February 24, 2015

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Tuesday 2/24, I distributed three handouts: my version of the Katko v. Briney case brief, Assignment #1 (reproduced below, and due on the Thursday after break) and the Bragg case that you'll be briefing. I first gave some background to the issues in Bragg. We then finished up Katko, talking about the making of common law, the sources used by the Iowa Supreme Court in deciding what Iowa common law should be, jury instructions, and the consequences of a lawyer messing up. We then went through the Maine statutes regarding use of force (handed out last Thursday). (We did not get to Suggs v. Norris, and so that case will not be included in Thursday's test.) On Thursday 2/26 we'll have our first exam, open-book and open-note. It will cover all the material we've covered through today. If you're missing any handouts (check the blog to see if you've got them all) then you need to notify me by 9:00pm Wednesday night as to which ones you are missing and want me to bring for you. If you're taking the exam using a computer, remember that I want you to sit in the front of the class, with your back toward me, and that you can't use your computer to connect to the internet or do any word search, or do anything that you couldn't do with hard copy book or notes.

Assignment due Thursday March 19, 2015

The assignment (graded) is to do a Case Brief of the case of State v. Bragg, 2012 ME 102, 48 A.3d 769.

Brief all of the issues that you determine that the Court ruled on. Remember that the purpose of the brief is to be useful. Check your holdings to make sure that they give the most useful rules possible. Mere conclusory facts just tell us who won and who lost, but not what circumstances determine the winner and loser.

Follow the format from the Sample Briefs that I’ve distributed. Note especially that, after the “Issue” is composed, the “Facts” and “Holding” are copied and pasted. Everything that you put into the Fact section should appear exactly in your Issue and Holding sections as well. Your Issue and Holding sections should be identical to each other, except that the issue is a question, and the Holding is the answer to that question. Your briefs will be evaluated on the format, as well as the specific content.

Please make two copies of your brief, one to hand in at the beginning of class, and the other for you to have during class for our discussion.

You may e-mail me if you have specific questions about the brief. The more time that I have to answer your questions, the more likely it is that I can be helpful.

If you cannot be in class on Thursday 3/19, you should still e-mail me your brief by the beginning of class time. If you do that, you will not have any grade deducted from your grade for the brief. If you do not, you should still contact me as soon as possible to see what options are available to you. (Generally, I do not want to accept assignments after we have discussed them in class). See the Syllabus for the class rules regarding late papers.

Remember to work by yourselves; do not collaborate. Do not show your work to anyone else; do not look at anyone else’s work.

IMPORTANT: If you e-mail your brief to me, I will reply to confirm that I have received your assignment. If I do not reply, then I have not received the assignment.





POS 383 AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
In class today, Tuesday 2/24, I handed back the NFIB outlines, as well as handing out my version of the outline. We went over the outlines. We then talked about Missouri v. Holland, and Crosby v. NFTC. For Crosby, we followed Souter's outline and structure, and then filled in that structure with the ways in which the Court found the Massachusetts law to be preempted. We also looked at why Massachusetts' arguments were rejected. Finally, we looked at the Scalia and Thomas concurrence.
On Thursday 2/26 we'll have our first exam, open-book and open-note. It will cover all the material we've covered through today. If you're missing any handouts (check the blog to see if you've got them all) then you need to notify me by 9:00pm Wednesday night as to which ones you are missing and want me to bring for you. If you're taking the exam using a computer, remember that I want you to sit in the front of the class, with your back toward me, and that you can't use your computer to connect to the internet or do any word search, or do anything that you couldn't do with hard copy book or notes.