POS 282--Introduction to American Law
In class today, Thursday 12/9, I distributed one handout, the excerpt from the Maine Human Rights Act regarding the award of damages. We discussed the Bunch case, and then looked at how the Maine statute deals with limitations on damages for discrimination. We then discussed the Sullivan case on p. 232 regarding "standing", and I also went over the standing portion of Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 US 497. Our exam will be from 2:45-4:00 on Tuesday, and will cover through the Sullivan case. The exam is open-book and open-note.
As I previously wrote in this blog and explained in class, I do not plan to distribute extra copies of handouts at the exam. If you feel that you should get a handout that you missed (from today, for example) you must e-mail me with that request by Monday night. If there is an emergency that makes you unable to take the exam when scheduled, you must e-mail me as soon as possible to explain the problem, and (if you have a good reason for missing the exam) we can work out an alternative time.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
December 7, 2010
POS 282--Introduction to American Law
In class today, Tuesday 12/7, I distributed two handouts: one an excerpt from the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure regarding discovery sanctions, and the other an excerpt from the Maine Rules of Evidence regarding the rules of privilege. I went over one Maine Supreme court case regarding discovery sanctions, St. Paul Insurance v. Hays, 2001 ME 71, and one regarding religious privilege, Fortin v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Maine, 2005 ME 57. We discussed the Libby, Richmond and Cody cases from the text. We will pick up Thursday with the (previously-assigned) Bunch case on p. 218. The additional reading for Thursday 12/9 is to read through p. 235 of the text. The test on Tuesday 12/14 at 2:45 will cover from the last exam through Thursday's reading. (I also cautioned the class that I do not plan to bring extra copies of all the handouts to the exam, so that everyone should make sure that they have a complete set of handouts by the end of Thursday's class.)
In class today, Tuesday 12/7, I distributed two handouts: one an excerpt from the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure regarding discovery sanctions, and the other an excerpt from the Maine Rules of Evidence regarding the rules of privilege. I went over one Maine Supreme court case regarding discovery sanctions, St. Paul Insurance v. Hays, 2001 ME 71, and one regarding religious privilege, Fortin v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Maine, 2005 ME 57. We discussed the Libby, Richmond and Cody cases from the text. We will pick up Thursday with the (previously-assigned) Bunch case on p. 218. The additional reading for Thursday 12/9 is to read through p. 235 of the text. The test on Tuesday 12/14 at 2:45 will cover from the last exam through Thursday's reading. (I also cautioned the class that I do not plan to bring extra copies of all the handouts to the exam, so that everyone should make sure that they have a complete set of handouts by the end of Thursday's class.)
Thursday, December 2, 2010
December 2, 2010
POS 282--Introduction to American Law
In class today, Thursday 12/2, we discussed the Dorsey case on p. 199 of the text. We went through the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure regarding service of process, and I went over three recent Maine Supreme Court cases regarding service of process: Ireland v. Carpenter, 2005 ME 98, Brown v. Thaler, 2005 ME 75, and Gaeth v. Deacon, 2009 ME 9. We will pick up next week with the Libby case and discovery sanctions. The additional reading assignment for Tuesday 12/7 is to finish reading Chapter 5 of the text.
In class today, Thursday 12/2, we discussed the Dorsey case on p. 199 of the text. We went through the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure regarding service of process, and I went over three recent Maine Supreme Court cases regarding service of process: Ireland v. Carpenter, 2005 ME 98, Brown v. Thaler, 2005 ME 75, and Gaeth v. Deacon, 2009 ME 9. We will pick up next week with the Libby case and discovery sanctions. The additional reading assignment for Tuesday 12/7 is to finish reading Chapter 5 of the text.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
November 30, 2010
POS 282--Introduction to American Law
In class today, Tuesday 11/30, I distributed two handouts; a comment key to the Dworman brief, and an excerpt from the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure regarding service of process. I handed back the Dworman, case briefs, and we went over them. The class did evaluations of me. Then we finished the last two cases in Chapter 4, Kopp and Gebbia. We got through the Salmon case on p. 192 of the text. We will pick up with Dorsey case, p.199, which was previously assigned. I would like you to read over the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure excerpt, and be prepared to discuss how the Dorsey case would have come out in Maine. The additional reading assignment for Thursday 12/2 is to read through p. 214 of the text.
In class today, Tuesday 11/30, I distributed two handouts; a comment key to the Dworman brief, and an excerpt from the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure regarding service of process. I handed back the Dworman, case briefs, and we went over them. The class did evaluations of me. Then we finished the last two cases in Chapter 4, Kopp and Gebbia. We got through the Salmon case on p. 192 of the text. We will pick up with Dorsey case, p.199, which was previously assigned. I would like you to read over the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure excerpt, and be prepared to discuss how the Dorsey case would have come out in Maine. The additional reading assignment for Thursday 12/2 is to read through p. 214 of the text.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
November 23, 2010
POS 282--Introduction to American Law
In class today, Tuesday 11/23, I collected the Dworman case briefs, and we spent most of the class going over them. I distributed one handout, which was my own version of that case brief. I will return Dworman when we get back from Thanksgiving break. I also discussed one recent federal court case applying Dworman, Tidwell v. Zawacki, 645 F. Supp 2d 7 (D. Me. 2009). Finally, we went over the Ruhrgas v. Marathon Oil case. I had previously assigned the last two unread cases from Chapter 4, Kopp and Gebbia, and we will begin with those two when we resume next week. The additional assignment for Tuesday 11/30 is to read pp. 189-202 of the text. I hope that you all have a good Thanksgiving.
