September 27, 2007

POS 282--Intro. to Amer. Law
In class today, Thursday 9/27, we finished going over Chapter 1(!). We also began our discussion of Chapter 2 regarding capital punishment. I distributed a homework assignment which I'm repeating below. The assignment is due next Thursday, 10/4.


POS 282 Introduction to American Law Sol Goldman
September 27, 2007

The assignment for Thursday, October 4, 2007 is

1) Re-read Johnson v. Ford Motor Company at p. 91 of the text.

2) Go to the website for the Medill School of Journalism, and read this article about a recently decided U.S. Supreme Court case, Philip Morris v. Williams (February 20, 2007) (R-17, 2006 Term):

http://docket.medill.northwestern.edu/archives/003687.php

3) Using the link at the bottom of the Medill article (or going directly to the U.S. Supreme Court site
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/06slipopinion.html)

read the opinions (majority and dissenting) of the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the punitive damage award in this case.

This case involved a civil suit by a smoker who died from his smoking, and who was mislead by the tobacco company into believing that smoking was safe.

4) Write a paper (approximately 2 double-spaced pages) summarizing in your own words what the majority found to be the trouble with the way that the punitive damages issue had been presented to the jury. Also write a summary of the positions of each of the dissenting opinions. Finally, evaluate as well as you can whether the California Supreme Court decision in Johnson is affected by the Philip Morris decision (and, if so, how).

September 25, 2007

POS 282--Intro. to Amer. Law
In class today, Tuesday 9/25, we spent the class going through in detail the Katko case, including the types of authority used, the creation of common law, and the nuances of the key circumstances of the holding. The assignment for Thursday 9/27 is to review the rest of Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.

September 20, 2007

POS 282--Intro. to American Law
In class today, Thursday 9/20, we
continued our journey through Chapter One of the text. I also discussed
one other case regarding assisted suicide, Gonzales v. Oregon. We
started a detailed discussion of the exact holding of theKatko case. On
Tuesday, 9/25 we will finish Chapter One for sure. The assignment for
Tuesday is to review the reading of Chapter One and Chapter Two.

September 18, 2007

POS 282--Intro. to Amer. Law
In class today, Tuesday 9/18, we continued going over the concepts of Chapter 1 of the text. We evaluated the Bangor parade permit against the standards set out in the
AAC case, and discussed the assisted suicide case. The assignment for Thursday 9/20 is to review your reading of the reminder of Chapter 1 and all of chapter 2.

Tuesday September 11, 2007

POS 282 --Intro. to Amer. Law
In class today, Tuesday 9/11, we finished our discussion of Sociological jurisprudence with the cases of Ledbetter (pay discrimination) and Parents Involved (racial segregation). We went over AAC v. Dearborn, and the handout from last class with my version of the holdings of that case. I distributed one handout, an excerpt from the Bangor parade ordinance, but we did not have time to discuss it. The assignment for next Tuesday, 9/18 is to review the remainder of Chapter 1 of the text, and to read Chapter 2 of the text. A reminder that there will be no class meeting on Thursday 9/13.

POS 282

In class today, Thursday 9/6, we finished our discussion of the Maine perjury and false swearing statutes, and I presented one Maine case regarding false swearing, State v. Anthoine. We then started our discussion of the Jurisprudential ideas of the text, and I also presented the recent U.S. Supreme Court case of Gonzales v. Carhart. I also distributed one handout, my version of the holdings of AAC v. Dearborn. Next Tuesday we will finish our discussion of chapter 1 including the uses of case briefs. The assignment for Tuesday is to finish reading Chapter 1 of the text. (And a reminder that there will be no class Thursday 9/13).

Sepember 4, 2007

POS 282--Intro. to Amer. Law
In class today, Tuesday 9/4, I distributed and we discussed 3 handouts: the syllabus, a list of useful websites, and a handout regarding perjury, both ancient and modern. The assignment for Thursday 9/6 is to read through page 28 in the text. Also, read the perjury handout and be prepared to discuss the difference in the definitions of perjury and false swearing.