CASE STUDY AND PRESENTATION: FARAGHER V. CITY OF BOCA RATON
I realize that when one starts researching, it may take a great deal of time at first to find the case and information needed, but with practice, it becomes easier and quicker. You may find your case through the library's web page through databases available free while you are a student such as Westlaw or Lexis-Nexis. Supreme Court cases are at the U.S. Supreme Court's web page, supremecourt.gov. Go to "opinions," then to the term the case was decided. The Supreme Court term runs from the first Monday in October till the end of June, so, for example, a June, 2014 case may be from the 2013 term. Other federal and state court's webpages also have the cases. Findlaw also has cases and statutes at findlaw.com/casecode/. The full actual case should be used.
When doing research, please remember that primary source, i.e., the law itself, or the actual cases and statutes, are much more important than secondary sources, or what the media says that the law states. We will emphasize this throughout the class, but when getting a start on your research, remember to always go to the primary source whenever possible. In the experience of prior students, Wikipedia is a risky source to use, because it occasionally has incorrect information. Since Wikipedia is fluid and anyone can add to it, there has been incorrect or out of date information, especially concerning the law, on the Wikipedia web site. Do not cite to Wikipedia! It is very important to read the actual case itself, and cite to that case.
Below is a suggested format for the case study papers. This is just a suggestion, though, and different papers may vary depending on the topic. Papers may be double spaced, with normal font and margins. They typically run 4 pages, but I would rather have a well-written, complete, concise paper than one, which runs on to, make it longer.
Title page - the title of your case study, your name, and at the bottom a copyright notice (we'll discuss why this is important later in the course):
Copyright 2016 your name, or © 2016 your name
You may want to start with an introduction, which can include why you are interested in this particular case.
You will then want to "brief" the case. An outline for briefing a case is in appendix A of our textbook. You will want to give the citation, and this can be on the title page. You will want to give the facts of the case, the issue in the case, the decision of the case, and the court's rationale for the decision. This brief will typically be about two pages. Remember to use the actual full case, not the excerpt in the textbook.
Then, for the next few pages, you will want to give your analysis. A key thing to discuss is why this case matters, what I call the "so what" factor. This is a very important part of the paper and presentation. I then want a subjective analysis of what you think, what could have been done or what should be done, what other class members and businesses can learn from this case. Give your recommendations, predictions, etc.
Be sure that you are fair and balanced, giving both or all sides of an argument. It's fine to have strong opinions on issues; I do, too. But one is a much better negotiator or advocate when one is able to understand, and if necessary, refute the arguments on the other side of an issue.
Be sure to use paragraph breaks; sometimes writers have paragraphs that last a page or more, and this is really difficult to follow for the reader.
Your paper may include a conclusion which wraps it up.
Bibliography or References- Include your case's citation, and any other sources you used for your paper. The bibliography and the paper may use either MLA, APA, Chicago style, or any other uniform system of citation. The Chicago style uses footnotes or endnotes, which are great with me, but I also want a bibliography. MLA and APA both refer the reader, in the text, back to the bibliography when material is taken from sources other than the writer's own mind. Of course, your bibliography will contain your case, and any other sources you use.
Microsoft Word also puts sources into MLA or APA format, under references.
If you're discussing a case, give me the name of the case and the case's citation, which includes the court and the year.
To summarize about citation format, any uniform system of citation is fine with me so long as it gives me enough information to find the source you're discussing.
To avoid plagiarism, a Student Code violation, cite very frequently to your sources. Even if you paraphrase, still cite to the original source of your material. A reasonable number of small quotes is also acceptable. When quoting, be sure to either put the direct quote in quotation marks, or single space and indent five spaces, plus cite your reader to where the quote came from. One of the most difficult parts of my job is dealing with plagiarism, and I don't like to do it, and the sanctions are very high. So always cite to others' words or ideas. TurnItIn also prepares an originality report. Cutting and pasting is not acceptable, unless done sparingly, indicating to the reader that this is a direct quote by putting the quote in quotation mark, and in-text cite plus put the source in the bibliography.
I also like you to use a spell-check and make the suggested corrections, and I do like proper and conventional grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. Be sure to turn the paper in through Turnitin by the beginning of the class you are presenting.
The grade for the case study also includes a presentation aspect. Very often, class members learn a great deal of valuable information from hearing other class members present, and often you'll learn more from each other than you'll learn from me. Presentations should be approximately 5-7 minutes, including questions.
The problem you may have as you prepare is not that you won't have enough to talk about for that time, but rather that it's hard to condense all the material down to that time. Focus on the key points you want the class to remember about your case.
You will want to make power point slides or some visuals of the presentation. You need to also turn your presentation slides in through Turnitin by the beginning of class the day you are presenting. Please also send them to me by e-mail before class, and I'll post them on Blackboard.
To summarize, both the paper and the presentation must be turned in through TurnItIn before the start of class on the day of the presentation, and additionally, email me the presentation and I'll post them on Blackboard. The paper and presentation together are worth 20% of your grade.
If you have any questions in our class, concerning the case study or presentation or anything else, please let me know!