October 10, 2013

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Thursday 10/10 I distributed two handouts: my version of the White case brief, and the Maine criminal statute regarding the use of force in property offenses and in defense of premises. We went over the White case brief, which I will be returning next Thursday. Along the way, we also went over proper citation form for both Maine Supreme Court decisions and for Maine statutes, and the concept of dictum. There is no class on Tuesday 10/15, to mark the Day after Columbus Day Holiday. The assignment for Thursday 10/17 is to read and try to figure out what Maine law says you can do in defense of your home, and to read and prepare to discuss pp. 41-56 in the text. Also, I announced to the class that I plan to have our first Test (open book and open note) on Thursday 10/24.


POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Thursday 10/10 I distributed two handouts: an article about the lawsuit challenging New York City's stop and frisk practice, and an edited version of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Davis v. U.S. We started our discussion by going over the qualified immunity parts of the Safford opinion (not included in the text). We then looked at the article describing the NYC lawsuit, and how NYC has come to interpret what is allowed to it by the Terry v. Ohio case. We then went through the Terry case, going both the majority and dissenting opinions.There is no class on Tuesday 10/15, to mark the Day after Columbus Day Holiday. The assignment for Thursday 10/17 is to review Mapp (previously assigned) and to read and prepare to discuss the Davis case (handout). Also, I announced to the class that I plan to have our first Test (open book and open note) on Thursday 10/24.