January 14, 2013

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Monday 1/14, I distributed two handouts: the syllabus, and the 1825 case of Mills v. Wyman. We went over the syllabus, which is reproduced below. We then talked about the concept of whether society should enforce promises that people make, even if there's nothing given in return. The assignment for Wednesday 1/16 is to read and prepare to discuss the case of Mills v. Wyman. If you were not in class (and therefore didn't get the handout) you can access the case by going to the Lexis database on the Fogler Library site, and then entering Mills and Wyman under finding a case by case name.

SYLLABUS
POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW Spring 2013

Sol Goldman e-mail: Solomon.Goldman@umit.maine.edu
Blog: www.goldmanmaine.blogspot.com

Office mailbox: Political Science Office, 229 N. Stevens

Office Hours: I will be in 241A N. Stevens from 12:00-1:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Description: This course is designed to educate students in the American legal system, focusing on its evolution and function as a dynamic social instrument.

Textbook: Introduction to Law and the Legal System, 10th edition, Schubert, Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012 .

Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Identify our various court systems, both federal and state
2. Understand the role of appellate and trial courts (e.g. findings of fact v. findings of law)
3. Identify various levels of review by appellate courts (e.g. de novo, clear error)
4. Identify stages of litigation (e.g. summary judgment, trial) and their implications for appellate review
5. Identify and critically analyze the use of precedent (e.g. mandatory v. persuasive; distinguish v. follow)
6. Identify the interplay between legislative and judicial lawmaking (e.g. common law, legislative intent)
7. Produce a case brief that succinctly leads to a statement of a court opinion’s holding
8. Critically analyze judicial decisions
9. Identify and critically analyze a sampling of substantive and procedural legal rules.

Grading:
1. Two homework assignments, each 21.25% of the final grade
2. Two tests, each 21.25% of the final grade
3. Class participation and attendance 15% of the final grade
[Grading plan is subject to change]

Policies:

1. Homework should be typed. Homework that is not typed may be rejected, at the discretion of the instructor. There are no extra credit assignments.

2. Homework that is not passed in by the time it is due may receive a zero, at the discretion of the instructor. If homework is accepted late, then it may have a grade or more deducted. Generally, no more than one homework assignment per person will be accepted late. Even if you are absent from class, you should still, if at all possible, get the homework that is due for that class meeting to me on time. If you must be absent from class, you may e-mail your homework to me. At the discretion of the instructor, alternative homework assignments may be given in lieu of the original assignment.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
I will confirm any work that is submitted to me by e-mail. If you do not get a confirmation from me, the work has not been considered submitted.

3. I expect everyone to take the exams when they are given. If an emergency arises, it is your responsibility to be in touch with me as soon as possible. The decision on whether you will be allowed to make up a missed exam is at the discretion of the instructor. If you are allowed to make up an exam, you must have completed the make-up exam before the beginning of the class period in which the exam is handed back (generally, the next class).
Make-up examinations, if allowed, will be scheduled at the instructor’s discretion.

4. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Students who cheat will be subject to a range of penalties, from failure of the assignment to failure of the course, at the discretion of the instructor. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following: copying from another student’s papers, exams or homework assignments; reading from another student’s notes or written materials during an exam; allowing work to be copied by another student; collaboration on homework assignments; plagiarism. In addition to any academic action taken by an instructor, these violations are also subject to action under the University of Maine Student Conduct Code. The maximum possible sanction under the student conduct code is dismissal from the University.

Special Accommodations-
If you have a disability for which you may be requesting an accommodation, please contact Ann Smith, Director of Disabilities Services, 121 East Annex, 581-2319, as early as possible in the term, and also discuss your need with me.

Attendance Policy-
I expect that you will attend all classes. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class and monitored throughout the semester. Students who regularly attend classes are more likely to succeed in the class overall.

If you have a good reason for being absent from class, so that I should consider the absence to be an excused absence, it is your responsibility to e-mail me before or immediately following the missed class, to explain why you believe that the absence should be excused. The decision to excuse the absence will be at the discretion of the instructor. Each absence requires a separate communication with me. I keep track of excused absences only by the e-mail record, so e-mail is the only acceptable method of letting me know about absences that should be excused.

Students will be responsible for the material covered in each class, including lecture notes. Therefore, I encourage you to get to know your classmates and to make sure that you have a complete set of lecture notes.

If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to get the assignment for the following class. You can get it from the blog, from a fellow student, or you can e-mail me, but I expect you to come to the following class prepared. At the end of each class session the assignment for the following class will be announced. That assignment will also be posted on the blog.

If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to get any handouts that were distributed to the class.

Homework Assignments and Exams:
This syllabus does not contain a schedule of specific class-by-class homework assignments and exam schedules, because I have found that I invariably stray from such a schedule. Instead, I will announce in class the actual dates, and also post that information on the blog. If you miss class, always check the blog for information on what we covered in class, and what the assignment is for the future classes.

NO CELL PHONE USE AND NO COMPUTER USE FOR OTHER THAN APPROVED CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES IS ALLOWED IN CLASS.



