February 24, 2017

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Friday 2/24, we first finished going through the authority that was cited by the Katko court. I introduced the concept of extending authority, as treatment that is similar to, but not the same as, following authority. We discussed the role of the U.S. Supreme Court case that was cited by the Katko court. We then examined the Maine criminal statutes about defending home and property. We went over the four mental states (intent, knowledge, recklessness, and negligence) as they applied to both the Katko case and to the Maine statute. We also went over the difference between objective and subjectively held beliefs. Finally, we began our discussion of contracts, oral contracts, and contracts against public policy.
The assignment for Monday 2/27 is continue work on your Suggs v. Norris case briefs (not handed in), to review through to the end of Chapter 1 of the text (all previously assigned), and to review for our March 1st exam.


POS 384 CIVIL LIBERTIES
In class today, Friday 2/24, I distributed 3 handouts: assignment #1 (reproduced below); the case you'll be outlining, Reed v. Town of Gilbert; and my version of the McCullen v. Coakley outline. We first went over the requirements of the Reed outline. We then finished our discussion of McCullen by going over Scalia's concurrence. We began our discussion of Brandenburg by going over both the statute under which Brandenburg was prosecuted, and the words that he used at the KKK rally. We will continue with the rest of Brandenburg next Monday.
The assignment for Monday 2/27 is to review Brandenburg, and review for our March 1st exam. I will also talk about the textbook cases that came before Brandenburg.

Assignment due Friday March 24, 2017

The assignment is to do an outline of Justice Thomas’ majority opinion in Reed v. Town of Gilbert (also distributed to the class today. I have added paragraph numbers of ease of discussion—they are not part of the opinion)

Follow the format from the Sample Outlines that I’ve distributed. Note that the basic format is Title (for the Roman numerals and any other elements that have sub-elements below them); 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 Thomas already has used:
I
(A) [¶2-5]
(B) [¶6 -10]
II
(A) [¶11-13]
(B) [¶14-15]
(C)
(1) [¶17-22]
(2) [¶23-26]
(3) [¶27-30]
III [¶31-34]
IV [¶35-36]

Add sub-elements to the outline as necessary in order to cover the points raised by Thomas. For example, under I(B), you might add sub-elements such as
I
(B) The parties and the Prior Proceedings
[1] Who are the Petitioners? Reed is the pastor of a Church that uses TDS to inform the public about its services.
[2] What was the problem that the Town had with the church’s TDS? The Town said that the church exceeded the time limits for displaying TDS, and also didn’t include a required date.

As you add sub-elements, follow these rules:
•For the element that’s going to be sub-divided, just give a title, e.g.I(B)The parties and the Prior Proceedings
•Put the added sub-element number or letter in brackets (“[ ]”).

Don’t try to label the Roman Numerals until you’ve outlined the other parts; only then can you see what the entire Roman Numeral section is about.

For the other three opinions (Alito, Breyer, Kagan) do not outline the opinions, but rather write a paragraph or two for each opinion summarizing the point of the opinion.

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 Friday 3/24, you should still e-mail me your assignment by the beginning of class time. If you do that, you will not have any deduction from your grade. 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.