February 6, 2017

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Monday 2/6, I distributed one handout, an essay by Brittany Maynard about the right to assistance in suicide. We first went over the Maine sentencing statute that I had distributed earlier. We talked about Maine's punishment range for murder, as well as the other classifications of crimes. I also went over the proper citation form for Maine statutes. I then talked a little about the history of the 14th Amendment and the due process clause. I discussed the differences between incorporation of the Bill of Rights versus the concept of fundamental rights. We went over as well the ideas behind the 9th and 10th Amendments. We briefly discussed the limits on government urged by Brittany Maynard.
The assignment for Wednesday 2/8 is to read the Maynard essay, and to review your own case brief of the Glucksberg case, previously assigned.


POS 384 CIVIL LIBERTIES
In class today, Monday 2/6, I distributed one handout, the revised Stolen Valor Act written by Congress after the Alvarez opinion. We began class by going over the Maine statute regarding disorderly conduct at funerals, and explored its constitutionality. We went over the concept of "fighting words". We then began to go through the Alvarez opinions and outline. We began by counting votes in the case, and I talked about the process the Court uses for assigning the writing of opinions. We started outlining Kennedy's plurality opinion, getting through the contentions of both parties. We left off with the rule for content-based restrictions, which is where we'll pick up in the outline on Wednesday.
The assignment for Wednesday 2/8 is to review your own outline of Alvarez (all three opinions) and to read the revised statute, asking yourself whether it is constitutional.