Constitution Day is Every Day
at the Federal Courts

Justices Scalia and Breyer on Judicial Interpretation | Discussion Topics and Background | Fast Facts | Interactive Games

Supreme Court Justices Shed Light on Different Approaches to Interpreting the Constitution
Constitution Day is September 17

Viewers will get firsthand perspectives on how the Supreme Court decides what the Constitution means when they watch a 37-minute conversation among Justices Antonin Scalia, Stephen G. Breyer, and a group of high school students. The taped discussion and follow-up questions for local discussion explore different theories of judicial interpretation and how they affect not only the outcomes of cases but democracy and daily life.

Since 2005, when schools receiving federal funds were mandated by Congress to observe Constitution Day, the Supreme Court's annual Conversation on the Constitution, has become an anticipated part of the national educational celebration. High school American Government teachers may contact their local federal court http://www.uscourts.gov/courtlinks/ to request a viewing and discussion of the tape with a judge. The program is:

• a streaming video on the federal courts' web site, supported by a pool of original, courtroom-ready educational resources and programs. If you are showing the video from the Educational Outreach pages on a large screen, just connect a laptop computer to a television monitor so that the larger image can be seen easily.

The video is part of a series produced by the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands. The videotaped conversation is part of The Sunnylands Constitution Project, available at AnnenbergClassroom.org. It is made possible by The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.

Although Constitution Day is officially observed on September 17, every day is Constitution Day at the federal courts. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts continually offers updated Constitution-related educational resources on this web site. The sites listed below are portals to a wealth of materials and programs offered by other institutions.

• 
• U.S. National Archives & Records Administration

The following are sources of pocket Constitutions

• American Bar Association Store
• National Constitution Center

For the Classroom and the Courtroom

The following resources are for use in the classroom and the courtroom on Constitution Day and throughout the year.

Judicial Interpretation Discussion Topics
These one-page handouts prepare students to discuss the following topics:

• Discussion Questions
• Discussion Package
• Precedents
• Dissents
• Harmonizing
• Judicial Interpretation in Landmark Cases
• Judicial Interpretation of the Fourteenth Ammendment

Fast Facts
These resources provide a snapshot of what every citizen needs to know about the federal courts.

• Bird's Eye View of the Federal Courts
• Federal Courts in a Nutshell
• What You Need to Know about Jury Service
• Understanding the Federal Courts
• Constitution of the United States
• ConSource

Interactive Games (Flash is required)
These games test knowledge of the Constitution’s fundamentals.

• Double Jeopardy
• Who Wants to Be a Million-Dollar Citizen?