Index of Assignments
Paper Assignments
Two short papers (6-8 double spaced pages) must be completed during the course of the semester. You have a choice: Five different topics with 5 different due dates are listed below. You must complete the first paper on one of the first 3 topics by October 8th. You must complete the second paper on one of the latter two topics by November 30th.
You will find extensive research materials already available to you on the class webpage. You are welcome to find some additional materials to answer the questions posed by the assignment but a majority of your research should be drawn from class materials.
Your papers must be presented in printed form with descriptive title and complete references. Each paper must refer to at least 20 different sources. When offering an opinion please consider both or more sides of an issue. If applicable, you should identify the liberal position and the conservative position and show both the strengths and weaknesses of each.
Please limit your quotes. If you include a quote that runs more than 2 lines, please single space and indent the quote. Always footnote the source of the quote.
An electronic copy of your paper must also be turned in with each assignment. Each paper will be submitted to "turnitin.com" so please don't plagarize. Check your paper for viruses before you turn it in. A virus-infected file will not put you in the good graces of your professor.
Paper 1. The Federal Nature of Courts and Law - The Terry Schiavo Case.
DUE: October 7th
During Spring 2005, America witnessed the struggle over the life and death of a young woman named Terry Schiavo. The debate over Terry Schiavo included local, state and national government officials. It included the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Media coverage was intense.
Examine the interplay between the various government actors and agencies. Who did what, when and why?
Explore some of the opinions for and against government involvement in this matter. (Most appropriate for this class might be to explore what role the courts played.) Compare the opinions of “liberals” and “conservatives”. Who is right? Why? Who is wrong? Why? A good answer here makes it clear not only why one opinion makes sense to you but also addresses the strengths of the other side. (Not everyone believes as you do. Why do others disagree so passionately?)
Paper 2. Selection of Judges.
RESOURCE MATERIALS I (The Bush Years I)
RESOURCE MATERIALS II (The Bush Years II)
RESOURCE MATERIALS III (Replacing Justice David Souter)
RESOURCE MATERIALS IV (State Judicial Selection Methods)
DUE: October 7th
Alternatives:
1. The President and Congress have often disagreed on who should be appointed as federal judges. This disagreement has been particularly loud in recent years. After objecting to Bush appointments for 8 years, Democrats have faced 4 years of pushback against Obama's nominees. Under both Presidents, appintments have slowed to a crawl and vvacancies on the federal courts have gone unfilled for long periods.
Examine the current impasse. In what ways are the Republicans right? In what ways are the Democrats right?
Do you believe the current federal system for appointing judges is flawed or that it works as well as can be expected? Do you believe that one or more reforms would help? Why or why not? If you are reform-minded, why do you believe your proposed fixes will work? Who would oppose your solution and why?
2. The various states use many different methods of selecting judges. A few follow the US model. Others elect judges in either partisan or nonpartisan elections. "Missouri Plan" states use a combination of appoitnments and elections.
In recent years, many states have debated changing their methods. Some prefer to make the selection process more representative. Others have rejected the this representative shift as a process that will make judges more partisan.
Consider the choices. Which do you prefer? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your preferred option? What responses do you offer to the critics of your plan?
Paper 3. Legal Problems - Civil Law - Adverse Possession in Boulder, Colorado
DUE: October 7th
In 2007, Boulder neighbors began embroiled in a battle over the adjoining yards. One family claimed that because they had used their neighbors field for many years they now owned it under the common law. The other family insisted they had purchased the land to build on for their retirement and are outraged that trespassers might have rights to the land they had trespassed on.
Questions to consider:
Who owned the property? (Is it common law that governs here or statutory law?) Should the court declare one or the other party to be exclusive owners or should it be Solomonesque and "split the baby".
Should it make a different if the Judge is "associated with" one of the parties?
What is the response of the other political actors (legislature and governor)? How have they become involved? Should they be involved or is this a matter that the courts should resolve on their own?
The Boulder community has been very involved. Should they be? Should public opinion matter and if so how?
