August 30, 2016

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Tuesday 8/30, I distributed three handouts: the Syllabus (reproduced below), the case we'll start with (State v. Mahmoud), and some questions to ask yourself as you read Mahmoud. We talked about the organization of the Maine Court system; the parties in the case (Plaintiff/Defendant; Appellant/Appellee); the order of the parties in the caption of the case; the prior proceedings; the cause of action; jury trials; and jury instructions. The assignment for Thursday September 1 is to read and re-read the Mahmoud opinion, being guided in your reading by the questions that were handed out.

Syllabus
Sol Goldman e-mail: Solomon.Goldman@umit.maine.edu
Blog: www.goldmanmaine.blogspot.com

Office Hours: I will be in 241B N. Stevens from 3:00-3:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 1:00-2:00 on Wednesdays.

Description: This course is designed to educate students in the American legal system, focusing on its evolution and function as a dynamic social instrument.

Textbook: Introduction to Law and the Legal System, 11th edition, Schubert, Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2015.

Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Identify our various court systems, both federal and state
2. Understand the role of appellate and trial courts (e.g. findings of fact v. findings of law)
3. Identify various levels of review by appellate courts (e.g. de novo, clear error)
4. Identify stages of litigation (e.g. summary judgment, trial) and their implications for appellate review
5. Identify and critically analyze the use of precedent (e.g. mandatory v. persuasive; distinguish v. follow)
6. Identify the interplay between legislative and judicial lawmaking (e.g. common law, legislative intent)
7. Produce a case brief that succinctly leads to a statement of a court opinion’s holding
8. Critically analyze judicial decisions
9. Identify and critically analyze a sampling of substantive and procedural legal rules.

Grading:
1. Two homework assignments, each 21.25% of the final grade
2. Two tests, each 21.25% of the final grade
3. Class participation and attendance 15% of the final grade
[Grading plan is subject to change]

Policies:
1. Homework should be typed. Homework that is not typed may be rejected, at the discretion of the instructor. There are no extra credit assignments.

2. Homework that is not passed in by the time it is due may receive a zero, at the discretion of the instructor. If homework is accepted late, then it may have a grade or more deducted. In any case, no more than one homework assignment per semester will be accepted late. Even if you are absent from class, you should still, if at all possible, get the homework that is due for that class meeting to me on time. If you must be absent from class, you may e-mail your homework to me. At the discretion of the instructor, alternative homework assignments may be given in lieu of the original assignment.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
I will confirm any work that is submitted to me by e-mail. If you do not get a confirmation from me, the work has not been considered submitted.

3. I expect everyone to take the exams when they are given. If an emergency arises, it is your responsibility to be in touch with me as soon as possible. The decision on whether you will be allowed to make up a missed exam is at the discretion of the instructor. If you are allowed to make up an exam, you must have completed the make-up exam before the beginning of the class period in which the exam is handed back (generally, the next class).
Make-up examinations, if allowed, will be scheduled at the instructor’s discretion.

4. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Students who cheat will be subject to a range of penalties, from grade deductions to failure of the assignment to failure of the course, at the discretion of the instructor. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following: copying from another student’s papers, exams or homework assignments; reading from another student’s notes or written materials during an exam; allowing work to be copied by another student; collaboration on homework assignments; plagiarism. Do not discuss your work with other students; do not show your work to other students or look at their work. In addition to any academic action taken by an instructor, these violations are also subject to action under the University of Maine Student Conduct Code. The maximum possible sanction under the student conduct code is dismissal from the University.

Special Accommodations: If you have a disability for which you may be requesting an accommodation, please contact Disabilities Services, 121 East Annex, 581-2319, as early as possible in the term.


Attendance Policy-
I expect that you will attend all classes. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class and monitored throughout the semester. Students who regularly attend classes are more likely to succeed in the class overall.

If you have a good reason for being absent from class, so that I should consider the absence to be an excused absence, it is your responsibility to e-mail me before or immediately following the missed class, to explain why you believe that the absence should be excused. The decision to excuse the absence will be at the discretion of the instructor. Each absence requires a separate communication with me. I keep track of excused absences only by the e-mail record, so e-mail is the only acceptable method of letting me know about absences that should be excused.

Students will be responsible for the material covered in each class, including lecture notes. Therefore, I encourage you to get to know your classmates and to make sure that you have a complete set of lecture notes.

If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to get the assignment for the following class. You can get it from the blog, from a fellow student, or you can e-mail me, but I expect you to come to the following class prepared. At the end of each class session the assignment for the following class will be announced. That assignment will also be posted on the blog.

If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to get any handouts that were distributed to the class.

Homework Assignments and Exams:
This syllabus does not contain a schedule of specific class-by-class homework assignments and exam schedules, because I have found that I invariably stray from such a schedule. Instead, I will announce in class the actual dates, and also post that information on the blog. If you miss class, always check the blog for information on what we covered in class, and what the assignment is for the future classes.



NO CELL PHONE USE AND NO COMPUTER USE FOR OTHER THAN APPROVED CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES IS ALLOWED IN CLASS.

Sexual Discrimination Reporting
The University of Maine is committed to making campus a safe place for students. Because of this commitment, if you tell a teacher about an experience of sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, relationship abuse (dating violence and domestic violence), sexual misconduct or any form of gender discrimination involving members of the campus, your teacher is required to report this information to the campus Office of Sexual Assault & Violence Prevention or the Office of Equal Opportunity.

If you want to talk in confidence to someone about an experience of sexual discrimination, please contact these resources:

For confidential resources on campus: Counseling Center: 207-581-1392 or Cutler Health Center: at 207-581-4000.
For confidential resources off campus: Rape Response Services: 1-800-310-0000 or Spruce Run: 1-800-863-9909.

Other resources: The resources listed below can offer support but may have to report the incident to others who can help:

For support services on campus: Office of Sexual Assault & Violence Prevention: 207-581-1406, Office of Community Standards: 207-581-1409, University of Maine Police: 207-581-4040 or 911. Or see the OSAVP website for a complete list of services at http://www.umaine.edu/osavp/


In the event of an extended disruption of normal classroom activities, the format for this course may be modified to enable its completion within its programmed time frame. In that event, you will be provided an addendum to the syllabus that will supersede this version.