Title: Ferguson v

Title: Ferguson v. City of Charleston

Webquest for: 7^th Grade

School: The Young Women’s Leadership School – Bronx Campus

Case Citation: Ferguson v. City of Charleston, 532 U.S. 67, 121 S.Ct. 1281, 149 L.Ed.2d 205 (2001)

Introduction: Have you ever told someone you trusted a secret and had them tell other people? Have you ever had a friend tell you a secret that you told others?

What reasons do people have for keeping things secret?

What reasons do people have for telling secrets?

Under what circumstances is it imperative for a secret to be revealed to others?

Who are the people that need to be told the secrets listed above?

You are a nurse in a pre-natal clinic servicing a poor community. You notice an ever growing problem with pregnant women seeking your services who are testing positive for cocaine use. You know that there are numerous health issues this causes in adults and you know all the health issues this causes in developing fetuses. You happen to see a news program on T.V. that profiles a new police action in a nearby city wherein crack addicted mothers are being arrested and charged with child endangerment. You decide this type of action could be a benefit in your area as well. You go in to work the next day and tell your supervisor. Two years after implementation of your program you find yourself in court for violation of the women’s first amendment right to protection from unusual search and seizure.

Your Task: The class will be divided into two groups; those who represent the mothers and those who represent the nurses. The class will debate the validity of this case. You will need to investigate the health issues related to expectant mothers who use cocaine. Decide what the expectations of the mothers and health practitioners were. Investigate the program that was developed. What was the goal of the women attending the clinic? What was the goal of the nurse? What was the goal of the program? Did the program meet those goals when implemented? What was the effect of the program on the women and community? Were the expectations of each group met?

The Facts of the Case: In the fall of 1988, Staff members at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), concerned over the rise in the number of maternity patients who abused cocaine and not seek the proffered help, decided to create a program in conjunction with the local police department and local officials. This program created an increasingly detrimental penalization for women who did not seek help to get off and stay off of cocaine as their pregnancy continued. This program routinely checked the women’s urine of those who fit one or more outlined criteria for the presence of the drug. Those positive test results were given to the police department. The program designed a “chain of custody” to be followed to ensure that the urine samples remained untainted and could therefore be used to prosecute the women. MUSC agreed to cooperate in the prosecution of the women who did not keep counseling appointments, continued to test positive during the third trimester and tested positive after giving birth.
The Law: The use of cocaine, as a controlled substance is illegal. Mothers who abuse this drug are endangering the life of a child, including the unborn viable fetus.
Legal Questions: Is the turning over of a woman’s urine sample and identifying her to the police a violation of her Fourth Amendment right to unreasonable search and seizure?

If this is a violation of the mother’s rights is it justified in order to protect the rights of the unborn?

The Process: Using the Compulegal website investigate the case and formulate your information. Use the web to check other sources for additional information and proof for your case.

Develop a PowerPoint presentation of your information for the class in technology class.

Develop a debatable argument for your case in leadership class.

Resources:

To hear the transcripts of the trial go to http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/1276/resources

You will need to have “realplayer” in your computer to hear this case. If you do not you may install the program for free from www.realplayer.com then you can return to the oyez site address listed above to listen to the court case

FERGUSON V. CHARLESTON

www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/00pdf/99-936.pdf

laws.findlaw.com/us/000/99-936.html

Ferguson v. City of Charleston (2001) [99-936]

www.prochoiceamerica.org/facts/ferguson_amicus.cfm - 33k

Evaluation

Category	Grade 4 100-90	Grade 3 90-80	Grade 2 80-70	Grade 1 65-0
Knowledge	Shows understanding of the topic.	Shows a good understanding of the topic.	Presents satisfactory understanding of the topic	Shows little understanding of the topic.
Completion of Task	Addresses all aspects of the task. Works well in a group.	Addresses all aspects of the task.	Addresses most aspects of the task.	Attempts to address topic, but uses vague and /or inaccurate information Does not work well with others.
Facts	Richly supports topic with relevant facts, examples and details	Includes relevant facts, examples and details, but not support all aspects of the case	Uses some relevant facts, examples and details.	Uses little facts, examples, or details.
Oral Presentation	Presents a strong and well organized case or point of view. All students must present for an equal amount of time.	Presents point of view and is organized.	Presents weak point of view but is not well organized.	Point of view is very weak and lacks organization. .
The PowerPoint presentation	Presentation includes all facts of the case and shows a clear understanding of the issues of the disputants and case.	Presentation has most of the facts and a clear under-standing of the major issues.	Presentation has some facts but the under-standing is confused or incomplete.	Presentation is not complete, or is poorly structured and written.

Standards Addressed:

New York City English Language Arts

E1c Read and comprehend informational materials
E1d Demonstrate familiarity with a variety of public documents
E2 Writing
E2a Produce a report of information
E3 Speaking, Listening and Viewing
E3b Participate in group meetings
E4 Conventions, Grammar and Usage of the English Language
E4a Demonstrate an understanding of the rules of the English Language in written and oral work
E4b Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness

E2e Produce a persuasive essay

New York State Social Studies

· 4. The study of civics and citizenship requires the ability to probe ideas and assumptions, ask and answer analytical questions, take a skeptical attitude towards questionable arguments, evaluate evidence, formulate rational conclusions, develop and refine participatory skills.

New York City Social Studies

· 5. Civics, Citizenship and government

· 5.2 Students respect the rights of others in discussions and classroom debates regardless of whether or not one agrees with their viewpoint

Conclusion:

In this webquest you have studied all aspects of the Ferguson v City of Charleston case. You have become an expert in all of the facts, constitutional issues, and details surrounding this case. As a group you have examined and incorporated the Constitutional Amendments required to analyze this case. You have demonstrated your understanding of the case by working as a group to produce a paper which outlines your feelings and beliefs about this court case. As a group you have presented your understanding of the facts of the case as they pertain to the Constitution and the freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.

As you progress with your study of Constitutional law, the foundations you have built using Ferguson v City of Charleston will make the process that much easier.