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Supreme Court
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The Supreme Court stands as the highest judicial authority in the United States, making it a central subject across law, political science, sociology, and history courses. Students write about it because its decisions shape constitutional interpretation, define the boundaries of individual rights, and reflect broader conflicts within American society. Cases like Dred Scott v. Sanford, Powell v. Alabama, and Local 28 Sheet Metal Workers v. EEOC illustrate how the Court has engaged with questions of racial equality, due process, and civil rights across different eras. The Warren Court's controversial rulings in the late 1950s further demonstrate how judicial philosophy can provoke lasting political and social debate.

Papers on this topic take several distinct approaches. Historical analyses trace how landmark decisions evolved from earlier precedents, while case-review essays closely examine a single ruling — such as Georgia v. Randolph or Montejo v. Louisiana — to evaluate the Court's reasoning and its practical consequences. Comparative approaches appear as well, such as weighing the implications of Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 against broader desegregation policy. Some papers focus on individual justices like Hugo Black or Clarence Thomas to explore how judicial philosophy influences constitutional interpretation over time.

A strong essay on the Supreme Court requires a focused thesis built around a specific decision, doctrine, or period rather than attempting to survey the entire institution. Legal reasoning and constitutional text carry the most weight as evidence, supported by the Court's written opinions. A common pitfall is treating a ruling's outcome as self-evidently correct or incorrect without carefully engaging with the majority's legal logic and any dissenting arguments.

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Paper Doctorate

The First and Second Reconstructions: Civil Rights in America

There were two Reconstructions in American history, although the first one in 1865-77 ended with restoration of home rule and white supremacy in the South, rather than the equal citizenship and voting rights promised in the 14th and 15th Amendments. Black leaders like Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King made a case that the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution did form a basis for extending the same natural rights to all human beings, even if that had not really been the intent of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Research Paper Doctorate

Court systems and legal institutions

American courts have established a number of important precedents that helped define the direction of both American society and law. This short paper describes the outcome and initial controversy of the case of Roe vs.

Research Paper Doctorate

Franklin D. Roosevelt: life and presidency

William Leuchtenburg's Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal is a text that combines recent American history with a political and sociological analysis of American policy and government, and adds a healthy dose of…

Research Paper Doctorate

Constitutional Law the Case of the \'Lawrence

The case of the 'Lawrence vs. Texas' of June 26, 2003, was in a nutshell about privacy rights and 'equal protection' under the law, and whether 'sodomy' can come under the protection of the U.S. Constitution.

Research Paper Doctorate

Against Patriot Act of 2001

What is the Patriot Act of 2001? The Act was passed in order to unite and strengthen the United States of America by providing all the appropriate and the necessary tools with which to fight terrorism.

Paper Undergraduate

Theory and Context Public Administration and the Rule of Law

The purpose of this study is to integrate the arguments including the strengths and weaknesses of the works of Lynn (2009), Moynihan (2009) and Rosenbloom (1992) and to compare and contrast these works. Rosenbloom (1992) in the work entitled "The Constitution As a Basis for Public Administration Ethics" wrote that public administrators and government officials are under an expectation to "adhere to a variety of ethical codes and approaches. Insofar as these are consistent, can be learned, and are realistic, they present few difficulties for administrative practice.

Research Paper Doctorate

Duncan v. Louisiana: constitutional right to jury trial

The right to due process of law is a constitutional right that has been defended and debated over the years to come up with a reasonable development of guidelines to be applied by both the federal and state governments.

Research Paper Doctorate

Discrimination complaint procedures and outcomes

One of the recent famous cases is the Waffle case now doing the rounds at the U.S. legal authorities. The case was finally fought by the lawyers for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the Supreme Court for…

Research Paper Doctorate

Constitution, the Court, and Race

How did the Constitution initially recognize the relations between Whites and Blacks in the late 18th century?

Paper High School

Race, Ethnicity, and the Media

Race and Ethnicity is an important aspect of Americans' perception of others. In the article "Are the Tsarnaevs White?" the race and ethnicity of the Boston Marathon Bombers is discussed and the reaction by the American public. Although the two suspects were white, the fact that they were Muslim made some in the media automatically classify them as "non-white." This is a common and historic misconception by Americans due to racial labels that have been used in the past.

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