December 12, 2019

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Thursday 12/12, I distributed one last handout, the Maine civil and criminal jurisdiction statutes, and we went over how to read them. I reminded the class that Exam #2 will be Tuesday 12/17 from 9:30-10:45. If you are missing any handouts, email me with your requests by 8:00 pm on Monday 12/16. I also reminded the class to please complete the on-line evaluations.
We then looked at the recognition statutes that I distributed last class, and saw how the federal statute regarding non-recognition for out-of-state same sex marriages is still on the books, even though the Supreme Court has said that it is unconstitutional. We then discussed both the Maine Supreme Court case of Landmark Realty v. Leasure, and the U.S. Supreme Court case of Bowles v. Russell, and noted the different approaches taken by the the two courts for the definition of subject-matter jurisdiction within their respective court systems. Finally, I talked to the class about the 2017 U.S. Supreme Court case of Hamer v. Neighborhood Housing, which unanimously ruled on whether a failure to meet a deadline in the federal rules was a failure of subject-matter jurisdiction.
See you Tuesday.




POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Thursday 12/12, I first reminded the class that Exam #2 will be Thursday 12/19 from 9:30-10:45. If you are missing any handouts, email me with your requests by 8:00 pm on Wednesday 12/18. I also reminded the class to please complete the on-line evaluations.
We then spent the class period looking at Montejo v. Louisiana. We first clarified what Jackson had decided, and how the 2 sides in Montego had different visions of how Jackson should be interpreted under the Louisiana procedure for appointment of counsel. We looked at the outline of Scalia's opinion, and then saw how the Court majority reached an issue that neither party had brought up.
See you Thursday.