Assignments and Grade Distribution

Short paper (10%), Midterm exam (30%), Case Briefs (15%), Final exam or final paper (35%)
Class participation (10%)

The midterm will consist of a moot court in which four students (volunteers) will argue a hypothetical civil liberties case. The rest of the class will sit as justices and issue opinions on the case. You may write a final paper instead of the final exam if you give me seven (7) short reaction papers to the readings in the second half of the course. A reaction paper will be graded as "approved" if you write at least two paragraphs and explore some aspect of the reading that you find particularly interesting, troubling, enraging, perceptive, etc. If you choose to write a final paper, I will give you topics to write on; you may modify my suggested topic after consulting with me. At some point in the semester, you must give me written briefs on two cases from the course. We will discuss this requirement in the first week of the course. Most of the required readings will be found in the O'Brien casebook, but several are available only on the web. I will provide links to the web readings. If you have trouble accessing the web readings, please let me know.

Expectations

• This course is not a lecture course. Participation constitutes 10% of your grade. Attendance will be taken; both absences and tardiness will count against your final grade.
• Plagiarism will be dealt with according to university policies. Do not plagiarize. I will use plagiarism detection software in cases of uncertainty. In order to facilitate the use of this software, I require electronic versions of all written work (preferably by e-mail, but a floppy disk will do). You should review Oswego's plagiarism policies and ask me for help if needed.
• Students who have a disabling condition that might interfere with their ability to complete this course successfully are encouraged to speak with me, confidentially, or to contact the Office of Disability Services (x3558, 210 Swetman).

1. David O'Brien, Constitutional Law and Politics, Volume 2: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, 5th edition, W.W. Norton, 2003. (O'Brien)
2. David O'Brien, Supreme Court Watch 2002, W.W. Norton 2003. (SC Watch)
3. Various web readings, hyperlinked at the class web site.

Class Schedule (subject to adjustment and change as the course progresses)