Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project

Last updated

The Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project is civic education program in which law students work with local high schools to enhance understanding of constitutional law and oral advocacy. [1] [2] The project was founded in 1999 at American University's Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C., by Professor Jamie Raskin. There are now nearly 20 chapters in the United States, and there are 2 international chapters. [3] The program began as a way of addressing civic disengagement and a lack of political participation. [4] Through analyzing Supreme Court decisions and participating in moot court arguments, participating high school students learn about their rights as citizens, the strategic benefits of voting, how lawmaking occurs, and other fundamental constitutional processes. [5] [6] They also have the opportunity to compete in a national moot court competition. [1] [2] [6]

Contents

Background and creation

The Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project was conceived by Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) while teaching at American University Washington College of Law after he was approached by a group of high school students in Montgomery County, Maryland, who felt their freedom of speech was being violated. The students were part of a communications academy at their school and helped run a talk show on a local cable television station affiliated with the school. They had put together a program called "Shades of Gray," during which they interviewed experts on difficult topics of the day. One particular show included a debate on gay marriage, and the students had lined up two speakers in favor of gay marriage and two against. The program was taped and approved by the teacher who oversaw it. [7]

However, the show was pulled before it aired. School officials deemed the show "inappropriate" for the station. When the students contacted him, Professor Raskin wanted to go straight to court, but the students asked for help in first exhausting all remedies at the school district level before pursuing litigation. In the end, the students appealed to the school board and won a reversal of the superintendent's censorship of the program. The program aired six times instead of the one or two times it would have aired had the superintendent allowed it in the first place. [7]

This experience led Professor Raskin to the realization that high school students, especially urban students, are not taught about the Constitution and how it affects their daily lives. When he compared the resources he had to this need for constitutional literacy, the idea for the project was born.

The project officially started in the fall of 1999 with 20 law students who volunteered to teach in eight public schools in Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County. [7]

Current chapters and leadership

There are approximately 20 Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project chapters. [3]

Current Chapters

Current Program Directors

The Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project is currently directed by Professor Camille A. Thompson. Professor Stephen Wermiel currently serves as the faculty adviser to the program. [3]

Chapter Requirements

Chapters must meet seven requirements: [11]

Curriculum

The Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project utilizes two different text books for its two sets of curriculum: Youth Justice in America and We the Students. Both books utilize case law and constitutional analysis to walk students through complex legal issues in an easy to understand fashion. Youth Justice in America focuses on criminal law and criminal procedure as they pertain to students, while We the Students gives students a broad survey of the United States Constitution.

Teaching fellows are involved in curriculum design, lesson planning, classroom teaching, and the organization of moot court competitions. [2]

Observance of Constitution Day

In honor of Constitution Day, the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project prepares lesson plans and educational materials to be used by teachers who wish to educate their students about the importance of the U.S. Constitution and its very real effect on the lives of students. The prepared materials are distributed through the website Band of Rights.

National Marshall-Brennan High School Moot Court Competition

The National Marshall-Brennan Moot Court Competition serves as an opportunity for high school students participating in Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project classes to showcase their oral advocacy skills, network, and learn about careers in the law. [8]

Usually held in the Spring, the National Moot Court Competition presents high school students with a unique legal issue each year, ranging from First Amendment violations to Eighth Amendment prohibitions against placing juveniles in prison for life without parole. Each student is assigned the role of either Petitioner or Respondent and must argue their case in front of a three judge panel composed of law students, law professors, and practicing attorneys. After advancing through the preliminary rounds, the final rounds are often heard by actual judges who volunteer their time in order to help students garner an understanding of a real appellate level courtroom. [12]

Notable Speakers

During the National Moot Court Competition in 2012, Mary Beth Tinker of the famous Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District spoke to the competitors about the importance of knowing one's rights and of knowing how the justice system can affect their everyday lives. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thurgood Marshall</span> US Supreme Court justice from 1967 to 1991

Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-American justice. Prior to his judicial service, he was an attorney who fought for civil rights, leading the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Marshall was a prominent figure in the movement to end racial segregation in American public schools. He won 29 of the 32 civil rights cases he argued before the Supreme Court, culminating in the Court's landmark 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which rejected the separate but equal doctrine and held segregation in public education to be unconstitutional. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court in 1967. A staunch liberal, he frequently dissented as the Court became increasingly conservative.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978), was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that involved a dispute of whether preferential treatment for minorities could reduce educational opportunities for whites without violating the Constitution. It upheld affirmative action, allowing race to be one of several factors in college admission policy. However, the court ruled that specific racial quotas, such as the 16 out of 100 seats set aside for minority students by the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, were impermissible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgetown University Law Center</span> Private law school in Washington, D.C., US

The Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment, with over 2,000 students. It frequently receives the most full-time applications of any law school in the United States.

