SPS 2013: Case Studies and Case Law

It was all about cases today -- case studies and case law, as the St. Albans School of Public Service class of 2013 preps for the mock Supreme Court argument tomorrow. This morning, we split into three case study groups for "The Case of the Jailhouse Lawyer," a case study (written by SPS) that uses the famous Gideon v. Wainwright Supreme Court case (which established a right to counsel for defendants who could not pay for an attorney) as a vehicle for exploring the mechanisms of the American justice system.

This will set up SPS 2013 nicely for tomorrow's big event: a mock Supreme Court argument of the same sex marriage cases from the U.S. Supreme Court's current term. Click HERE for a link to the well known "scotusblog" site describing the ins and outs same sex marriage cases:  http://www.scotusblog.com/2013/06/waiting-on-proposition-8-and-doma-decisions-in-plain-english/

This afternoon the SPS 2013 students began prepping for the mock oral argument tomorrow afternoon.  SPS faculty members Ms. Woods, Ms. Chapin Duke, and Mr. Eagles briefed the group about the same sex marriage cases, and then the group divided into teams of lawyers who will argue the two same sex marriage cases, and two panels of "SPS Supreme Court Justices" to hear their arguments.  One of the cases is a challenge to DOMA, the federal Defense of Marriage Act, and the other a challenge to California's Proposition 8, which amended California's state constitution to bar same sex marriage.  In both cases, there is a challenge to the relevant statute/Constitutional provision under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.  (As the SPS faculty members explained, there are some procedural wrinkles that may mean the "real" Supreme Court does not rule on the merits of the Equal Protection Clause claim, but the SPS students will still focus their arguments on the substantive constitutional issues.)

See below for scenes of the SPS 2013 "Justices and Lawyers" working to prepare the case for tomorrow!