Originalism (4:01)
Bell Ringer: Stare Decisis and Common Law (2:23)
Bell Ringer: Judicial Philosophies (0:54)
Video Clip: Justice Gorsuch on Originalism and a Living Constitution (5:13)
Bell Ringer: Purpose and Importance of Judicial Precedent (4:46)
Bell Ringer: Courts and Public Confidence (6:06)
Bell Ringer: Congress and a Supreme Court Code of Ethics (10:02)
Supreme Court Cases
1789-1795 - Jay Court
1795-1795 - Rutledge Court
1796-1800 - Ellsworth Court
1801-1835 - Marshall Court
Lesson Plan: Marbury v. Madison (1803) (4 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Federalist 78 and Marbury v. Madison (1803) (6:08)
Lesson Plan: McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) (5 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) (1:10)
1836-1864 - Taney Court
Lesson Plan: Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) (6 Clips)
1864-1873 - Chase Court
Lesson Plan: Slaughterhouse Cases (1873) (7 Clips)
1874-1888 - Waite Court
Bell Ringer: United States v. Cruikshank (1876) (3:42)
Lesson Plan: Civil Rights Cases (1883) (8 Clips)
Lesson Plan: Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886) (8 Clips)
1888-1910 - Fuller Court
Bell Ringer: Dent v West Virginia (1889): Impact of Licensing Physicians (10:40)
Lesson Plan: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) (8 Clips)
1910-1921 - White Court
Lesson Plan: Lochner v. New York (1905) (5 Clips)
Lesson Plan: Schenck v. U.S. (1919) (6 Clips)
1921-1930 - Taft Court
Video Clip: McGrain v. Daugherty (1927) (2:09)
1930-1941 - Hughes Court
1941-1946 - Stone Court
Bell Ringer: Skinner v. Oklahoma (1942) (1:40)
Bell Ringer: Ex parte Quirin (1942) (6:23)
Bell Ringer: West Virginia v. Barnette (1943) and Religious Liberties (4:27)
Bell Ringer: Japanese Internment Cases (5:32)
Lesson Plan: Korematsu v. United States (1944) (6 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Korematsu vs United States (1944) (7:15)
Bell Ringer: Screws v. United States (1945) (3:43)
1946-1953 - Vinson Court
Lesson Plan: Youngstown Sheet and Tube v. Sawyer (1952) (7 Clips)
1953-1969 - Warren Court
Lesson Plan: Brown v. Board of Education (1954) (9 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Brown vs Board of Education (1954) (5:37)
Lesson Plan: Mapp v. Ohio (1961) (8 Clips)
Lesson Plan: Baker v. Carr (1962) (8 Clips)
Lesson Plan: Engel v. Vitale (1962) (6 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Engel v Vitale (1962) and Abington v Schempp (1963) (4:09)
Lesson Plan: Gideon V. Wainwright (1963) (10 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Edwards v. South Carolina (1963) (9:08)
Lesson Plan: New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) (4 Clips)
Lesson Plan: Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) (8 Clips)
Lesson Plan: Miranda v. Arizona (1966) (7 Clips)
Lesson Plan: Katz v. United States (1967) (8 Clips)
Lesson Plan: Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) (12 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Tinker vs Des Moines (1969) (8:33)
Lesson Plan: Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) (7 Clips)
1969-1986 - Burger Court
Bell Ringer: The Lemon Test (1971) (4:43)
Lesson Plan: New York Times v. United States (1971) (9 Clips)
Bell Ringer: The Pentagon Papers and the New York Times Company v. US (1971) (4:12)
Lesson Plan: Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) (5 Clips)
Lesson Plan: Roe v. Wade (1973) (8 Clips)
Video Clip: Executive Privilege and U.S. v. Nixon (1974) (3:47)
Lesson Plan: Gregg v. Georgia (1976) (11 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Nebraska Press Association vs Stuart (1976) (11:08)
Bell Ringer: Buckley v. Valeo (1976) and Campaign Finance Reform (2:47)
Lesson Plan: Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) (10 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Board of Education v Pico (1982) (2:51)
Bell Ringer: The Chevron Doctrine (1984) (5:09)
1986-2005 - Rehnquist Court
Bell Ringer: Student Journalism & the 1st Amendment (Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier) (1988) (3:20)
Bell Ringer: Texas vs Johnson (1989) - Flag-Burning Case (2 Clips)
Lesson Plan: United States v. Lopez (1995) (6 Clips)
