May 3, 2018

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Thursday 5/3, we first went over the Frump case regarding the calculation of the jurisdictional amount for federal court diversity subject matter jurisdiction. We then dipped into Chapter 5 of the text with Salmon v. Atkinson and the question of when an Arkansas quantum merit cause of action accrues if a client terminates a contingency fee agreement with her lawyer. Finally I talked about a Maine Supreme Court case, Paffhausen v. Estate of Balano, in which the Court clarified the distinction in Maine between the theories of quantum meruit v. unjust enrichment, as well as the measure of damages for each theory. That's how far the exam will cover.
Exam #2 is Tuesday 5/8, from 8:45-10:00, open-book and open-note. It will cover the material we've studied since the last exam (i.e., it's not comprehensive over the entire semester). If you are missing any handouts, you need to notify me of what you're missing by 8:00 p.m. of Monday 5/7.

POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Thursday 5/3, we first went over the Sheppard v. Maxwell case. We then looked back at the 2 handouts from last week, and examined the Maine Rules regarding jury sequestration and the ethical rules for lawyers regarding trying a case in the press. We talked about the difference between the Maine Rule and the ABA Model Rule. We then talked the Gannett v. DePasquale case as a prelude to Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia. For that case we went over the 3 opinions, the majority, Brennan's concurrence, and Rehnquist's dissent. That's how far the exam will cover.
Exam #2 is Tuesday 5/8, from 10:30-11:45, open-book and open-note. It will cover the material we've studied since the last exam (i.e., it's not comprehensive over the entire semester). If you are missing any handouts, you need to notify me of what you're missing by 8:00 p.m. of Monday 5/7.