CASE ASSIGNMENT
Instructions- CA2 consists of a number of case mock scenarios. Select TWO cases to respond to from this case question pool. Make sure you CLEARLY identify the case (question) you are answering. For each scenario you are to respond to the question at the end of the case from the perspective of one side of the case, as directed. Use learning resources, course modules, and any course notes you might have created, to come up with citation (specific legal citations are NOT required) of statute and case law that support your argument. Scoring is based on (a) how compelling you make your argument, (b) how much your argument is supported by statute and case law, and (c) how well your argument demonstrates your mastery of the concepts presented in this course. Remember to abide by the syllabus format for each selected case; i.e., abstract, background, etc. Given these formatting matters, keep your full document restricted to five pages (2.5 pages per case) at most.
1. A journalist is assigned to do an investigative report on a new member of Congress recently elected. In the course of the investigation for this story the journalist uncovers that the Congressman's wife was once investigated for associating with an alleged espionage agent from China. This association being that the alleged Chinese agent was for a time her lover, but long before she had even met her husband, and long before he had successfully run for elected office. The journalists magazine runs the story. The wife of the Congressman undertakes a defamation action against both the journalist and her employer the magazine claiming both negligence and malice in running the story to discredit the Congressman. You are the lawyer for the magazine and its journalist. What is your defense?
2. A college professor is also the editor of the college's faculty journal. He decides to publish an article submitted by one of the faculty members that is a literary work of fiction, a short story, that is illustrated by a number of photographs of nature scenes around campus. The photos are from the college's archives. Sometime after this edition of the faculty journal is published both the editor and the college are named as co-defendants in a copyright infringement case brought by the widow of the photographer whose photos were used in the story. The case claims that the photos are all protected under US Copyright and that no permission was asked for given by the current owner of the copyright material; i.e., the widow of the photographer. No documentation seems to be on file as to the terms under which the photo collection was housed in the colleges archive. You are representing the photographer's widow in this case. What is basis of your action on behalf of the Plaintiff?
3. You are a mid-level employee of the US Dept. of Defense based in the Pentagon and assigned to a team to audit contract awards related to the post-war rebuilding of Iraq. You discover that one specific large DOD contractor, Halstead Development Corp., keeps winning contract bids even when they are not the low bidder or even the best proposal. You suspect unfair advantage through political connections and you report this to the head of your team. Weeks go by with no action or investigation undertaken. Instead, the head of your team resigns his position with DOD to become the director of government programs for Halstead Development Corp. You leakthis unclassified albeit sensitive story to the press. When the story is released nationally you are fired from your DOD position and threatened with potential criminal action. You hire a lawyer to work with you to prepare a case against the DOD. What is the strategic legal basis of your case?
4. You are the owner of a commercial property adjacent to a thriving commercial district in a small town. You apply for a zoning variance to allow you to sell your property to a strip mall developer. The zoning commission meets behind closed doors, without your participation, and rules against your zoning application. No press or media coverage is allowed for these meetings. The mayor and city council, in open session but still without allowing press coverage, approve the action of the zoning commission. You file an action against the mayor and zoning commission based upon open meeting laws. Describe the basis of your case.
5. You are the news manager for a news radio station. You assign a reporter to cover a high-profile rape case. Your reporter's story appears to be well-researched and based upon solid sources, but it is controversial. The story's focus is that the rape victim was actually never raped, that the alleged rapist was actually a man she previously had a relationship with who had broken it off with her. In other words, the allegations of rape were in actuality a domestic dispute. You run the story and it becomes a topic for debate on a number of the talk radio shows on your station. The alleged rape victim contacts you via her lawyer and insists that you retract the story and terminate the employment of the reporter or face legal action against you and your station for defamation. Your E&O insurance carrier is insisting that you fire the reporter and offer a financial settlement to the alleged victim. You refuse to do so. On what legal grounds can you support your position and force the E&O carrier to protect both the station and the reporter?
6. You are a freelance photographer and you are hired to do a spread for the annual report of a client corporation. As is your standard practice you have supplied about 100 photos to your client from which they have selected 10 to be included in the annual report, and for which you are paid a contracted fee of $3,000 each. This is in addition to the fees you have already been paid for your services during the shooting of all the photos for this project. A few months later, you discover that the company has used two additional photos in their new magazine advertising campaign. You contact them to arrange payment for the additional shots used and they refuse claiming that they actually paid you for all of the photos already and it is up to them, as the owners of the photos, to use them as they wish. Since your contract does not stipulate that this was a work for hire, you file a legal case against them. What is the basis of your claim?