October 24, 2019

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Thursday 10/24, the class took Exam #1. I plan to grade the exams this weekend, and return them on Tuesday. I also distributed one handout, an article about capital punishment history in the Supreme Court.
The assignment for Tuesday 10/29 is to review Gregg v. Georgia (previously assigned, and to read in addition today's handout.



POS 484 CRIMINAL DUE PROCESS
In class today, Thursday 10/24, I handed back the exams, and we went over them. I distributed two handouts: Assignment #2 (reproduced below) and the case you'll be outlining, Mitchell v. Wisconsin. We went through the requirements of the assignment. Then we discussed exigent circumstances and the Welsh v. Wisconsin case assigned for today.
The assignment for Tuesday 10/29 is to read Mitchell and start work on your outline.

Assignment due Thursday, November 7, 2019

The assignment is to do an outline of Justice Alito's opinion in Mitchell v. Wisconsin (also distributed to the class today). In addition, write a short paragraph for each of the opinions by Thomas, Sotomayor, and Gorsuch (so, three paragraphs that will follow the Alito outline), which explain the major point(s) made by the opinion, especially how it deals with Alito's plurality opinion.

For the outline, follow the format from the Sample Outlines that I’ve distributed. Use Titles 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 structure 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 Justice Alito:
I.
(A.)
(B.)
II.
III.
(A.)
(B.)
(1.)
(2.)
IV.

Add Introductory Sections and sub-elements to this as is appropriate, but don’t alter Alito's structure. What makes an addition appropriate? Basically, when Alito is addressing a different question. When you add elements, italicize the heading, numbers or letters of your additions. There are Introductory sections in ¶1-2, 15, and 26-27.

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 11/7, 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. 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.