Objective: Students will become familiar with and understand terms associated with the Fourth Amendment and related Supreme Court Cases
Procedure: Teachers will distribute the meanings of the vocabulary associated with the Fourth Amendment and its related cases. Students are to take the list home and study them for homework. The next day teachers should divide the class into four or five teams. Teachers will then review the terms by playing the game jeopardy. The team with the highest score should receive a reward to be decided upon by the teacher.
Materials Used: Vocabulary list on the Fourth Amendment
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01. Amicus curiae brief -a document filed by an individual or organization (such as the American Civil Liberties Union) who is not a party to a case, but who has an interest in the outcome of the case. Amicus curiae is a Latin term meaning friend of the court.
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02. Appeal- to take a case to a higher court for review.
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03. Appellant-the party that appeals a lower court decision to a higher court.
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04. Appellee -one who has an interest in upholding the decision of a lower court and is compelled to respond when the appellant appeals the case to a higher court.
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05. Brief- a legal document stating the facts and legal theories of a party's case.
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06. Case law- the law is defined by previously decided cases' distinct from statutes and other sources of law.
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07. Certiorari, writ of-a writ issued from the Supreme Court, at its discretion, to order a lower court to prepare the record of a case and send it to the Supreme Court for review.
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08. Civil Law-body of law dealing with the private rights of individuals, as distinguished from criminal law.
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09. Dissenting opinion- a written opinion by those justices who disagree with the majority court ruling.
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10. Due process- a legal concept that establishes procedures to insure an individual's rights and liberties in all legal proceedings
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11. Exclusionary rule- a rule of law providing that in certain circumstances unlawfully seized evidence that is seized in violation of an individual's Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures-is inadmissible in state or federal criminal trials.
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13. Fruit of the poisonous tree- if unlawfully seized evidence leads a police officer to other evidence, that secondary evidence is also inadmissible.
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14. Probable cause- sufficient reason, based on existing facts that a crime has been committed or that property is evidence of a crime. Probable cause is a required element for a legal search and seizure.
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15. Warrant- a legal document authorizing a law enforcement official to take some action.