January 20, 2009

POS 359--The Current Supreme Court Term
In class today, Tuesday 1/20, we went over two cases that preceded the Herring case, Leon and Evans. We then finished going over the Herring decision. We discussed two variables of judicial decision-making (in addition to liberal and conservative): bright-line rules v. case by case adjudication, and adherence to precedence v. going with what you think is right. The assignment for Thursday 1/22 is to read Part II of the Toobin book (chapters 11-13).

CMJ 375--Mass Media Law
In class today, Tuesday 1/20, we went over the beginning of Chapter 2 of the text, talking about the importance of the First Amendment, different concepts of speech around the world, and then the concept of Prior Restraint. I discussed one non-text case involving the scope the First Amendment, Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, regarding the reach of the First Amendment to the executive branch of the federal government. We began, but did not finish, our discussion of the Simon and Schuster case on p. 17 of the casebook. On Thursday, 1/22, we will finish our discussion of that case, and also discuss the previously assigned Tornillo case. The assignment for Thursday 1/22 is to read and prepare to discuss the rest of Chapter 2 of the text, and to read the McIntyre case on p. 27 of the casebook.