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QUICK LINKS AND DAILY REMINDERS

INTRODUCTION

The goal of this course is for students to acquire rich knowledge of the role of the federal judiciary in the American political system. To reach our goals, students will closely study, through both applied and theoretical learning: (1) the political dynamics of judicial interpretation of the U.S. Constitution and (2) the development of  case law through federal jurisprudence, especially, but not exclusively, at the Supreme Court level.  Learning outcomes to be obtained: Applied and Experiential Learning (AEL), Civic Engagement (CE), and Career Exploration (CX).

REQUIREMENTS

See "Gradebook" for weights, grading scale and grades on all assessed work. Also, check it for your continuously updated course grade.
 
I. Daily Work (60%). 
 
Your daily, graded coursework consists mostly of timed quizzes, ranging from 3-10 minutes: 1) reading-assignment quizzes due before class; 2) classroom-session quizzes due after class; 3) teamwork quizzes due during class. Take thorough notes on the reading assignments and in the classroom in order to perform well on quizzes. Quizzes ARE open-note/open-reading. Occasionally, I will ask you to submit daily work other than quizzes. 
 
Extra credit for daily work is awarded to students for posting their notes on the class session. (See "Class Session Notes" page.)  These posted notes are a good for studying for class session quizzes, especially for absent students. Other opportunities for extra credit will be made available to you by the instructor but may not be requested by students.
 
II. Written/Oral Arguments (25%). 
 
To prepare for moot court and, more generally, to understand lawyer thinking you will draft written arguments and, from those, present oral arguments on constitutional issues and hypothetical cases. The arguments will be prepared and delivered as teams. Part of my evaluation is based on peer review (i.e., how your team members rate your contribution to the team's work).
 
III. Moot Court (15%).
 
You will form three teams: petitioner (plaintiff, complainant), respondent (defendant), and justices hearing the case. Petitioner and respondent will prepare briefs and argue a hypothetical case on a constitutional issue in front of the justices. Justices, as a team, will prepare briefs and a line of questions. The hearing will take place during our final exam period, 10:15-12:15, December 15, in our classroom. Part of my evaluation is based on your peer review (i.e., how your team members rate your contribution to the team's work).

GENERAL ITEMS OF IMPORTANCE

1. Ignorance and absence are not excuses for incomplete, late or non-submitted work. All required work, extra-credit work, and deadlines are made absolutely, crystal clear in the CampusWeb course pages and calendar. All coursework is completed online. With the exception of a sudden, medically-documented ailment that truly impairs one's ability to do work, there is no excuse of not knowing what is expected and when it is expected.
2. Assume that something is required of you every class day.
3. Use office hours, email and phone to address individual concerns. Do not use class time or the five minutes before and after to do so. 
4. Computer/tablet use in the classroom is welcomed and encouraged, but proper, academic and scholarly use of technology is expected.
5. Cell phones must be silent and invisible.
6. Remember, you all have Microsoft Office365, which is the whole Office suite online. IT makes downloadable copies of MS Office available for $35.
7. Academic dishonesty (Plagiarism, Cheating). Ignorance is no excuse for plagiarism and cheating. It’s either academic dishonesty or it’s not. A single instance of academic dishonesty will result in a FAILURE for the entire course. In addition, a report will be immediately forwarded to the Office of Academic Affairs so that the University may take action. The Franklin Pierce Academic Catalogue provides a precise definition of plagiarism.
 
Plagiarism is the act of stealing or passing as one’s own the ideas or words of another. Diana Hacker identifies three specific acts that constitute plagiarism: “(1) failing to cite quotations and borrowed ideas, (2) failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks and(3) failing to put summaries and paraphrases in your own words” (359 and 418). Specifically, this includes: copying the words of another student from examinations, themes, term papers, or theses; copying the printed words or ideas of a writer without giving credit to the author; using, borrowing, stealing, presenting or downloading another student’s ideas or writing and submitting such material as one’s own work; or resubmitting work in whole or in part that has previously been submitted in another course, without permission of the current instructor. (Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press.)
 
8. Bottom line, expect to work HARD, HARD, HARD!

LEARNING DIFFERENCES

If you have a documented learning disability, it is important that you work with the Academic Services Center to be sure you maximize the benefit of your efforts in this course.  It is imperative that you be proactive and a self-advocate.  Please talk to me. I can help! Additional information can be found at the  Center for Academic Excellence.

Moot Court Format

15 - Petitioner (1st issue/question)

10 – Justices’ Questions

15 - Petitioner (2nd issue/question)

10 – Justices’ Questions

 

15 - Respondent (1st issue/question)

10 – Justices’ Questions

15 – Respondent (2nd issue/...

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Comment on "10/15 Homework"

I'm still finishing my grading of it. You were supposed to rely ONLY on the "10/15 Homework Research Upload" document. So, my "feedback" responses are based purely on that document. The objective of this assignment was to have you do case research from jo...

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Written/Oral Teams, II (11/3)

Team SCLAD: Shannon, Colleen, Logan, Alex P., Devin

Team CKDAS: Chelsea, Kara, Danica, Amy, Sean

Team BJCDN: Ben, James, Cody, Danielle, Nick

Team KTAA: Kirsten, Tim, Andrew, Alex M.

Written/Oral Argument Teams for Fall 2015

Team NDS: Nick, Devin, Sean

Team SCLA: Shannon, Colleen, Logan, Alex P.

Team CKDA: Chelsea, Kara, Danica, Amy

Team BJCD: Ben, James, Cody, Danielle

Team KTAA: Kirsten, Tim, Andrew, Alex M.

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How to collaborate on Word documents online.

See "Links" in the "Homework" page.