February 19, 2015

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Thursday 2/19, I distributed three handouts: my version of the Speelman brief, some Speelman hypotheticals, and the Maine criminal statutes regarding the use of force to protect your home and your stuff. We finished up the Speelman case, going through the State v. Nelson contentions by BHA, and then the other requirements for a preliminary injunction. We then did some hypotheticals regarding Speelman, including the duty to investigate the whereabouts of the addressee, how to manage how much information you've got, and how different timings might affect the due process analysis. We then started going through Katko, getting as far as the cause of action. We reviewed the concept of common law, the definition of a tort, and the components of damages. On Tuesday 2/24 we will finish Katko, go over the Maine statute regarding use of force (handout) and then go over the additional reading for Tuesday 2/24, which is to read and prepare to discuss the remainder of Chapter One of the text (Suggs v. Norris). (Then on Thursday 4/26, we'll have Exam #1).


POS 383 AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
In class today, Thursday 2/19, the class took a practice exam to demonstrate the kinds of questions that you might expect on Exam #1 (Thursday 2/26). I collected the NFIB outlines, and we went over them. I hope to have them graded and ready to return on Tuesday. We then went over some hypotheticals regarding coercion, such as whether basic Medicaid itself is coercive because it's such a good deal for states that no state feels free to reject it. The assignment for Tuesday 2/24 is to read in the text pp. 376-384.