Thursday, May 3, 2018

May 3, 2018

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Thursday 5/3, we first went over the Frump case regarding the calculation of the jurisdictional amount for federal court diversity subject matter jurisdiction. We then dipped into Chapter 5 of the text with Salmon v. Atkinson and the question of when an Arkansas quantum merit cause of action accrues if a client terminates a contingency fee agreement with her lawyer. Finally I talked about a Maine Supreme Court case, Paffhausen v. Estate of Balano, in which the Court clarified the distinction in Maine between the theories of quantum meruit v. unjust enrichment, as well as the measure of damages for each theory. That's how far the exam will cover.
Exam #2 is Tuesday 5/8, from 8:45-10:00, open-book and open-note. It will cover the material we've studied since the last exam (i.e., it's not comprehensive over the entire semester). If you are missing any handouts, you need to notify me of what you're missing by 8:00 p.m. of Monday 5/7.

POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Thursday 5/3, we first went over the Sheppard v. Maxwell case. We then looked back at the 2 handouts from last week, and examined the Maine Rules regarding jury sequestration and the ethical rules for lawyers regarding trying a case in the press. We talked about the difference between the Maine Rule and the ABA Model Rule. We then talked the Gannett v. DePasquale case as a prelude to Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia. For that case we went over the 3 opinions, the majority, Brennan's concurrence, and Rehnquist's dissent. That's how far the exam will cover.
Exam #2 is Tuesday 5/8, from 10:30-11:45, open-book and open-note. It will cover the material we've studied since the last exam (i.e., it's not comprehensive over the entire semester). If you are missing any handouts, you need to notify me of what you're missing by 8:00 p.m. of Monday 5/7.

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

May 1, 2018

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Tuesday, 5/1, I first went over the upcoming exam. It will be Tuesday 5/8, and will be from 8:45-10:00 (not 8:00). Any requests for missing handouts should be sent to me by email by 8:00pm on Monday 5/7. I also reminded the class of the need to fill out evaluations on-line for this class. The link was sent in an email to you from Brian Doore of the Office of Assessment, and I believe that you can also access the evaluation through Blackboard.
We reviewed the 4 bases for personal jurisdiction from last weeks' discussion, and then went over the Swoboda case. I talked about two other personal jurisdiction cases, Commerce Bank v. Dworman, 2004 ME 142, and Walden v. Fiore, 571 US ___ (2014). I also went over the difference between general jurisdiction v. specific jurisdiction. Then we went back to subject matter jurisdiction, this time in federal court, and we discussed the case of St. James v. Coinmach.
The assignment for Thursday 5/3 is to read in the textbook the remainder of Chaper 4 (including Frump v. Claire's Boutiques, p. 142) and to read in Chapter 5 through p. 158 (including Salmon v. Atkinson, p. 156).


POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Tuesday, 5/1, I first went over the upcoming exam. It will be Tuesday 5/8, and will be from 10:30- 11:45 (not 12:30). Any requests for missing handouts should be sent to me by email by 8:00pm on Monday 5/7. I also reminded the class of the need to fill out evaluations on-line for this class. The link was sent in an email to you from Brian Doore of the Office of Assessment, and I believe that you can also access the evaluation through Blackboard.
I distributed one handout, an excerpt from the Maine Rules of Evidence, Maine Rules of Professional Conduct, and the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. We began by going over Batson, and then looking at last week's handout on jury selection in Maine. I then talked about two recent Supreme Court cases regarding juror racial bias in jury deliberations, Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado and Tharpe v. Sellers. We looked briefly at today's handout regarding the Maine Rules of Evidence regarding Jury Deliberations.
The assignment for Thursday 5/3 is to review today's handout, review the Sheppard case (previously assigned) and to read in addition Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia (through p. 565 of the text).