POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Thursday 9/26, I distributed one handout, the Maine statute criminalizing assisted suicide. We finished going over the Glucksberg case, covering the battles over the characterization of the right asserted, the historical record, the treatment of precedent, the legitimacy of the state's asserted interests, and Souter's concurrence. I also discussed the three basic institutional battlegrounds that we will regularly confront: individual rights versus government regulation, the separation of powers, and federalism. Finally, we went over proper citation form for statutes. The assignment for Tuesday October 1 is to read pp. 32-36 of the text, and to write up a practice case brief for yourselves of Smith v. Idaho (not handed in or graded).
POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
IN class today, Thursday 9/26, I distributed three handouts: my version of the outline of Alito's dissent in Jardines; Assignment #1 (reproduced below); and the case on which the assignment is based, Maryland v. King. If you were not in class and need the text of the case, it can be found at the website of the Supreme Court (supremecourt.gov); scroll down the list on the right to R-50, Md. v. King, 6/3/13. We began class by going over the requirements of the assignment, and the basic question posed by the King case (not whether there was a search, or whether the search fell within a recognized exception to the warrant requirement, but rather whether the warrantless search was reasonable). We then turned to the definition of probable caused in Illinois v. Gates, examining the decision first just in terms of how the Aguilar-Spinelli flow chart was changed, and then in terms of the power of the reviewing court to substitute its judgment on the existence of probable cause for that of the issuing magistrate. Finally we quickly reviewed some of the exceptions to the warrant requirement listed in the text. The assignment for Tuesday 10/1 is to begin work on the King outline.
Assignment due Thursday October 3, 2013
The assignment is to do an outline of Maryland v. King (distributed to the class 9/26).
Follow the format from the Sample Outlines that I’ve distributed. Your outlines will be evaluated on the format, as well as the specific content. Note that the basic format is Title (for the Roman numerals); and then Question and Answer for the other elements. Add elements to the outline as necessary in order to cover the points raised by the Justices and italicize those added elements. Outline both the majority and the dissenting opinions.
The assignment will be graded on both the structure and the content of your outline. The outline will also be graded on how well you write English, and how clearly you organize your thoughts. I like short clear sentences better than long complicated ones. I like correct grammar.
Please make two copies of your outline, one to hand in at the beginning of class, and the other for you to have during class for our discussion.
You may e-mail me if you have specific questions about the assignment. The more time that I have to answer your questions, the more likely it is that I can be helpful.
If you cannot be in class on Thursday 10/3, you should still e-mail me your assignment by the beginning of class time. If you do that, you will not have any grade deducted from your grade for the outline. If you do not, you should still contact me as soon as possible to see what options are available to you. (Generally, I do not want to accept assignments after we have discussed them in class). See the Syllabus for the class rules regarding late papers.
The work should be entirely your own, with no collaboration or plagiarism. See the syllabus regarding plagiarism and collaboration.
IMPORTANT: If you e-mail your assignment to me, I will reply to confirm that I have received your assignment. If I do not reply, then I have not received the assignment.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
September 24, 2013
POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Tuesday 9/24, I distributed one handout, my version of the Glucksberg case brief. We began by reviewing the VSDA brief, going over the copying and pasting involved in the Facts, Issues, and Holding segments. We then discussed the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the same case, Brown v. EMA. We went over the four different paths followed by different Justices in their quest for the correct resolution of this case. We also went over the ways in which the Court majority found the California law to be both under- and over-inclusive. We then turned our attention to the Glucksberg case, getting to the formulation of the Issues in the case. We will pick up at that point on Thursday. The assignment for Thursday 9/26 is to continue working on your own version of the Glucksberg case brief. Also include your understanding of the Souter concurrence in the case.
POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Tuesday 9/24,we started with the battle of the footnotes. We then went over the Kagan concurrence and the Alito dissent. We put the dissent into the outline format that I had asked for, adding outline elements as needed. We also went over some hypotheticals about ways of getting around the majority decision if desired. We will finish with the last elements Alito's Part III on Thursday. The assignment for Thursday 9/26 is to read and prepare to discuss through p. 482 of the text (Gates, and the exceptions to the warrant requirement).
In class today, Tuesday 9/24, I distributed one handout, my version of the Glucksberg case brief. We began by reviewing the VSDA brief, going over the copying and pasting involved in the Facts, Issues, and Holding segments. We then discussed the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the same case, Brown v. EMA. We went over the four different paths followed by different Justices in their quest for the correct resolution of this case. We also went over the ways in which the Court majority found the California law to be both under- and over-inclusive. We then turned our attention to the Glucksberg case, getting to the formulation of the Issues in the case. We will pick up at that point on Thursday. The assignment for Thursday 9/26 is to continue working on your own version of the Glucksberg case brief. Also include your understanding of the Souter concurrence in the case.
POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Tuesday 9/24,we started with the battle of the footnotes. We then went over the Kagan concurrence and the Alito dissent. We put the dissent into the outline format that I had asked for, adding outline elements as needed. We also went over some hypotheticals about ways of getting around the majority decision if desired. We will finish with the last elements Alito's Part III on Thursday. The assignment for Thursday 9/26 is to read and prepare to discuss through p. 482 of the text (Gates, and the exceptions to the warrant requirement).
Thursday, September 19, 2013
September 19, 2013
POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Thursday 9/19, I distributed two handouts: my version of the VSDA case brief, and a recent article from Forbes magazine about the relationship between violent video games and real world violence. We started with the concepts of questions of law versus questions of fact, summary judgment, and de novo review. In terms of First Amendment law, we went over strict scrutiny versus rational basis review (high hurdles versus low hurdles) and content-based versus non-content-based restrictions. We also looked at following versus distinguishing precedent. We went through my VSDA case brief, looking at how an "issue" is put together, including (usually) the incorporation of the appellant's contention into the operative legal question. We will pick up Tuesday with the relationship in the case brief between "facts", "issues" and "holdings". We will also go over the subsequent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case, as well as the Venn diagrams that explain the concepts of over- and under-inclusiveness. The assignment for Tuesday September 24th is to read pp. 22-32, and to attempt for yourselves a case brief of the Glucksberg case (not handed in or graded).
POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Thursday 9/19, I distributed one handout, a sample opinion outline and the formatting instructions for making an outline. We began by looking at the unexpected line-up of the Justices who voted for the defendant in both Jones and Jardines, which included two of the most "conservative' Justices joined by the three most "liberal". We then started going through the outline of Scalia's Jardines opinion, going carefully through each question posed in the parts of the opinion, and then the answer to those questions that Scalia provided. We looked at where Scalia's outline did not provide, in my opinion, enough structural elements, and so where I added structure to Scalia's outline. We talked about Scalia's footnote 1, and will pick up on Tuesday with the other Scalia footnotes. The assignment for Tuesday 9/24 is to read and prepare to discuss the Kagan concurrence in Jardines, and the Alito dissent. In addition, I want you to write up (but not handed in or graded) an outline of the Alito dissent, following the outline format that I provided.
In class today, Thursday 9/19, I distributed two handouts: my version of the VSDA case brief, and a recent article from Forbes magazine about the relationship between violent video games and real world violence. We started with the concepts of questions of law versus questions of fact, summary judgment, and de novo review. In terms of First Amendment law, we went over strict scrutiny versus rational basis review (high hurdles versus low hurdles) and content-based versus non-content-based restrictions. We also looked at following versus distinguishing precedent. We went through my VSDA case brief, looking at how an "issue" is put together, including (usually) the incorporation of the appellant's contention into the operative legal question. We will pick up Tuesday with the relationship in the case brief between "facts", "issues" and "holdings". We will also go over the subsequent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case, as well as the Venn diagrams that explain the concepts of over- and under-inclusiveness. The assignment for Tuesday September 24th is to read pp. 22-32, and to attempt for yourselves a case brief of the Glucksberg case (not handed in or graded).
POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Thursday 9/19, I distributed one handout, a sample opinion outline and the formatting instructions for making an outline. We began by looking at the unexpected line-up of the Justices who voted for the defendant in both Jones and Jardines, which included two of the most "conservative' Justices joined by the three most "liberal". We then started going through the outline of Scalia's Jardines opinion, going carefully through each question posed in the parts of the opinion, and then the answer to those questions that Scalia provided. We looked at where Scalia's outline did not provide, in my opinion, enough structural elements, and so where I added structure to Scalia's outline. We talked about Scalia's footnote 1, and will pick up on Tuesday with the other Scalia footnotes. The assignment for Tuesday 9/24 is to read and prepare to discuss the Kagan concurrence in Jardines, and the Alito dissent. In addition, I want you to write up (but not handed in or graded) an outline of the Alito dissent, following the outline format that I provided.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
September 17, 2013
POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Tuesday 9/17, I distributed one handout, a template for the case briefs that I will be requiring of you. We began by going over two cases related to the issues in Mockus: Town of Greece v. Galloway, and Snyder v. Phelps. We began our discussion of Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) by going over both the structure of the federal court system and the citation format for that system. We then started using the case brief template to discuss the proper citation, the parties, the objective, the cause of action, the trial court defense, and the prior proceedings in the VSDA case. We will pick up with the meaning of "summary judgment" in the trial court, and "de novo" review by the Court of Appeals, on Thursday. The assignment for Thursday 9/19 is to review the VSDA case, using the brief template to try to fill in the rest of the brief: what were appellant's contentions on appeal, what issues did the Court deal with, how did it resolve the various positions of the parties? (nothing written to hand in; just prepare to discuss these questions).
POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Tuesday 9/17, i distributed one handout, the Supreme Court's recent decision in Florida v. Jardines. We spent today's class going over the Jones case. We first went over some of the questions which the majority decision did not address: the fact that the car did not belong to Jones, whether Jones did have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the location of the car, whether the warrant should be considered valid despite the technical violation of its terms, whether the search might be reasonable even without a warrant, justified by either probable cause or by reasonable suspicion. We then delved into the two views advocated by Scalia and Alito: that the Katz questions are not the only ones to ask, versus Alito's view that the Katz questions do define the entire scope of what is considered a "search". The assignment for Thursday 9/19 is to read at least the majority decision in Florida v. Jardines.
In class today, Tuesday 9/17, I distributed one handout, a template for the case briefs that I will be requiring of you. We began by going over two cases related to the issues in Mockus: Town of Greece v. Galloway, and Snyder v. Phelps. We began our discussion of Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) by going over both the structure of the federal court system and the citation format for that system. We then started using the case brief template to discuss the proper citation, the parties, the objective, the cause of action, the trial court defense, and the prior proceedings in the VSDA case. We will pick up with the meaning of "summary judgment" in the trial court, and "de novo" review by the Court of Appeals, on Thursday. The assignment for Thursday 9/19 is to review the VSDA case, using the brief template to try to fill in the rest of the brief: what were appellant's contentions on appeal, what issues did the Court deal with, how did it resolve the various positions of the parties? (nothing written to hand in; just prepare to discuss these questions).
POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Tuesday 9/17, i distributed one handout, the Supreme Court's recent decision in Florida v. Jardines. We spent today's class going over the Jones case. We first went over some of the questions which the majority decision did not address: the fact that the car did not belong to Jones, whether Jones did have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the location of the car, whether the warrant should be considered valid despite the technical violation of its terms, whether the search might be reasonable even without a warrant, justified by either probable cause or by reasonable suspicion. We then delved into the two views advocated by Scalia and Alito: that the Katz questions are not the only ones to ask, versus Alito's view that the Katz questions do define the entire scope of what is considered a "search". The assignment for Thursday 9/19 is to read at least the majority decision in Florida v. Jardines.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
September 12, 2013
POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Thursday 9/12, we continued with our discussion of Mockus. We went through the rest of Mockus' contentions and the Court's response to each, the authority upon which the Court relied, as well as how the result could have come out differently. Along the way we went over the 1980 Maine Supreme Court case of State v. John W. (disorderly conduct), and we discussed the universe of "authority" as being divided into primary authority (law, subdivided into mandatory authority versus persuasive authority) versus secondary authority (non-law, such as treatises). We will start on Tuesday 9/17 with two cases that I didn't have time to discuss today, Town of Greece v. Galloway and Snyder v. Phelps. The assignment for Tuesday 9/17 is to read and prepare to discuss pp.14-22 of the text.
POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Thursday 9/12,we started with a review of Katz, going over the big three definitional questions addressed: whether a conversation is protected (as a "person, house, paper or effect"); what question to ask regarding whether something is a "search"; and what question to ask regarding whether that search is "reasonable". I went over a 1984 case regarding whether open fields fall with the protection of the 4th Amendment, Oliver v. U.S. We then finished up our discussion of Smith, going over the Blackmun, Stewart, and Marshall opinions. The assignment for Tuesday 9/17 is to read and prepare to discuss the Jones case (pp. 471-475 of the text). Read it, read it again, and then read it again, asking yourself the kinds of questions that we tackled in Smith.
In class today, Thursday 9/12, we continued with our discussion of Mockus. We went through the rest of Mockus' contentions and the Court's response to each, the authority upon which the Court relied, as well as how the result could have come out differently. Along the way we went over the 1980 Maine Supreme Court case of State v. John W. (disorderly conduct), and we discussed the universe of "authority" as being divided into primary authority (law, subdivided into mandatory authority versus persuasive authority) versus secondary authority (non-law, such as treatises). We will start on Tuesday 9/17 with two cases that I didn't have time to discuss today, Town of Greece v. Galloway and Snyder v. Phelps. The assignment for Tuesday 9/17 is to read and prepare to discuss pp.14-22 of the text.
POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Thursday 9/12,we started with a review of Katz, going over the big three definitional questions addressed: whether a conversation is protected (as a "person, house, paper or effect"); what question to ask regarding whether something is a "search"; and what question to ask regarding whether that search is "reasonable". I went over a 1984 case regarding whether open fields fall with the protection of the 4th Amendment, Oliver v. U.S. We then finished up our discussion of Smith, going over the Blackmun, Stewart, and Marshall opinions. The assignment for Tuesday 9/17 is to read and prepare to discuss the Jones case (pp. 471-475 of the text). Read it, read it again, and then read it again, asking yourself the kinds of questions that we tackled in Smith.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
September 10, 2013
POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Tuesday 9/10, I distributed one handout, the Maine Constitution's Declaration of Rights. I took pictures of the class, and will begin work on learning the names of the students in the class. We began our discussion of the Mockus case and questions. We went over the listing of order of the parties in decisions of the Maine Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, and we went over the universe of possibilities for the Plaintiff's Cause of Action in a case. We got to the list of Mockus' contentions on appeal, and the Court's responses to those contentions, ending with the crucial contention about the Maine blasphemy statute violating the Maine Constitutional guarantees of free religious expression and free speech. We will pick up at that point when we resume our Mockus discussion on Thursday. The assignment for Thursday 9/12 is to review the remaining Mockus questions and the Mockus decision itself, trying to translate the legal concepts into English to the extent possible.
POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Tuesday 9/10, I took pictures of the class, and will begin work on learning the names of the students in the class. We first discussed the Katz case from the text. We then began our discussion of the Smith case and questions. We went over the listing of order of the parties in decisions of the Maine Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, and we went over the treatment of precedent (following, distinguishing). We got to the point in Smith in which the Court distinguished Katz, based on the difference between the content of the conversation versus the number called. We will pick up at that point when we resume our Smith discussion on Thursday. The assignment for Thursday 9/12 is to review the remaining Smith questions and the Smith decision itself, trying to translate the legal concepts into English to the extent possible.
In class today, Tuesday 9/10, I distributed one handout, the Maine Constitution's Declaration of Rights. I took pictures of the class, and will begin work on learning the names of the students in the class. We began our discussion of the Mockus case and questions. We went over the listing of order of the parties in decisions of the Maine Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, and we went over the universe of possibilities for the Plaintiff's Cause of Action in a case. We got to the list of Mockus' contentions on appeal, and the Court's responses to those contentions, ending with the crucial contention about the Maine blasphemy statute violating the Maine Constitutional guarantees of free religious expression and free speech. We will pick up at that point when we resume our Mockus discussion on Thursday. The assignment for Thursday 9/12 is to review the remaining Mockus questions and the Mockus decision itself, trying to translate the legal concepts into English to the extent possible.
POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Tuesday 9/10, I took pictures of the class, and will begin work on learning the names of the students in the class. We first discussed the Katz case from the text. We then began our discussion of the Smith case and questions. We went over the listing of order of the parties in decisions of the Maine Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, and we went over the treatment of precedent (following, distinguishing). We got to the point in Smith in which the Court distinguished Katz, based on the difference between the content of the conversation versus the number called. We will pick up at that point when we resume our Smith discussion on Thursday. The assignment for Thursday 9/12 is to review the remaining Smith questions and the Smith decision itself, trying to translate the legal concepts into English to the extent possible.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
September 3, 2013
POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Tuesday 9/3, I distributed three handouts: the syllabus (which we went over); the case of State v. Mockus; and some questions to help you know what to look for in the Mockus case. We went over those questions. On Thursday 9/5 I will not be in class, but the class will still meet as scheduled. The class will watch a PBS DVD about the Supreme Court's awakening to the claims of constitutional protection of individual rights. The assignment for Tuesday 9/10 is to read and prepare to discuss the Mockus case and the accompanying questions, and to read and prepare to discuss pp. 1-14 of the text.
POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Tuesday 9/3, I distributed three handouts: the syllabus (which we went over); the case of Smith v. Maryland; and some questions to help you know what to look for in the Smith case. We went over those questions. On Thursday 9/5 I will not be in class, but the class will still meet as scheduled. The class will watch a PBS DVD about the Supreme Court's reaction to the expansion of the rights of the accused that had taken place under the Warren Court. The assignment for Tuesday 9/10 is to read and prepare to discuss the Smith case and the accompanying questions, and to read and prepare to discuss pp. 459-471 of the text.
In class today, Tuesday 9/3, I distributed three handouts: the syllabus (which we went over); the case of State v. Mockus; and some questions to help you know what to look for in the Mockus case. We went over those questions. On Thursday 9/5 I will not be in class, but the class will still meet as scheduled. The class will watch a PBS DVD about the Supreme Court's awakening to the claims of constitutional protection of individual rights. The assignment for Tuesday 9/10 is to read and prepare to discuss the Mockus case and the accompanying questions, and to read and prepare to discuss pp. 1-14 of the text.
POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Tuesday 9/3, I distributed three handouts: the syllabus (which we went over); the case of Smith v. Maryland; and some questions to help you know what to look for in the Smith case. We went over those questions. On Thursday 9/5 I will not be in class, but the class will still meet as scheduled. The class will watch a PBS DVD about the Supreme Court's reaction to the expansion of the rights of the accused that had taken place under the Warren Court. The assignment for Tuesday 9/10 is to read and prepare to discuss the Smith case and the accompanying questions, and to read and prepare to discuss pp. 459-471 of the text.
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