Regent University is a private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network University and changed its name to Regent University in 1990. Regent offers on-campus programs as well as distance education. Regent offers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in over 70 courses of study. The university is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Henry College</span> Private Conservative Christian college in Purcellville, Virginia

Patrick Henry College (PHC) is a private liberal arts non-denominational conservative Protestant Christian college located in Purcellville, Virginia. Its departments teach classical liberal arts, government, strategic intelligence in national security, economics and business analytics, history, journalism, environmental science and stewardship, and literature. The university has full accreditation from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS-COC) as of 2022. Patrick Henry College continues to be accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), which is also recognized as an institutional accreditor by the United States Department of Education. Its graduation rate is 67%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Michigan Law School</span> Public law school in Ann Arbor, Michigan

The University of Michigan Law School is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL), Juris Doctor (JD), and Doctor of the Science of Law (SJD) degree programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida International University College of Law</span>

The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. The law school is accredited by the American Bar Association, and is the only public law school in South Florida. FIU College of Law is the third highest ranked law school in the state of Florida and is ranked in the top 60 in the nation. The College of Law had the highest July bar exam passage rate in the state of Florida consecutively for eight years (2015–2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law</span> Law school of Yeshiva University in New York

The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University in New York City. Founded in 1976 and now located on Fifth Avenue near Union Square in Lower Manhattan, the school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. Cardozo graduated its first class in 1979. An LL.M. program was established in 1998. Cardozo is nondenominational and has a secular curriculum, in contrast to some of Yeshiva University's undergraduate programs. Around 320 students begin the J.D. program per year, of whom about 57% are women. In addition, there are about 60–70 LL.M. students each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Washington University Law School</span> Law school in Washington, D.C., US

The George Washington University Law School is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in the national capital. GW Law has 275 elective courses in business and finance law, environmental law, government procurement law, intellectual property law, international comparative law, litigation and dispute resolution, and national security and U.S. foreign relations law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American University Washington College of Law</span> Private law school in Washington, D.C., US

The American University Washington College of Law is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of northwest Washington, D.C. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the AALS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Tushnet</span> American constitutional law scholar (born 1945)

Mark Victor Tushnet is an American legal scholar. He specializes in constitutional law and theory, including comparative constitutional law, and is currently the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Tushnet is identified with the critical legal studies movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Raskin</span> American politician (born 1962)

Jamin Ben "Jamie" Raskin is an American attorney, law professor, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 8th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the Maryland State Senate from 2007 to 2016. The district previously included portions of Montgomery County, a suburban county northwest of Washington, D.C., and extended through rural Frederick County to the Pennsylvania border. Since redistricting in 2022, Raskin's district now encompasses only part of Montgomery County.

<i>San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez</i> 1973 United States Supreme Court case

San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1 (1973), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that San Antonio Independent School District's financing system, which was based on local property taxes, was not a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David D. Cole</span> American legal scholar

David D. Cole is the National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Before joining the ACLU in July 2016, Cole was the Hon. George J. Mitchell Professor in Law and Public Policy at the Georgetown University Law Center from March 2014 through December 2016. He has published in various legal fields including constitutional law, national security, criminal justice, civil rights, and law and literature. Cole has litigated several significant First Amendment cases in the Supreme Court of the United States, as well a number of influential cases concerning civil rights and national security. He is also a legal correspondent to several mainstream media outlets and publications.

The Cornell Law Review is the flagship legal journal of Cornell Law School. Originally published in 1915 as the Cornell Law Quarterly, the journal features scholarship in all fields of law. Notably, past issues of the Cornell Law Review have included articles by Supreme Court justices Robert H. Jackson, John Marshall Harlan II, William O. Douglas, Felix Frankfurter, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Rosen (legal academic)</span> American academic and commentator on legal affairs

Jeffrey Rosen is an American legal scholar who serves as the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, in Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indiana University Maurer School of Law</span> Law school in Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.

The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is the law school of Indiana University Bloomington, a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. Established in 1842, the school is named after alumnus Michael S. "Mickey" Maurer, an Indianapolis businessman who donated $35 million to the school in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn State Law</span> Law school in University Park, Pennsylvania, US

Penn State Law, located in University Park, Pennsylvania, is one of two separately accredited law schools of the Pennsylvania State University. Penn State Law offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees. The school also offers a joint J.D./M.B.A. with the Smeal College of Business, a joint J.D./M.I.A. degree with the School of International Affairs, which is also located in the Lewis Katz Building, as well as joint degrees with other graduate programs at Penn State.

Elsie Inez Virginia Smith Reid is a former judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and former Corporation Counsel of the District of Columbia.

Stephen J. Wermiel is an American legal scholar, historian, and professor of law at American University Washington College of Law specializing in First Amendment law and the history of the United States Supreme Court. Wermiel has written several biographical books about Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Alongside Jamie Raskin, Wermiel co-founded the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project.

References

  1. 1 2 "Founding the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Yale Law's Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project Goes to Nationals". Yale Law School News. April 12, 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Who We Are". American University Washington College of Law. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  4. 1 2 Turner, Samuel (November 15, 2019). "Law students host moot court competition, look to expand". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  5. ""We the Students" - Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project - American University Washington College of Law". Wcl.american.edu. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 Williams, Tamara (April 27, 2015). "New Mexico's first-ever Marshall-Brennan team competes in D.C." University of New Mexico News. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 "Gmail". Mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Fleming, Nicole (March 25, 2017). "Trial competition gives students experience, confidence". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  9. "Archived copy". www.law.howard.edu. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Nina Rodriguez RLAW '21 Talks About Being the First Latina Editor of the Rutgers Law Review in Camden". Rutgers Law. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  11. "Teaching Partners - "We the Students" - American University Washington College of Law". Wcl.american.edu. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  12. 1 2 "National Competitions - Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project - American University Washington College of Law". Wcl.american.edu. Retrieved 18 March 2017.