Paper 4. Criminal Procedure - Colorado vs. Kobe Byrant.
Answer A, B or C.
DUE: November 4th
In July 2003 Kobe Byrant was arrested and charged with sexually assualting a female employee at the Inn @ Cordilera in Edwards, Colorado. For most of the past year and a half this case attracted national attention as it wound its way through the Colorado criminal justice system.
A. Describe the various steps in the criminal justice process that followed Kobe's arrest. Does this process match the textbook descriptions of how criminal defendents are handled. Where is it similar and how is it different?
B. Some claim celebrities are treated differently than the rest of us. What evidence exists that suggests Kobe was treated like the rest of us? What evidence suggests that he was a celebrity defendant and treated differently. Do you think this is good or bad? Why?
C. Critics have argued many of the key players in the Kobe Bryant case "failed". Identify the players and explain if and why you believe someone "screwed up". Or was it the system that produced the outcome that delighted some and dismayed others?
Defend your answer using argument and evidence.
Paper 5. Criminal Procedure - Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman.
Answer A, B, C or D.
DUE: November 4th
In Spring 2012 George Zimmerman was arrested and charged with killing teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. For more than a year and a half this case attracted national attention, initially pitting Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law as a defense against accusations of homicide.
A. Describe the various steps in the criminal justice process that followed Zimmerman's arrest. Does this process match the textbook descriptions of how criminal defendents are handled. Where is it similar and how is it different?
B. Some claim national atention changed the nature of this case. What evidence suggests that Zimmerman became a celebrity defendant and treated differently? Do you think this is good or bad? Why?
C. Critics have argued many of the key players in the Zimmerman case "failed". Identify the players and explain if and why you believe someone "screwed up". Was the outcome correct or in error? If it was not what you hoped or expected, why? Did the prosecution fail? Was the jury wrong? Or was it t"he system" that produced the outcome that delighted some and dismayed others?
D. Did race change the nature of the prosecution or defense? Would things have been different if Trayvon Martin was white or hispanic? If George Zimmerman had been black?
Defend your answer using argument and evidence.
Paper 6. Police Use of Deadly Force.
DUE: December 2nd
In the summer of 2003 Denver police officer James Turney shot a mentally impaired black teenager named Paul Childs. Since Child's death, the appropriate punishment for Officer Turney has been extensively debated. (Some might go so far as to charge him with murder while others don't believe he should be punished at all.)
What are “the facts” in the Paul Childs shooting? What punishments have been proposed and/or implemented?
Should Officer Turney be disciplined for his actions?
If “yes”, for what reason(s) should he be disciplined? What should be done to him? Why?
If “no”, why shouldn’t he be disciplined? What should the Denver PD and City of Denver tell Paul Childs' family as to why there should be no discipline?
In answering this question, consider the different opinions laid out in the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News. Their editiorials and columnists offer a wide variety of different opinions as to the appropriate outcome. (Even the "Letters to the Editor" suggest many alternatives or identify objections to how the case should be resolved.)
Remember if you choose to take a position on one side of the issue, please be sure to consider and evaluate the position of those on the other side. Identify who you agree
with and who you don't.
Paper 7. "Stop & Frisk"
DUE: December 2nd
Strategies for fighting crime require balancing security needs and the right to be free of government intrusion. Nowhere has this debate played out more visibly in recent years than in New York City. The NYPD has adopted an aggressive strategy of stopping and frisking citizens without substantial prior probable cause to believe they have committed a crime. The approach is thought to produce a credible deterrent effect.
Links above reference recent news and commentary about the situation in NY City. The NY Post, The New York Daily News and the New York Times are three major NYC newspapers who have covered the situation and offered a wide variety of opinions about “stop-and-frisk”. (Comments from other papers are also included.)
What differences exist in the opinions of the NYC papers and key actors about the practice of “stop & frisk”? Adopt a position. Do you favor or oppose the aggressive anti-crime actions of the NYPD? Present the arguments in support of your position. Then identify why are you right and others are wrong.
MIDTERM EXAM
FINAL EXAM