POS 384 AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES
In class today, Monday 1/14, I distributed three handouts: the syllabus, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), and the 2012 case of Korte v. Sebelius. We went over the syllabus, which is reproduced below. We then talked about the concept of Congress can prohibit the free exercise of religion, even if the First Amendment says that it can't. The assignment for Wednesday 1/16 is to read and prepare to discuss the RFRA and the Seventh Circuit case of Korte v. Sebelius. If you were not in class (and therefore didn't get the handout) you can access the case by going to the Lexis database on the Fogler Library site, and then entering Korte and Sebelius under finding a case by case name (make sure that you're looking at the 12/28 Seventh Circuit decision).



SYLLABUS

POS 384 AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES Spring 2013

Sol Goldman e-mail: Solomon.Goldman@umit.maine.edu
Blog: www.goldmanmaine.blogspot.com

Office mailbox: Political Science Office, 229 N. Stevens

Office Hours: I will be in 241A N. Stevens from 12:00-1:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Description: This course examines the tension between individual rights and the social order through consideration of major Supreme Court and lower court decisions involving the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment.

Textbook: Rights, Liberties, and Justice, 8th edition, Epstein and Walker, Sage Publications, 2013. The text is accompanied by an on-line archive of cases; the book includes a card with instructions and a registration number that allows you access to this archive.

Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to
1. Classify changing constitutional tests (e.g. strict scrutiny; rational basis) and changing applications of those tests.
2. Identify institutional factors (e.g. federalism; individual rights v. state power; separation of powers) that inform interpretations by Supreme Court Justices.
3. Identify and critically analyze implementation arguments in favor of certain judicial outcomes (e.g. ease of implementation of a rule; consistency v. flexibility; broad v. narrow scope of decisions).
4. Identify and critically analyze approaches to constitutional analysis (e.g. textualism, originalism, evolving standards).
5. Identify and critically analyze substantive rules regarding civil liberties.

Grading:
1. Two homework assignments, each 21.25% of the final grade
2. Two tests, each 21.25% of the final grade
3. Class participation and attendance 15% of the final grade
[Grading plan is subject to change]

Policies:
1. Homework should be typed. Homework that is not typed may be rejected, at the discretion of the instructor. There are no extra credit assignments.

2. Homework that is not passed in by the time it is due may receive a zero, at the discretion of the instructor. If homework is accepted late, then it may have a grade or more deducted. Generally, no more than one homework assignment per person will be accepted late. Even if you are absent from class, you should still, if at all possible, get the homework that is due for that class meeting to me on time. If you must be absent from class, you may e-mail your homework to me. At the discretion of the instructor, alternative homework assignments may be given in lieu of the original assignment.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
I will confirm any work that is submitted to me by e-mail. If you do not get a confirmation from me, the work has not been considered submitted.



3. I expect everyone to take the exams when they are given. If an emergency arises, it is your responsibility to be in touch with me as soon as possible. The decision on whether you will be allowed to make up a missed exam is at the discretion of the instructor. If you are allowed to make up an exam, you must have completed the make-up exam before the beginning of the class period in which the exam is handed back (generally, the next class).
Make-up examinations, if allowed, will be scheduled at the instructor’s discretion.

4. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Students who cheat will be subject to a range of penalties, from failure of the assignment to failure of the course, at the discretion of the instructor. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following: copying from another student’s papers, exams or homework assignments; reading from another student’s notes or written materials during an exam; allowing work to be copied by another student; collaboration on homework assignments; plagiarism. In addition to any academic action taken by an instructor, these violations are also subject to action under the University of Maine Student Conduct Code. The maximum possible sanction under the student conduct code is dismissal from the University.

Special Accommodations-
If you have a disability for which you may be requesting an accommodation, please contact Ann Smith, Director of Disabilities Services, 121 East Annex, 581-2319, as early as possible in the term, and also discuss your need with me.

Attendance Policy-
I expect that you will attend all classes. Attendance will be taken at the outset of each class and monitored throughout the semester. Students who regularly attend classes are more likely to succeed in the class overall.

If you have a good reason for being absent from class, so that I should consider the absence to be an excused absence, it is your responsibility to e-mail me before or immediately following the missed class, to explain why you believe that the absence should be excused. The decision to excuse the absence will be at the discretion of the instructor. Each absence requires a separate communication with me. I keep track of excused absences only by the e-mail record, so e-mail is the only acceptable method of letting me know about absences that should be excused.

Students will be responsible for the material covered in each class, including lecture notes. Therefore, I encourage you to get to know your classmates and to make sure that you have a complete set of lecture notes.

If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to get the assignment for the following class. You can get it from the blog, from a fellow student, or you can e-mail me, but I expect you to come to the following class prepared. At the end of each class session the assignment for the following class will be announced. That assignment will also be posted on the blog.

If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to get any handouts that were distributed to the class.

Homework Assignments and Exams:
This syllabus does not contain a schedule of specific class-by-class homework assignments and exam schedules, because I have found that I invariably stray from such a schedule. Instead, I will announce in class the actual dates, and also post that information on the blog. If you miss class, always check the blog for information on what we covered in class, and what the assignment is for the future classes.

NO CELL PHONE USE AND NO COMPUTER USE FOR OTHER THAN APPROVED CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES IS ALLOWED IN CLASS.