ACT College Arlington Civil Liberties Right to Assembly Essay

Civil Liberties Essay Assignment

Research a civil liberties issue that the government is arguably violating (e.g. asset forfeiture, criminal justice issues, solitary confinement, etc.). Explain what the issue is, what specific part of the constitution is being violated and what needs to change in order for civil liberties to be protected.

Careful: Remember that in our system Supreme Court rulings define what is and what is not constitutional. You should not contradict or question a Supreme Court ruling in this assignment (e.g. “The 2^nd amendment is being violated because in Maryland I can’t carry a gun into government buildings”- the Court has ruled that the 2^nd amendment does not grant an absolute right to own all types of weapons and carry them wherever one wants to. States are allowed to pass common sense gun regulations so this isn’t a violation of the 2^nd amendment according to the Court).

Note: For this assignment students are not permitted to write about government surveillance. It is far too complicated of a topic for this particular assignment.

The following guidelines apply to all essay assignments: Each short essay must be at least one page long (12 point font, Times New Roman, double spaced) not counting headings or citations. In other words, the text of your paper must be one page in length. Superfluous wording or off topic wording will not be counted toward your page total. Essays will be graded according to the quality of the response (is it on topic, well researched, well written). Students will be marked down for typographical/spelling/grammatical errors. Students should cite their research in APA format (see FAQ sheet for more information). Students may not collaborate on essay assignments- each assignment is to be completed by the student, this includes sharing research information. Please also see the honor code and statement about plagiarism in this syllabus.