September 10, 2015

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Thursday 9/10, we first finished our discussion of the Sanders case. I then talked about the additional voting case of H.O. Pierce v. Getchell. We then went to the introductory materials in the text. I started by talking about equitable v. legal remedies, and we saw how this division is still reflected in the grant of general equitable powers to the Maine Superior Court, but not the Maine District Courts. We talked about the concept of the power to enforce laws, and the appeal (and limits) of natural law. We looked in the text at Martin Luther King's Letter from the Birmingham Jail, as well as the statements by Justice Kennedy in Lawrence v. Texas about the relationship between morality and law. The assignment for Tuesday 9/15 is to read in the text pp. 16-23. When reading Miller, try to formulate the issues that the Court confronts in the format laid out by the Sanders Issues handout.


POS 384 CIVIL LIBERTIES
In class today, Thursday 9/10, I distributed one handout, Judge Bunning's Order Releasing Kim Davis from custody. We first finished our examination of the Davis Preliminary Injunction Order, looking at the remainder of the harms that Davis alleged would befall her if the Preliminary Injunction were to issue. We went over the article on religious accommodation under Title VII and RFRA, including the additional reason that the federal court reading of the state RFRA will not be binding on the state. Finally, we went over Judge Bunning's Order Releasing Davis, and how the signature problem was finessed. The assignment for Tuesday 9/15 is to review pp. 89-100 of the text (previously assigned) and to read in addition through p. 107. As you read the cases, try to prepare them in the question and answer format used on my Tuesday Davis handout.