Chiafalo v. Washington was a SCOTUS in the Classroom case. It was decided on July 6, 2020.
Each term Street Law selects the most classroom-relevant, student-friendly cases as our SCOTUS in the Classroom cases. Teachers are encouraged to conduct moot courts the same week the case is argued, giving students the opportunity to follow discussion and analysis in the news and listen to or read a transcript of the actual oral arguments.
Street Law provides the following case resources for Chiafalo v. Washington:
- Case summary (high school level)
- Classifying Arguments activity (high school level)
Case Issue:
Is Washington’s law that fines presidential electors for voting for a candidate other than their party’s nominee an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment?
Case Briefs:
- Brief of Petitioner: Chiafalo
- Brief of Respondent: Washington
Oral Argument:
Decision:
News Articles and Resources:
- Educational SCOTUSBlog seminar: Preview of faithless elector cases
- Educational SCOTUSBlog seminar: Debrief of faithless elector cases
- Webinar: Faithless elector case review with Zack Tripp
- The Daily Herald: "Supreme Court to hear Washington case of ‘faithless’ electors" (January 17, 2020)
- SCOTUSblog: A symposium of articles ideal for teachers' background
- The Hill: "Supreme Court to hear oral arguments by telephone" - video available (April 13, 2020)
- SCOTUSblog: "Court sets cases for May telephone arguments, will make live audio available"(April 13, 2020)
How to Conduct a Moot Court or a Mini-Moot Court:
Since 1995, Street Law, Inc. has been developing curricular materials to help teach about modern and historic Supreme Court cases.
All Street Law Case Summaries include the following sections: case facts, issues, relevant constitutional provisions/statutes/precedents, arguments for each side, and the decision. They have been reviewed by both legal experts and educators and are ready for classroom use.