March 1. 2018

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Thursday 3/1, I distributed two handouts: my version of the Legassie case brief, and the Maine criminal statutes regarding the use of force in defense of premises and of property. I collected the class' Legassie case briefs, and we went over them. I plan to return them on Tuesday. We finished our discussion of Speelman by going over the possible existence of substantive defenses that might be available to Ms/ Speelman, now that she has gained the right to a hearing. I then talked about the U.S. Supreme Court case of Jones v. Flowers, in which the address on the envelope was fine, but then the government learned that the letter had not in fact reached the recipient. Finally, we went through the case of Katko v. Briney. The exam will cover everything we've covered thus far, up to and including Katko, but not including today's Maine statutory handout.
On Tuesday 3/6 we will have Exam #1. If you find that you are missing any handouts, make sure to contact me by 8:00 pm on Monday to request them. If you have an emergency and can't be in class, be sure to be in touch with me as soon as possible.


POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Thursday 3/1, I collected the Wesby outlines, and we went over them. I plan to return them on Tuesday. I will also distribute my version of the Wesby outline (which I intended, but forgot, to distribute to the class today). We went over the Wesby outline, as well as analyzing those parts of the opinion that had only a tenuous connection with the question of whether the partygoers should have known that they had no right to be in the house. We then finished up our discussion of Safford v. Redding by contrasting Thoms' dissent with Souter's opinion. Then we went over Terry v. Ohio, looking a) whether this stop and frisk was a "search" and "seizure"; b) whether one search is as intrusive as another; and c) whether probable cause is required for this search and seizure. The exam will cover everything we've covered thus far, up to and including including Terry.
On Tuesday 3/6 we will have Exam #1. If you find that you are missing any handouts, make sure to contact me by 8:00 pm on Monday to request them. If you have an emergency and can't be in class, be sure to be in touch with me as soon as possible.