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Task

Tasks: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the US Supreme Court

Summarize:

Write a summary of the article in your own words. Include the information you think is most important about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Supreme Court. The text should be no more than 200 words.

Vocabulary:

In the box below you will find a list of words that relate to the Supreme Court.

  1. Look up the words
  2. Translate the words into Norwegian.
  3. Explain how each word relates to the Supreme Court.

Note that for some of the words it can be difficult to find a precise Norwegian translation. In those cases explain the meaning of the word as well as you can in Norwegian.

Appeals Court

Concurring opinion

Dissenting opinion

Judicial Activism

Judicial Restraint

Jurisdiction

Certiorari

Discuss:

Below you find several quotes by Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Discuss what she meant by what she said, and whether or not you agree with her.

  1. Women will have achieved true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.
  2. Feminism … I think the simplest explanation, and one that captures the idea, is a song that Marlo Thomas sang, 'Free to be You and Me.' Free to be, if you were a girl - doctor, lawyer, Indian chief. Anything you want to be. And if you’re a boy, and you like teaching, you like nursing, you would like to have a doll, that’s OK too. That notion that we should each be free to develop our own talents, whatever they may be, and not be held back by artificial barriers - man-made barriers, certainly not heaven sent.
  3. Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.
  4. Reacting in anger or annoyance will not advance one's ability to persuade.
  5. Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true.

Present:

Use the internet and find out more about one of the topics below. Make a 10 minute presentation about your topic. The presentation must have a clear introduction, discussion and conclusion. Remember to include a source list.

  1. Make a presentation in which you explore and discuss the importance of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's work for women's equality in the United States.
  2. The Supreme Court has made a number of decisions on capital punishment. Find out more about these rulings, and discuss what consequences these decisions have had for capital punishment in the United States.
  3. Roe versus Wade is a Supreme Court decision from 1973 which guarantees a woman's right to abortion without excessive government restriction. Find out more about the decision, why it is so controversial in the United States, and how some states try to limit women's right to abortion.
  4. The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Some people feel this is an outdated legal text, not relevant to a modern society, while others believe it guarantees citizens the right to bear arms. Find out what consequences the Second Amendment has for attempts to create gun control legislation in the United States, and discuss what significance the political views of Supreme Court Justices have for decisions related to the Second Amendment.

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