The Constitution

- Explain what the Constitution is, where its core ideas came from, and identify some of the people who wrote it.
- Describe how the Constitution creates a balance of power — between the people and the government, and among the three branches.
- Identify the three branches of government, the article of the Constitution that creates each, and the specific powers of each.
- Explain how the federal court system and California's state court system are structured, and how a case can move through each.
- Explain what the Bill of Rights is and how later amendments have expanded who is protected and who can vote.
- Connect the rights and structure created by the Constitution to their own lives and to the judge's role in the judicial branch.