AMC 7 - EQUALITY ON TRIAL

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Equality on Trial

How have courtroom speeches contributed to the fight for social justice in the USA?

START

INDEX

1.1. Champions of justice

3.1. A lesson before dying

3.2. Translation Workshop

1.2. Wrongful convictions

3.3. The truth about the american jury system

1.3. A controversial case

Entrainement à l'E.E.

2.1. The case that upheld the color line

Vocabulary

2.2. How to get away with murder

Get ready for the final task !

additional documents

Part 1. Unfair justice?

Champions of justice

1. Look at the picture and identify the common points between the characters. 2. Comment on the presence of the statue in the background. 3. Explain what this painting celebrates.

• 1. Focus on the poster and comment on the characters' expressions.
• 2. Listen to the document (link ->) and pick out information about the case of the Central Park Five.

• 3. Identify the speaker's reaction to the show.
• 4. Explain how the series tackles the current issues in the USA.

Wrongful Convictions

A controversial case

• 1. Read the cartoon and identify the topic of the characters' discussion.
• 2. Explain why the police officer was acquitted.
• 3. Comment on the woman's reaction to William Rehnquist's arguments.

Write a complaint

Entrainement à l'E.E.

YOUR TASK : The woman in the cartoon writes a letter to the White House to denounce the situation. Imagine the contents of the letter and write it.

Search the Internet and explain how the cases Tennessee v. Garner and Graham v. Connor defined the legal frame for police use of force in the USA.

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Part 2. Segregation in the courtroom

The case that upheld the color line

Watch

1. Watch the video and pick out information about Homer Plessy. 2. Explain why he was arrested. 3. Identify the legal grounds on which the Supreme Court confirmed segregation and the case that overturned it. 4. Focus on the cartoon -> and comment on its representation of segregation.

'How to get away with murder' - S4E13

Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Before watching the video, search for information on the characters, the topic and the plot of the series to understand the extract.

Then, watch the extract and answer the questions:

1. Give the type of document
2. Pick out information on the characters, places and situation.
3. Explain the general topic of the extract.
4. Identify the legal references used.
5. List the arguments she mentions to show that African-Americans are suffering.

Part 3. Biased justice?

A lesson before dying

1. Read the text and sum up the situation.
2. Compare the prosecutor’s and the defense’s versions of the story.
3. Focus on the defense’s speech and pick out the words and expressions that dehumanise Jefferson. Explain his choice.
4. STYLE> Focus on the sentence « Death by electrocution. The governor would set the date. »(l.37) and explain how the use of free indirect speech conveys Jefferson’s feelings.
5. Pay attention to the composition of the court and discuss the questions it raises.

Translation workshop

the truth about the american jury system

1. Watch the video and list the different steps in the jury selection process.
2. Explain why this process has been questioned over time.
3. Comment on the impact of jury selection in death penalty cases.

Work on the unit vocabulary

LOREM IPSUM

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Entrainement à la synthèse type bac

Utiliser les documents suivants et en faire une synthèse.

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Final Task

LOREM IPSUM

You are an American attorney and you have decided to deliver a speech to advocate for more social justice in the USA.

• List your ideas
• Structure them coherently using linkwords
• Write your speech
• Make it convincing
• Practise ! Say your speech out loud several times to memorise parts of it.
• Work on your body language to make it even more convincing

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