September 12, 2017

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Tuesday 9/12, I distributed one handout, my version of the Miller case brief. I went over one more aspect of the text's introductory materials, the difference between legal and equitable remedies, and how that's still reflected in Maine's court system. We then began our discussion of Miller. I went over 4 cases that preceded Miller regarding juvenile sentencing: Thompson, Sanford, Roper, and Graham. We made our way through the majority opinion in Miller in the format of the case brief. We also looked at the 5-4 split in the Miller opinion, and talked about ideological vetting on the present-day Court. On Thursday 9/14 we will look at the other opinions in Miller, and I'll also talk about the Montgomery case regarding retroactive application of the Miller opinion.
The assignment for Thursday 9/14 is to review the other opinions in Miller, previously assigned


POS 383 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
In class today, Tuesday 9/12, I distributed two handouts, both of them briefs in the current Supreme Court case of Christie v. NCAA: the amicus brief of the U.S. opposing the hearing of the case in the first place, and the merits brief of Christie. We went back and tried to figure out exactly the rule that came from N.Y. v. U.S.. We went through Scalia's opinion in Printz in detail, paying particular attention to his characterization of the N.Y. case holding, and also to the structure of his opinion. We got through the first part of Thomas' concurrence, and will pick up with the remainder of that opinion on Thursday.
The assignment for Thursday 9/14 is to review the remainder of Printz, and to review the 3rd Circuit opinion previously distributed. If you're sick of reviewing those, go ahead and read today's two handouts.