Do you want to research court decisions? One of the best places to start is www.findlaw.com. This site provides the full text of all federal court decisions, including those of the U.S. Supreme Court, and also includes the decisions of selected state courts. Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute (www.law.cornell.edu/opinions.html is another useful source for recent federal and state court opinions.

As an activity, explore a particular civil rights or civil liberties issue that interests you.

• Begin by familiarizing yourself with the positions of legal interest groups. You might, for instance, look at the arguments advanced by the American Civil Liberties Union (www.aclu.org. Then check out the Southeastern Legal Foundation (www.southeasternlegal.org). Because these two organizations litigate many of the same issues, often in opposition to each other, you can compare and contrast their arguments.
  
  
• For further information, check out the position taken by the U.S. Department of Justice. If the issue you have chosen was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, you can find the full text of any briefs submitted by the U.S. government at www.usdoj.gov/05publications/05_2.html. If the issue was litigated by a U.S. court of appeals, you can also find the government's brief before that court at www.usdoj.gov/05publications/05_2.html. Finally, if you go to the Findlaw site, you can, for any recent case, click on all the briefs (including third-party briefs) submitted on behalf of both sides. Read these briefs and use the Web to locate the parties preparing them. How much can you learn about these groups?