Lesson Plan: The 2000 Election and the Bush v. Gore (2000) Supreme Court Case (6 Clips)
On This Day: Bush v. Gore (2000) is Decided by the Supreme Court (5 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Retired Justice John Paul Stevens on the Bush v. Gore (2000) Decision (3:54)
Bell Ringer: Eminent Domain and Property Rights (Kelo v. New London) (2005) (3:44)
2005-Present - Roberts Court
Bell Ringer: Morse v. Frederick (2007) - Bong Hits 4 Jesus Student 1st Amendment Case (2 Clips)
Lesson Plan: D.C. v. Heller (2008) and McDonald v. Chicago (2010) (6 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Justice Breyer on the D.C. v. Heller (2010) Ruling (5:48)
Bell Ringer: McDonald v. Chicago (2010) - 2nd Amendment & Incorporation (5:54)
Lesson Plan: The Impact of Citizens United v. FEC (2010) (7 Clips)
Bell Ringer: The Impact of Citizens United v. FEC (2010) (3:56)
Lesson Plan: Rights of Corporations (Citizens United (2010) and Hobby Lobby Cases (2014)) (6 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Hate Speech and Snyder v. Phelps (2011) (4:23)
Lesson Plan: Voting Discrimination and the Effects of Shelby County v. Holder (2013) (8 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Shelby County v. Holder (2013) (3:33)
On This Day: Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) (2 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Supreme Court Case - "Masterpiece Cakeshop v Colorado Civil Rights Commission" (2018) (3 Clips)
Video Clip: Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018) (4:48)
Bell Ringer: Timbs v. Indiana (2019) (4:04)
Video Clip: Supreme Court Ruling on Aid to Religious Schools (Carson v. Makin) (2022) (6:04)
Video Clip: Supreme Court Decision on Religious Freedom (Kennedy v. Bremerton School District) (2022) (4:01)
Bell Ringer: Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health (2022) (2 Clips)
Bell Ringer: New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) (4 Clips)
Bell Ringer: West Virginia v. EPA (2022) (2 Clips)
Bell Ringer: NFIB v. OSHA and Biden v. Missouri (2022) (4 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Egbert v. Boule (2022) (2 Clips)
Bell Ringer: 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (2023) (2 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Affirmative Action Cases (2023) (2 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Moore v. Harper (2023) (2 Clips)
Bell Ringer: National Pork Producers Council v. Ross (2023) (5:23)
Bell Ringer: Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (2023) (7:59)
Bell Ringer: Administrative Law Cases (2023) (5:12)
Multiple Cases
Lesson Plan: The Right to an Attorney and the Public Defender System (6 Clips)
Lesson Plan: Privacy and the Press (6 Clips)
History of the Supreme Court
Lesson Plan: The Significance of Chief Justice John Marshall (7 Clips)
Lesson Plan: Federalist 78 (1 Clip)
Bell Ringer: The Early Supreme Court (2:51)
Bell Ringer: Number of Sitting Justices on the Supreme Court (3:20)
Bell Ringer: The History of "Court Packing" (4:23)
Bell Ringer: FDR's Court Packing Plan (4:57)
Bell Ringer: The Reaction to FDR's Court Packing Attempts (8:07)
Bell Ringer: FDR's Supreme Court Appointments (5:42)
Lesson Plan: U.S. Supreme Court During WWII (15 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Truman's First Nomination to the Supreme Court - Harold Burton (8:26)
Bell Ringer: Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson (9:30)
Bell Ringer: Supreme Court Justices Tom Clark and Sherman Minton (3:33)
Bell Ringer: Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings in the U.S. Senate (10:26)
Bell Ringer: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court (13:26)
Bell Ringer: Societal Change and Supreme Court Decisions (1:59)
Deliberation: Should Congress expand the size of the Supreme Court?
Lesson Plan: Public Perceptions of the Supreme Court (1 Clip)
Lesson Plan: Diversity on the U.S. Supreme Court (9 Clips)
Lesson Plan: Women and the U.S. Supreme Court (13 Clips and Slides)
Bell Ringer: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Artifacts (8:02)
Bell Ringer: New U.S. Postage Stamp (5:44)
Video Clip: Supreme Court Holds Swearing In Ceremony for Ketanji Brown Jackson (3:30)
Video Clip: New Ethics Code for Supreme Court Justices (4:24)