“Educator Resource: Right to a Fair Trial”
The American Film Company provides this lesson about the Right to a Fair Trial to help participants understand the importance of due process and equal representation before the law as a basic human and constitutional right. The lesson uses the right to a fair trial as a central theme to explore all the basic rights as listed in the US Constitution. Specifically, students will look at the use of military tribunal in the case of Mary Surratt and discuss whether or not she was privy to a fair trial, and why, and then to evaluate how her basic human rights may or may not have been violated as a result.
I encourage you to chime in with relevant materials that might supplement this work and I will update with more as it becomes available. In the meantime, click "Read more" to see part of the lesson or click here (www.theamericanfilmcompany.com/teachers) to download the full guide.
Note: The lesson is geared towards participants aged 13-17 but can be modified for other age groups. This lesson fits in perfectly with units that address curriculum standards in language arts, social studies, civics, thinking and reasoning, film studies, media studies, and working with others.
CLASSROOM PROCEDURES
1. Begin by asking for examples of unfair trials from history, film, or literature. Chart responses on the chalkboard or chart paper.
2. Ask the class: what do all of these examples have in common? In which ways are they different? What were the variables in each example that undermined the potential fairness of the trial?
3. Tell the class that in May 1865, just a month after the end of the Civil War, a trial began whose fairness is still contested: the trial of 8 of the people accused of conspiring to murder President Abraham Lincoln, his Secretary of State William Seward, and his Vice President Andrew Johnson. This trial is dramatized in the film, The Conspirator.
4. Lead a large group discussion about the first 30 minutes of The Conspirator, using some or all of the following questions as a guide:
- Describe the events that took place on April 15, 1865. What happened at Ford's Theater? At the Seward House? At the Kirkwood Hotel (where Vice President Johnson was staying)?
- What was the mood of the country at this time? What did you notice in the segment you watched that gave you this impression?
- What happened to Lincoln immediately following the shooting? How is this different from, or similar to, what might happen today?
- What happened in society in the wake of the assassination? How is this different from, or similar to, what might happen today in the wake of such a national catastrophe?
- Which constitutional rights of the prisoners were violated in this segment? Which were upheld? Be specific.
- The conspirators are being tried in a military tribunal versus a civil court. What, according to Johnson, is the difference between the two? How might these differences affect the outcome of the trial?
- What are the arguments given by Johnson for why Surratt should be tried in a civilian court? What are the arguments given by Judge Advocate Holt and General Hunter for why she should be tried in by a military tribunal?
5. To conclude, students should research the differences between a military tribunal and a civil court, and list five major differences between the two.
You must be logged in to comment. Click here to register, click here to login.
EXPERT PROFILE
Kim Birbrower
Big Picture Instructional, President and CEO
Kim Birbrower founded Big Picture Instructional Design in March 2007, with the goal of making teachable moments from issue-driven film and television projects.
Prior to founding the company, Kim was the first Director of Education at Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation. There, she was...
More
BOOKS RELATED TO THIS DEBATE
HOME | CONTACT US
2009 THE AMERICAN FILM COMPANY. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
DISCUSSION
marywilk
WHERE the HECK are the LESSON PLANs??????
tonezak
Great lesson plan. As a high school history teacher i believe using movie segments in the classroom greatly enhances the material. It's great to not only watch movies like this but to see them applied to the classroom. I can only hope for more historical movies like this one.