CASE Library

Explore The Issues that Matter.

We excitedly invite you to browse, search, and explore our newly redesigned library of over 300 case studies which render some of the most complex and controversial moral and political issues of our time. These cases were formerly used for official NHSEB competitions at the Regional, Divisional, and National Championship levels. They are freely available for public use under Creative Commons licenses.

The NHSEB Case Library is an excellent tool for competitive preparation, internal or intramural competition, or beyond the context of the Ethics Bowl activity completely—as a classroom resource for Grades 9-12 and beyond.

Featured Cases

NAVIGATING THE LIBRARY

NHSEB’s Case Library is now fully browsable by individual case, or by Case Set—using the filters below. Or, if you already know a bit about what you’re looking for, the entire library of over 300 Ethics Bowl cases is newly indexed, referenced, and searchable by title, topic, keyword, year, and category. Each individual case entry contains the full text of the case and discussion questions as they originally appeared for competitive use, all references assembled in hyperlinked footnotes, and additional contextual resources curated by NHSEB HQ.

CASE SET COLLECTION

FIND AN ETHICS BOWL CASE

ATTRIBUTION AND CITATION

All National High School Ethics Bowl cases are the intellectual property of the Parr Center for Ethics, and all are freely available for public use under Creative Commons licenses once retired from use in NHSEB competitions. This library represents thousands of hours of work from our Contributing Authors, Editors, and others. Please do not reproduce NHSEB cases or sets—in part or in whole—without attribution, or modify the text of individual cases or sets. If you reproduce or make reference to NHSEB cases from this library (e.g., in classroom materials, academic papers, etc.), please attribute and/or cite those materials:

National High School Ethics Bowl (Ed.), <YEAR>. “<Case Title>.” National High School Ethics Bowl Case Library. UNC Parr Center for Ethics: Chapel Hill, NC. http://nhseb.org/case-library

Browse The Library

Predictive Policing

The Pasco County Sheriff’s office recently created a program to identify “prolific offenders” and try to empower them to live a lawful, productive, and fulfilled life. The PCSO also created a program to detect potential crimes and stop them from happening by creating a list of potential criminals and preemptively investigating them and checking in on them every so often. Many see this as an innovative way to prevent crime and provide help for those that may need it. Critics see this as an authoritarian overreach and leads to over-policing, as well as the invasion of privacy.

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2020-2021 National Case Set Katie Leonard 2020-2021 National Case Set Katie Leonard

Sleeping on Homelessness

Cities across the United States have turned to hostile architecture to curb the homeless population within their cities. Hostile architecture is anything that makes a place less hospitable, such as spikes under an overpass or ridges on a bench to prevent sleeping. These are seen as a quick fix and could potentially benefit businesses by making the cities seem cleaner and potentially deter crime. However, the architecture does nothing to help the homeless, actively taking city funds that could be directed towards helping these people better their lives.

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Dating After Prison

Antoine and Jack recently sat down and talked about what dating was like after being released from prison. Antoine went to prison at eighteen for a crime he didn't commit, while Jack admits to committing the crime, but has changed his ways while in prison. When the two of them are looking for a relationship now that they are free from prison, they struggle with when and how they should tell their dates, or even if they should since it does not define them as anymore.

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2019-2020 National Case Set Katie Leonard 2019-2020 National Case Set Katie Leonard

Burning Cash

47,000 acres were burned by an accidental fire caused by a teen who threw fireworks into a canyon. The judge sentenced the boy to $36 million in restitution, 152 apologies to the ones endangered, and 1,920 hours of community service. The judge also stated it is possible if there are no crimes committed and he follows up on his payments, apologies, and hours, his debt will be forgiven. Some say this is extremely absurd due to the likelyhood of a teenager being able to complete this, but the judge states that the debt is equal to the damage he cost. Should this punishment be permissable?

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Involuntary Commitment

Involuntary commitment, when an addict's family admits them into a facility without their consent, is becoming increasingly popular. They often see it as the last line of defense and if the addict won't do it for themselves it's up to them. Some states include prison into some of the facilites an addict can be admitted to instead of a regular rehabilition center. Is it wrong to interfere with someone's life if it is for a perceived better good? Is admitting an addict to a prison around violent criminals morally wrong?

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2018-2019 National Case Set Katie Leonard 2018-2019 National Case Set Katie Leonard

Golden State Killer

In 2018, authorities discovered the identity of the Golden State Killer by running crime scene DNA evidence against an online genealogy database that is ordinarily used to connect people to long-lost relatives. Few people find the fact that the perpetrator has been arrested on the basis of DNA evidence to be problematic. However, some find the methods of obtaining this evidence to be problematic. To what extent do companies that collect private data about their users have a responsibility to protect that data from being used in ways that their users would not consent to?

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2017-2018 National Case Set Katie Leonard 2017-2018 National Case Set Katie Leonard

Felon Disenfranchisement

Voting rights for convicted criminals vary dramatically from state to state. Critics argue that so-called felon disenfranchisement laws are anti-democratic because they relegate millions of people to second-class citizenship. Defenders insist that felons have viled to uphold their responsibilities as democratic citizens and thus deserve their right to vote. What qualities are important for voting responsibly? How, if at all, do racial disparities in felon disenfranchisement laws influence the justifiability of these laws.

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2017-2018 Regional Case Set Katie Leonard 2017-2018 Regional Case Set Katie Leonard

The Case of the Missing Serial Number

Cora was excited about the new bike she found on Craig's List for a great price, but six months after purchasing it a bike mechanic points out that the serial number has been scraped off. Cora worries that this means the bike is probably stolen, and she no longer has information about the Craig's List seller. Should she report the bike to the police and potentially lose it if someone has reported it stolen? Did she do anything wrong? What should Cora do?

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2015-2016 National Case Set Katie Leonard 2015-2016 National Case Set Katie Leonard

Prison Work

Many states make use of work prisons where prisoners "volunteer" to work and then receive a wage. Does this constitute exploitation of prisoners or is it necessary to reduce the high cost of the criminal justice system and help prisoners gain work skills? Is it ethical for a private company to pay workers in prison less than workers outside prison? Is it ethical for private companies to earn a profit from prison labor?

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