Procedures

  1. Give students the facts, issues, and arguments in a case. After students have read and understood these components, give them two unmarked judicial opinions in the case. For example, you could have Opinion A, which includes excerpts or a paraphrase from the majority opinion, and Opinion B, which has excerpts or a paraphrase from the dissenting opinion.
  2. Ask students to select the opinion they agree with and explain why.
  3. At the conclusion of the activity, tell students which opinion was the actual decision of the court in this case. Ask students to compare their reasoning and opinion against the court’s decision.