November 20, 2014

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Thursday 11/20, I collected the Brown case briefs, and also distributed my version of that brief. I plan to return the Brown briefs on Tuesday. We went over the brief. We began our discussion of NFIB v. Sebelius, looking at the words of the Constitution (both the taxing power and interstate commerce), and beginning the discussion over precedent prior to this case. We'll continue with NFIB on Tuesday. The assignment for Tuesday 11/25 s to read in the text through p. 106 (Butler).


POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Thursday 11/20, I distributed one handout, the Maine Supreme Court opinion in State v. Ormsby, 2013 ME 88 (if you weren't in class, you can email me for the edited version, or read the whole thing at the Maine Supreme Court website (http://courts.maine.gov/opinions_orders/supreme/index.shtml).
We finished our discussion of Miranda, then talked about some exceptions as pointed out in the textbook chart. We went over the Seibert case. I then discussed the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court case of Salinas v. Texas, about the consequences when a suspect becomes silent when asked questions during a non-custodial interrogation. The assignment for Tuesday 11/25 is to read and prepare to discuss the Ormsby Maine Supreme Court decision.