September 4, 2018

POS 384 CIVIL LIBERTIES
In class today, Tuesday 9/4, I distributed 5 handouts: the syllabus; an article from the Bangor Daily News about public funds for religious schools; the case we'll study (Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer); a list of Justices of the Supreme Court; and an excerpt from the Maine Constitution and the Maine statute regarding funding religious schools. We went over the Syllabus. We looked at the language of the 1st Amendment and talked about what it might mean. I went over the difference between a judgment of the Court versus the opinion of the Court.
The assignment for Thursday 9/6 is to read all five handouts. We will focus on the Trinity Lutheran case on Thursday, going over the opinion in some detail, so be sure to note any questions that you have as you read the opinion.


POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Tuesday 9/4, I distributed 3 handouts: the syllabus; the first case we'll study (State v. Heffron); and a list of questions to guide your reading of Heffron. We went over the Syllabus. We talked about the unusual structure of the Maine court system (with two trial courts, and no intermediate appellate court). We discussed the order of the listing of the parties in the caption of the case, the roles of the judge in a jury-waived trial and a jury trial, and the different roles of the trial and appellate courts.
The assignment for Thursday 9/6 is to read all three handouts. We will focus on the Heffron case on Thursday, going over the opinion in some detail, so be sure to note any questions that you have as you read the opinion.