March 15, 2012

POS 282--Introduction to American Law
In class today, Thursday 3/15, we first discussed the text and interpretation of the 8th Amendment. I went over the 1972 Furman v. Ga. case, and then we went over the textbook case of Gregg v. Ga. I discussed a number of post-Gregg cases, including Coker v. Ga. (death penalty for non-homicide); Atkins v. Va. (death penalty for mentally retarded); Godfrey v. Ga. (definition of aggravating circumstances); Ring v. Arizona (beyond reasonable doubt standard for aggravating circumstances). We then talked about the rules for minors, including Roper v. Simmons (death penalty for minors); Graham v. Florida (life imprisonment for minors in non-homicide cases) and Miller v. Alabama ((life imprisonment for minors in homicide cases) to be argued 3/20/ 2012. The assignment for Tuesday 3/20 is to read through p. 70 of the text.

POS 359-- The Current Supreme Court Term
In class today Thursday, 3/15, we went over the assigned FCC Reply Brief. We first examined the outline of the Reply Brief, and then followed the back and forth between networks' contentions and the FCC reply to those contentions. The assignment for Tuesday 3/20 is to read and prepare to discuss the 2009 Supreme Court decision in FCC v. Fox, 556 US 502. Read all of the opinions in the case, concentrating on those hints found in the 2009 case about how some of the Justices view the constitutional issues to be decided in the present FCC v. Fox case.