What Limits Should There Be On The Emergency Powers of the President?

• The teacher will lead a discussion on Constitutional Powers of the President: Where are these powers found? Explain that through the years, Presidents have used “Emergency Powers” for various reasons. Examples might include Lincoln’s suspending the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War or FDR interning Japanese Americans during WWII, or George W. Bush taking actions against suspected terrorists after 9/11. Discuss the following:

1.) What is the Constitutional basis for Emergency Powers by the President?

2.) Can a President go too far in exercising Emergency Powers? Explain.

3.) How can the Legislative and Judicial Branches “check” or “balance” a President’s use of Emergency Powers?

• Students will research the history of Emergency Powers using the Primary and Secondary Sources provided.

• Scenario: Assume that President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency on the Southern Border and use of funds to build a border wall without Congressional appropriation is appealed to and accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court. Hold a moot court by assigning a small group of students to argue on behalf of the Trump Administration, another small group to argue on behalf of ranchers/property owners/environmentalists/ Congress to argue against the Constitutionality of the President’s actions, and a group of up to nine people to sit on the Supreme Court. Lawyers for each side will be allowed approximately 5 minutes of testimony to convince the justices of the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of the President’s actions. The justices may ask questions of the lawyers and then will confer and reach a decision. Note: Moot court involves a simulated appellate court (appellate advocacy) or arbitral case, which is different from a mock trial that involves a simulated jury trial or bench trial (trial advocacy). Moot court does not involve actual testimony by witnesses, cross-examination, or the presentation of evidence, but is focused solely on the application of the law to the scenario or case in question. (Adapted from Wikipedia) Stress that In this scenario, the lawyers are not arguing over whether building a wall is a good or bad thing, but, rather, whether the President has the Constitutional authority to go about it in the way he is doing it. In other words, is this an appropriate use of “Emergency Powers” under the Constitution?