1. Why did Edward Snowden do what he did? What were his motives? Do they seem genuine, self-serving, or combination of the two? Are there any cases where it is acceptable to leak privileged or classified information? Why or why not?

2. One of the interesting wrinkles in the Edward Snowden case is the fact that he was acting as a private contractor and not as a direct government employee. Does that distinction matter to you personally? Do you think that it has legal relevance? Why or why not?

3. Why might some of the Federalists have opposed the adoption of a Bill of Rights? What problems might it cause? What problems might it solve?

4. What arguments did the Anti-Federalists make in favor of the Bill of Rights? How convincing do you find those arguments? Do you find them genuine or simply strategic? How convincing do you think you would have found them at that time?

5. How convincing do you find Mr. Wittes’ argument? How important is it that Snowden released the information but did not personally collect it? Is this a case where the political relevance exceeded individuals’ right to privacy?

6. Why did Benjamin Gitlow do what he did? What were his motives? Was his speech protected under the 1^st Amendment? Why or why not? Are there times when speech should be more or less open? If so, how could we as citizens identify such times?

7. Why did the founders focus on protecting citizens from federal action but not state action? How was this shaped by their experiences? Given that state governments have been historically much more likely to violate individual liberties than the federal government, what did the founders miss?

8. When the Court began to incorporate the Bill of Rights (i.e. apply it to the states), it did so gradually, focusing first on the 1^st Amendment. Why did the Court start there? What is it about those liberties that are different from the liberties in the other amendments?

9. One of the interesting paradoxes in the early American republic is that a country founded on the principle of religious liberty was often not very protective of religious freedom. Why might that have occurred? In other words, what might the source have been for this inconsistency?

10. Think about the three components of the Lemon test. Which of these components is the most straightforward? Which is the most ambiguous?

11. Were the Alien and Sedition Acts constitutional given the relative weakness of the new American government? Why or why not?

12. From Schenk to Brandenburg, the Court has made it more difficult to regulate speech (i.e. more speech is permissible under the law). Why do you think that this process has occurred? In what ways might this change make combating terrorism more difficult?

13. Why is the norm of limited or no prior restraint a critical part of press freedoms in this country? How does it change the relationship between the press and the government when it comes to publishing information which the government opposes?

14. How has the expansion in use of cell phones and especially smart phones complicated the legal issues around search and seizure? In what ways has our increasingly connected world helped and harmed criminal defendants?

15. On what legal grounds can schools drug test student athletes and participants in extracurricular activities? What might the legal grounds be for making such tests illegal?

16. In what ways might the 5^th Amendment protections against double jeopardy go against common norms of justice? Why is it still an important protection against governmental misconduct?

17. The 6^th Amendment protects citizens’ right to a speedy trial but how speedy is speedy? How might speedy depend on the type of case being tried?

18. In Gideon, access to a lawyer was shifted from a negative liberty (i.e. a person could not be denied access to a lawyer) to a positive liberty (i.e. a person has a right to a lawyer regardless of their ability to pay for one). How did this change substantively alter criminal trials? Why has the Court struggled so much with what constitutes “effective” legal counsel?

19. Over history, the federal government has expanded its powers at the expense of the states in a number of key areas and often with the public’s approval. Why has the 10^th Amendment not protected state power more effectively from federal encroachment?

20. In areas such as the right to privacy, the Court has been proactive in expanding the civil rights of American citizens. Why has the unelected branch, the Court, overall done more to expand civil rights than the elected branches, Congress, and the Presidency?