2014 Supreme Court Summer Institute Preview

Next month, the 2014 Supreme Court Summer Institute for Teachers will welcome 60 teachers from 29 states. While in Washington, DC, the teachers will learn about the operation and jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as six cases from the current term. The interactive sessions will equip the teachers with exciting, student-centered strategies for teaching about the Court.

Street Law, Inc. and the Supreme Court Historical Society are proud to have the following experts join us to offer their expertise about the Court:

• Introduction to Supreme Court Practice by Tom Goldstein, partner at Goldstein & Russell and co-founder of SCOTUSBlog, and Pratik Shah, head of Akin Gump’s Supreme Court practice and partner in the national appellate practice.
• A Moot Court of Town of Greece v. Galloway with team coaches Thomas Hungar from Gibson Dunn who argued this case in the Supreme Court, Richard Katskee from Mayer Brown who worked on the respondent’s case, Elizabeth Papez from Winston & Strawn who worked on an amicus brief in this case, Roy Englert from Robbins Russell, and Judge Sri Srinivasan from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Media Coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court featuring journalists Lyle Denniston, dean of the Supreme Court press corps and SCOTUSblog correspondent, and Jess Bravin, Supreme Court correspondent at the Wall Street Journal.

In addition, the teachers will explore some of the most exciting cases from this term—cases asking whether free speech “buffer zones” around abortion clinics are okay (McCullen v. Coakley), whether police can search the smartphone of someone they arrest (Riley v. California), and whether companies have a religious freedom right to decline to provide health coverage for some contraceptives (Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga v. Sebelius).

The teachers will visit the Supreme Court three times, including a non-argument session where they may hear important decisions announced.