In class today, Tuesday 11/23, I collected the Dworman case briefs, and we spent most of the class going over them. I distributed one handout, which was my own version of that case brief. I will return Dworman when we get back from Thanksgiving break. I also discussed one recent federal court case applying Dworman, Tidwell v. Zawacki, 645 F. Supp 2d 7 (D. Me. 2009). Finally, we went over the Ruhrgas v. Marathon Oil case. I had previously assigned the last two unread cases from Chapter 4, Kopp and Gebbia, and we will begin with those two when we resume next week. The additional assignment for Tuesday 11/30 is to read pp. 189-202 of the text. I hope that you all have a good Thanksgiving.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
November 18, 2010
POS 282 --Introduction to American Law
In class today, Thursday 11/18, we began with questions about the case brief assignment for next Tuesday. We went over the Bohlander case, and then I also discussed two Maine cases regarding personal jurisdiction, Bickford v. Onslow Memorial Hospital and Von Schack v. Von Schack. We began our discussion of Ruhrgas v. Marathon. The assignment for Tuesday 11/23 is to do the Dworman case brief assigned on Tuesday. Once you finish that case brief, to the extent you have time, read the two remaining (previously unassigned) Chapter 4 textbook cases, Kopp v. Kopp and Gebbia v. Walmart.
In class today, Thursday 11/18, we began with questions about the case brief assignment for next Tuesday. We went over the Bohlander case, and then I also discussed two Maine cases regarding personal jurisdiction, Bickford v. Onslow Memorial Hospital and Von Schack v. Von Schack. We began our discussion of Ruhrgas v. Marathon. The assignment for Tuesday 11/23 is to do the Dworman case brief assigned on Tuesday. Once you finish that case brief, to the extent you have time, read the two remaining (previously unassigned) Chapter 4 textbook cases, Kopp v. Kopp and Gebbia v. Walmart.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
November 16, 2010
POS 282--Introduction to American Law
In class today, Tuesday 11/16, I distributed one handout, the next case brief assignment, which is reproduced below. We started into the concepts of Chapter 4 of the text. I talked about a U.S. Supreme Court case, Burch v. Louisiana, which limited the rights of states to reduce the size and unanimity of juries in felony trials. We compared the federal and Maine requirements for jury size and unanimity. We discussed subject matter jurisdiction and the Edwards case from the text, and we will pick up with the Bohlander case on p. 162. The assignment for Thursday 11/18 is to start on the case brief assignment.
Assignment due Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The assignment is to do a Case Brief of the case of Commerce Bank and Trust v. Dworman, 2004 ME 142, 861 A.2d 662 . The case can be found on the website of the Maine Supreme Court.
To access the case, go to
http://www.courts.state.me.us/opinions/supreme/index.html
--select “2004 Opinions”
--select 2004 ME 142, Commerce Bank v. Dworman.
Brief all of the issues that you determine that the Court ruled on.
Follow the format from the Sample Briefs that I’ve distributed. Note especially that the Facts, Issues, and Holding are copied and pasted. Whatever you put into the Fact section should appear exactly in your Issue and Holding sections as well. Your Issue and Holding sections should be identical, except that the issue is a question, and the Holding is the answer to that question. Your briefs will be evaluated on the format, as well as the specific content.
Please make two copies of your brief, 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 questions about the brief. The more time that I have to answer our questions, the more likely it is that i can be helpful.
If you cannot be in class on Tuesday 11/ 23, you should still e-mail me your brief by the beginning of class time. If you do that, you will not have any grade deducted from your grade for the brief. 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. Remember to work by yourselves; do not collaborate.
IMPORTANT: If you e-mail your brief to me, I will reply to confirm that I have received your assignment. If I do not reply, then I have not received the assignment.
In class today, Tuesday 11/16, I distributed one handout, the next case brief assignment, which is reproduced below. We started into the concepts of Chapter 4 of the text. I talked about a U.S. Supreme Court case, Burch v. Louisiana, which limited the rights of states to reduce the size and unanimity of juries in felony trials. We compared the federal and Maine requirements for jury size and unanimity. We discussed subject matter jurisdiction and the Edwards case from the text, and we will pick up with the Bohlander case on p. 162. The assignment for Thursday 11/18 is to start on the case brief assignment.
Assignment due Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The assignment is to do a Case Brief of the case of Commerce Bank and Trust v. Dworman, 2004 ME 142, 861 A.2d 662 . The case can be found on the website of the Maine Supreme Court.
To access the case, go to
http://www.courts.state.me.us/opinions/supreme/index.html
--select “2004 Opinions”
--select 2004 ME 142, Commerce Bank v. Dworman.
Brief all of the issues that you determine that the Court ruled on.
Follow the format from the Sample Briefs that I’ve distributed. Note especially that the Facts, Issues, and Holding are copied and pasted. Whatever you put into the Fact section should appear exactly in your Issue and Holding sections as well. Your Issue and Holding sections should be identical, except that the issue is a question, and the Holding is the answer to that question. Your briefs will be evaluated on the format, as well as the specific content.
Please make two copies of your brief, 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 questions about the brief. The more time that I have to answer our questions, the more likely it is that i can be helpful.
If you cannot be in class on Tuesday 11/ 23, you should still e-mail me your brief by the beginning of class time. If you do that, you will not have any grade deducted from your grade for the brief. 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. Remember to work by yourselves; do not collaborate.
IMPORTANT: If you e-mail your brief to me, I will reply to confirm that I have received your assignment. If I do not reply, then I have not received the assignment.
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