This episode chronicles events during the Obama administration. It includes the Great Recession, the various domestic programs employed to get the U.S. out of the recession, DACA, The Affordable Care Act, various credit and banking reforms, and efforts to mitigate the deficit and debt. Foreign policy includes relations with Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia, etc.

This first amendment case deals with the ability of the Federal government to restrain the press from printing information that the government deems damaging. In this case Daniel Ellsberg is providing research to the New York Times and the Washington Post about lies, incompetence, and the Vietnam war. The articles in both the Times and the Post, show that the US government lied to the American people about the conduct and status of the Vietnam War. The Nixon administration tried to stop the publication of the articles.

What are a woman's rights when it comes to her body - in this case abortion. As controversial case as any - the Supreme court must decide if the 14th Amendment's Due Process clause extends to a woman's right to have an abortion. The decision favored Roe in this landmark case. With the ruling the controversy did not die. Some states continue to reexamine the decision and seek greater restrictions on abortion.

The classic First Amendment case. Do students surrender their right of free speech and expression when they enter the school building? The 7-2 decision will affirm that freedom of expression is protected under the First Amendment, and it extends to students in public schools.

This cases deals with the Establishment Clause of religion as outlined in the First Amendment to the US Constitution. Can the government mandate a voluntary prayer in schools? While seemingly obvious - the Supreme court decided that the "voluntary prayer" violated the First Amendment. 6-1 decision

This is the landmark case that decides the rights of the accused. Miranda confessed - doesn't that make him guilty? One would think - but what if the proper procedure wasn't followed? What if he didn't know he had the right to remain silent? That is the focus of this very important case. A 5-4 decision for Miranda adds to the controversy.

This landmark case is one of the pillars of the modern Civil Rights movement. In order to overturn Plessey 1896 the NAACP needed to prove that separate could never be equal. It took Linda Brown, some dolls, and Thurgood Marshall to demonstrate the inferiority that Black America felt regardless of how "equal" the separate facility was.

The Russian Revolution and World War I launched the U.S. into a Red Scare. Fearing foreign influence the Espionage and Sedition Acts were passed. In essence they forbid interference with the war effort through making false statements or promoting disloyalty. Charles Schenck was the General Secretary of the U.S. Socialist party. In 1917, just when the U.S. entered World War I, he helped print and distribute over 15,000 leaflets urging men to resist the draft. He was arrested and charged with violating the Espionage Act. Sentenced to ten years in prison he appealed to the Supreme Court who upheld the conviction.

Did the U.S. government have the right to round up and detain Japanese American citizens during World War II? Did they present a danger and did the U.S. government act reasonably. Fred Korematsu didn't think so. After Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 Korematsu had plastic surgery and tried to conceal his identity. Korematsu was arrested and convicted of violating the local Civilian Exclusion order. He appealed to the Supreme court. The Supreme court upheld the conviction ruling that the government can take extraordinary measures in times of war. It was later looked on as a national shame.

In the shadow of Reconstruction lived Homer Plessey. During the Jim Crowe era southern states found ways to impose highly restrictive regulations on Black society. One principal method was to restrict Blacks from mixing with Whites. Separate facilities dominated the South and Homer Plessey would test whether Louisiana's segregation regulations were Constitutional. The court ultimately ruled that Separate but Equal facilities were legal. This decision became the precedent to allow segregation throughout the South and was upheld until 1954.

This case deals with the supremacy issue once again. It is a test to reaffirm the precedent set in 1819 with McCulloch. The issue is whether a license to conduct interstate commerce issued by the Federal Government is superior to that of a State government. Of course, the Federal license will be deemed superior to the State license affirming the 1819 decision.