October 1, 2019

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Tuesday 10/1, I distributed one handout, the Maine statutes regarding Use of Force in Defense of Premises. We first finished the Speelman case brief with the Preliminary Injunction issues (after likelihood of success on the merits). We went over the possible defenses on the merits once Speelman does get a hearing, basically comparing the notice of termination with the BHA rules that are sought to be enforced. We also talked about the concept of residency, as opposed to occupancy. We went over the hypotheticals from last week's handout, focusing on the downside to gathering too much information. I then told the class about a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court opinion, Jones v. Flowers. In that case, the Court addressed the due process requirements when the sender knows that the intended recipient never received the letter because the certified letter was returned to the sender as undeliverable. Then we began our discussion of Katko v. Briney, getting as far in the case brief as the prior proceedings, which is where we'll pick up on Thursday.
The assignment for Thursday 10/3 is to review Katko, and to study today's Maine statutory handout, figuring out whether what the Brineys did would constitute a crime in Maine.


POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Tuesday 10/1, I distributed 2 handouts: Assignment #1 (reproduced below), and the case you'll be outlining, U.S. v.Hester. We went over the requirements of the assignment. Then we finished up our discussion of Carpenter. We went over how Roberts distinguished the 3rd party doctrine cases, and also how he looked to the majority of the votes in the Jones GPS case, rather than the majority opinion in Jones. We also looked at the two dissenting opinions in Carpenter and saw how Kennedy's dissent was different from Alito's dissent.
The assignment for Thursday 10/3 is to begin work on your Hester outline, review Hodari D. (previously assigned) and read in addition through p. 101 of the text, including Terry v. Ohio.

Assignment due Thursday, October 10, 2019

The assignment is to do an outline of the Third Circuit Opinion in U.S. v. Hester, 910 F.3d 78 (3rd. Cir., 2018) (also distributed to the class today).

Follow the format from the Sample Outlines that I’ve distributed: Use Title for the Roman numerals, and then Question and Answer for all the other elements. Both the questions and the answers should be complete sentences. The questions and answers should provide enough detail so that a reader can understand exactly what the court asked, and what it answered.

The structure of an outline should go like this:
Roman numeral; Capital Letter; Numbers; Lower Case Letter.
For example:
I. (Title)
A. (Question and Answer)
1. (Question and Answer)
2. (Question and Answer)
a. (Question and Answer)
b. (Question and Answer)
B. (Question and Answer)
II. (Title)

Follow the structure already provided by the Hester court:
I.
II.
III.
A.
B.
C.

Add additional sub-elements to this as is appropriate, but don’t alter the court's structure. This includes adding "Introductory" sections. When you add any element, italicize that element. What makes an addition appropriate? Basically, when the court is addressing a different question.

If there’s a (1), there should be a (2). If you’ve only got one thing to say, just say it without the further division.

Here’s my suggestion for the best way to proceed: First, figure out what the thought is for each paragraph. Second, group the paragraphs together in terms of what question they are addressing. Last, put the actual questions in, with the roman numerals questions as the final thing. In other words, work from smallest to largest.

The assignment will be graded on both the structure and the content of your outline. The outline will also be graded on how well you write English, and how clearly you organize your thoughts. I like short clear sentences better than long complicated ones. I like correct grammar.

Please make two copies of your outline, one to hand in at the beginning of class, and the other for you to have during class for our discussion.

You may e-mail me if you have specific questions about the assignment. The more time that I have to answer your questions, the more likely it is that I can be helpful.

If you cannot be in class on Thursday 10/10, you should still e-mail me your assignment by the beginning of class time. If you do that, you will not have any grade deducted from your grade for the outline. If you do not, you should still contact me as soon as possible to see what options are available to you. (Generally, I do not want to accept assignments after we have discussed them in class). See the Syllabus for the class rules regarding late papers.

The work should be entirely your own, with no collaboration or plagiarism. Do not show your paper to anyone. Do not look at anyone else’s paper. Do not do any outside research. Just work from the handout itself. The only one you can discuss your questions with is me, Sol Goldman. Do not troll the internet. See the syllabus regarding plagiarism and collaboration.


IMPORTANT: If you e-mail your assignment to me, I will reply to confirm that I have received your assignment. If you do not get a reply, then I have not received the assignment.