Activities:
The Current Events and the Constitution eLesson is distributed monthly with a new Current Events Briefing Sheet each month. The Briefing Sheet is a form-fillable PDF that can be filled out Online, or printed and distributed in your classroom. Each Briefing Sheet includes the following:
- Constitutional principle(s)/question(s)
- Resources for further study
- Questions to consider
- A "What Do You Think?" section that encourages students to respond to the issue(s)
If you would like to see a sample of a Current Events Briefing Sheet, please click here.
Current Events and the Constitution Briefing Sheet for November 19, 2009
Congress voted to cut off funding for the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) this past September, when secretly-filmed videos appeared to show ACORN workers offering two people posing as a pimp and a prostitute advice on committing tax fraud and smuggling underage prostitutes into the country. No one from ACORN has been tried and found guilty. Last week, ACORN filed suit against Congress. ACORN argues that cutting off its federal housing, transportation and education funds was unconstitutional because it was a bill of attainder (a piece of legislation targeting one person or group for punishment without a trial). Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution says: “No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.” Representatives in Congress argue that the defunding is not a bill of attainder, and that such acts have historically involved serious punishments like seizure of property or even capital punishment.
Have students complete the following activity sheet:
