September 24, 2015

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Thursday 9/24, we first finished our look at the case brief for Glucksberg, including Souter's concurring opinion. We then looked at the excerpt from Obergefell that I distributed last class, including both Kennedy's majority opinion and Roberts' dissent. We looked at Brittany Maynard's question of why anyone should have the right to make the choice (of living or dying) for her. And finally we looked at the Maine statutes regarding suicide and even murder. The assignment for Tuesday 9/29 is to read and prepare to discuss through p. 38. Prepare for yourselves (not handed in or graded) a case brief of the Speelman case.


POS 384 CIVIL LIBERTIES
In class today, Thursday 9/24, I distributed 4 handouts: my version of the Boerne outline; RFRA and RLUIPA; Alito's opinion in Hobby Lobby, and Assignment #1 (reproduced below), which is due Thursday 10/1. After going over Assignment #1 and the background to Hobby Lobby,we then finished our discussion of Smith. We briefly talked about the Santeria case and targeting, and then began our discussion of Boerne. We got as far in Boerne as the explicit discussion of whether Congress has the power to enact RFRA as against the states (Roman numeral III in my version of the outline) which is where we'll pick up next Tuesday. The assignment for Tuesday 9/29 is to begin work on the Hobby Lobby outline.

Assignment due Thursday, October 1, 2015

The assignment is to do an outline of Justice Alito’s majority opinion in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (also distributed to the class today).

Follow the format from the Sample Outlines that I’ve distributed. Note that the basic format is Title (for the Roman numerals); and then Question and Answer for the other elements. Do not outline the introductory section of the Opinion (before Roman Numeral I). Starting with Roman Numeral I, use the same elements that Alito already has used: i.e. I (A) and (B); IV (A), (B), and (C); V (A), (B), and (C). Add sub-elements to the outline as necessary in order to cover the points raised by Alito (e.g. I (A) (1) (2) and (3)).

The assignment will be graded on both the structure and the content of your outline. The outline will also be graded on how well you write English, and how clearly you organize your thoughts. I like short clear sentences better than long complicated ones. I like correct grammar.

Please make two copies of your outline, 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 assignment. 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 10/1, you should still e-mail me your assignment by the beginning of class time. If you do that, you will not have any grade deducted from your grade for the outline. 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.

The work should be entirely your own, with no collaboration or plagiarism. Don’t look at other student’s outlines, and don’t show your outline to anyone. See the syllabus regarding plagiarism and collaboration.


IMPORTANT: If you e-mail your assignment 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.