Analyze sources and purposes of law including constitutions, statutes, common law, and case law. Examine how different types of law interact and are applied. **Why This Matters:** Laws come from multiple sources, and understanding these sources helps students navigate the legal system, understand their rights, and see how laws evolve over time. **Examples:** - **Constitutions:** The U.S. Constitution establishes fundamental rights that cannot be violated by other laws. For example, the Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches, which means a state law allowing random home searches would be unconstitutional. - **Statutes:** Pennsylvania's state legislature passes laws like Act 35, which requires civics assessments in schools. These laws can be changed by future legislatures, unlike constitutional provisions. - **Common Law:** Court decisions create legal precedents. For instance, the concept of "negligence" in personal injury cases developed through centuries of court decisions, not legislation. - **Case Law:** When the Supreme Court decides a case like Roe v. Wade or its reversal, it creates binding law that affects millions of Americans. Students analyze how these decisions interpret and apply constitutional principles. **Real-World Application:** When students encounter a legal issue—like a dispute over free speech at school, or questions about search and seizure—they can identify which type of law applies and understand how different legal sources interact to resolve the situation.
Foundational principles and documents that established American government. Students evaluate major arguments for government necessity (order, protection, liberty); analyze sources and purposes of law (constitutions, statutes, common law, case law); evaluate principles of civic life (liberty, equality, justice, individual worth, rule of law); analyze how principles shape Pennsylvania and U.S. governments; assess competing ideas about purposes and functions of government. **Examples:** When studying the Declaration of Independence, students examine how the document's principles of liberty and equality influenced Pennsylvania's state constitution. Students analyze how Supreme Court cases like Brown v. Board of Education applied the principle of equality to transform American society. They evaluate how the rule of law protects individual rights while maintaining social order, such as when courts balance free speech rights with public safety concerns.
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