Assignment
Paper 1
You are asked to research and write about a pending case before the United States Supreme Court. I am recommending that you choose one of the following cases:
Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
Carpenter v. U.S.
Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
If you find another case that you are interested in researching, please get permission from me prior to starting your research. You will be working with the case you choose for Homework Assignments One and Two and your Final Paper.
These are cases the United States Supreme Court has agreed to decide in the upcoming year. Your homework assignments will be used to aid in your final paper that is due at the end of semester.
For Homework Assignment One you will be asked to familiarize yourself with the case through general research and by reading the decision of the lower court.
Homework Assignment One
1. Once you have chosen your case go to www.scotusblog.com. At the right-hand side of your screen there is a box labeled "Merits Case Pages and Archives." Click on "This Term's Merits Cases." You can look over this alphabetical list and click on your case. (Keep in mind that the case name at the Supreme Court level is slightly different than the name of your case because the party that appeals to the case to the United States Supreme Court is listed first). You can also use the "Search Box" on the middle right-hand side of the screen. Type in the name of the first-named party to the case and then click the "Blog" box. This will show you if there are articles written about your case on Bloomberg's "SCOTUSBLOG".
Provide a brief summary of the information you have learned about the case from the information contained in "SCOTUSBLOG". Make sure this information will be helpful in writing your final paper.
2. Find two or three newspaper or journal articles that focus on the case that you chose. Provide a brief summary of the two articles that you find most relevant to your case.
In addition to other sources you can use either Lexis-Nexis Academic or WestlawNext. Click on "Databases & Collections at the top of the page. The databases are listed alphabetically. You will need to sign in using your NetID and password.
3. Read the decision from the lower court that is being appealed. (If you choose the Janus case please read the petition filed by Mark Janus on November 29, 2017) I know the language is complex but try your best and I am available to help. After reading the case, try and answer the following (and provide citations of the case as to where you found the information):
A. Identify all the issues the court addressed (or in the Janus case the issues addressed by the Petitioner (Janus).
For each issue the court addressed:
1. Identity the facts that the court found were most important for each issue? 2. Identify the rule(s), statute(s) or Constitutional provision the court interprets in its decision? 3. What was the legal standard or law the court applied when making its decision? 4. What was the decision of the court? 5. Identify the United States Supreme Court cases the court relied upon. Determine which case the court most important?
Use other secondary sources that you see fit in helping you with your ultimate opinion on how the court should rule. Be mindful of the authors or sponsoring organizations of the sources you choose. Think about any biases that might exist and how that impacts your final paper.
Paper 2
1. Identify what you think are the primary issue or issues at stake in the case that you chose. Review the issues of the case that you identified in Homework #1 and decide which issues you are going to address in your final paper.
2. Develop a thesis (answer) for the issues you have identified. What I am looking for is an introductory paragraph where you present your thesis and provide a brief roadmap for how you will advance that thesis in your final paper.
3. In bullet format, identify the arguments on both sides of the issue(s) you identified as the primary issue(s) in the case you have chosen. That is identify the arguments from the perspective of the petitioner and the respondent (the plaintiff and the defendant). Use the law / test the court applied to organize these arguments. Provide sufficient detail to allow for evaluation of the arguments and development of rebuttals.
For your final paper, you are going to incorporate all of your research and discuss the case, including the facts, the issues you identified and the law / test for each issue. You will examine the underlying precedent and you will explore the arguments on both sides of the issue raised in your case. In your thesis, you will specify how you think the court should decide the case and you will advocate, throughout the paper, for that resolution, while also exploring all sides of the case.