April 15, 2013

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Monday 4/15, I handed back the Davis case briefs, as well as my comment key, and we reviewed them. We then went back to our discussion of Conflict of Law rules and the Land case. We went over federal question jurisdiction and diversity jurisdiction, and then discussed how the Erie doctrine locked the federal court into the Indiana Hubbard Conflict of Law rule. I plan to start on Wednesday with a Maine Conflict of Law case, Collins v. Trius. The assignment for Wednesday 4/17 is to review Full Faith and Credit and Finstuen, previously assigned.


POS 384 CIVIL LIBERTIES
In class today, Monday 4/15, I discussed a 2003 Supreme Court case, Virginia v. Black, which dealt with a Virginia statute that criminalized cross burning with intent to intimidate, and how the outcome of that case was different from that in R.A.V. We also talked about the lines regarding incitement to violence. We then started our discussion of Snyder v. Phelps. I went over the concept of state action as it pertains to state tort law, and also started discussing the evolution of First Amendment protection against state tort actions. We talked about N.Y. Times v. Sullivan, and will pick up on Wednesday with the expansion of First Amendment protection for defendants from public officials to public figures, and beyond. The assignment for Wednesday 4/17 is to review Snyder v. Phelps, previously assigned.