October 2, 2008

POS 282--Introduction to American Law
In class today, Thursday 10/2, I began by clarifying the "prior proceedings" of the Goss v.Lopez case,and the meaning of a section 1983 lawsuit. I distributed the text of 42 USC section 1983 to the class. We then talked about the the use of retribution and deterrence in the Gregg v. Georgia case. I talked about a recent U.S. Supreme Court case, Kennedy v. Louisiana, regarding the imposition of capital punishment for the rape of a child. We discussed the Mobbley and Holland cases in the text. The assignment for Tuesday Oct. 7 is to write up the Goss v. Lopez case brief. If you have extra time, you might also read the Lawrence v. Texas case starting on p. 83 of the text.

CMJ 375--Mass Media Law
In class today, Thursday 10/2, I collected the "Letter to the Editor" memo. We spent the rest of the class discussing the elements of defamation regarding that letter. The assignment for Tuesday 10/7 is to read and prepare to discuss the remainder of Chapter 4 of the text.