January 30, 2013

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Wednesday 1/30, we finished going over the substance and the format of the VSDA case brief. I then discussed the Supreme Court review of that decision in the 2011 decision of Brown v. EMA. We covered Supreme Court citation form, and also went over both the majority decision in the 2011 case and Justice Alito's concurrence. I will cover the two dissenting opinions on Friday. The assignment for Friday 2/1 is to continue working on the previously assigned Glucksberg case brief (not handed in or graded).

POS 384 CIVIL LIBERTIES
In class today, Wednesday 1/30, we went over how Cantwell's reasoning was laid open to question in the 2002 Watchtower free speech case. We covered Gobitis, and how its reasoning was laid open to question in the 1942 Barnette free speech case. We covered Braunfeld v. Brown and how it was distinguished in the Sherbert case. We will pick up at that point on Friday. The assignment for Friday 2/1 is to review the previously assigned reading in the text through p. 122.