March 26, 2019

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Tuesday 3/26, we first finished off our discussion of authority in Katko v. Briney. We looked at the dissent's view of the issues that should have been, but weren't, submitted to the jury. Included in those issues was the question of the intent in setting the spring gun. We went through four levels of mental states: intent; knowledge; recklessness; and negligence. We then went through the Maine statutes regarding use of force in defense of premises and property, and examined the variables in terms of whether the Briney's behavior would be criminal in Maine. Finally we turned to contracts, and went over the essentials for contract formation, and differentiated contracts from gifts. We'll pick up with Suggs v. Norris on Thursday.
The assignment for Thursday 3/28 is to review Suggs v. Norris, and to read in addition through p. 59 of the text, including Gregg v. Georgia.


POS 359 THE CURRENT SUPREME COURT TERM
In class today, Tuesday 3/26, we first discussed the 2 remaining shadow docket cases from before the break, June Medical (abortion) and Morris County (free exercise). In terms of abortion, I talked about the previous Whole Woman's Health case that struck down a state statute that required hospital admitting privileges for doctors who perform abortion. In terms of the free exercise of religion, I talked about the Trinity Lutheran case, that struck down state rules that excluded churches from getting public funds for a playground safety program. We discussed how Roberts may be viewing his role as Chief Justice, and how that may be influencing his votes. We then talked about the Establishment Clause. We looked at the text, and possible interpretations of that text, including Thomas' interpretation. I went over some of the cases that provide the foundational rules for interpreting the Establishment Clause: Lemon v. Kurtzman (school aid); Stone v. Graham, McCreary County v. ACLU, and Van Orden v. Perry (all 10 Commandment cases); and Salazar v. Buono (cross on public land). We will pick upon Thursday with Greece v. Galloway (public prayer).
The assignment for Thursday 3/28 is to review the Petitioner and Respondent Briefs in American Legion, and review the oral argument in that case, all previously assigned.