October 26, 2012

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Friday 10/26, we began by going through the Gregg opinion, and looked at the questions examined by the plurality opinion, as well as the two dissents. We talked about the structure of our political system, in which some (moral) judgments are made by the people directly, most are made by their elected representatives, and courts (being removed from that popular democracy) usually defer to the judgment of those popular sources of law. But in the case of constitutional limits, courts act as the policeman over majority judgments, and impose the higher will expressed by the Bill of Rights. After finishing our discussion of Gregg, I also went over a number of later Supreme Court decisions that imposed limits on the imposition of the death penalty: Coker v. Georgia (non-homicide); Atkins v. Va. (mental retardation); and Roper v. Simmons (minors). We also looked at the life-sentencing rules for minors established by Graham v. Florida (non-homicides) and Miller v. Alabama (mandatory life sentences). We will continue with the previously assigned case of State v. Mobbley on Monday. The assignment for Monday 10/29 is to read and prepare to discuss through p. 75 of the text.

POS 359 FEDERALISM
In class today, Friday 10/26, we finished our discussion of Darby, and then went over Wickard v. Filburn. We looked at how the direct v. indirect distinction was abandoned, and also how local production not intended for interstate commerce was included within the scope of federal power. We then began our discussion of Heart of Atlanta Motel, by going over the history of the 1883 Civil Rights Cases, and how the Supreme Court gutted the effect of the 14th Amendment. We will continue with the Commerce Clause analysis of the 1964 Civil Rights cases on Monday. The assignment for Monday 10/29 is to read and prepare to discuss through p. 316 of the text.

POS 359 THE CURRENT SUPREME COURT TERM
In class today, Friday 10/26, we continued with our exploration of Kennedy's participation in the Fisher oral argument. We will finish with Kennedy's parting shot on Monday, and then I'll go over the unassigned portions of Parents Involved to clarify what Kennedy was agreeing with and disagreeing with in the other opinions. The assignment for Monday 10/29 is to work on the previously assigned Fisher paper, due Friday 11/2.
Important Note:
The Supreme Court has released a revised version of the oral argument transcript, with revised pagination and line numbers. When, in your paper, you cite to specific portions of the oral argument transcript, begin your initial discussion by telling me where on the page of your transcript the page number is located (that's how the Court marks a revised version of the transcript; e.g., the page numbers are in the upper right of the page, or in the bottom middle).