LS: Pre-Law: Course Syllabus

POS/PLA 371

Contemporary Legal
and Political Issues

 

Spring Semester Course Syllabus, TTh @ 9:30-10:45 in K-300

“The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.” - Joseph Joubert

Instructor:
Judge Richard Poland, Associate Professor of Law

Office Hours:
K-309 @ M-F 7:30-9:00. (Appointments at other times)

Contact Information:
Phone-819-6338 or e-mail: polandrc@flagler.edu.

Texts:
1) Taking Sides, 10th ed., Katsh, M. Ethan. The Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc., 2002
2) The New York Times (Subscribe at Book Store)

Additional resources are available at the pre-law website: www.flagler.edu/academics/prelaw/index.html

Course Objectives:
The objective of this course is for each student to develop his or her critical thinking skills and arguing techniques. Student debates and class discussions will occur concerning the varying contemporary issues outlined in the text and in this syllabus.

Course Requirements:
Read the text, read news articles, pass two exams, and argue a position on one contemporary legal or political issue as outlined in this syllabus. Each student will present a position paper of his or her argument (3-5 pages in length), citing at least three outside sources.

Course Outline:
I. Law, Politics, and the Individual.
II. Law, Politics, and the State.
III. Law, Politics, and the Community.

Grading:
Forty percent of the grade is for the mid-term exam, 40% is for the final exam, and 20% is for writing and presenting the position paper. The exams require analytical thinking.
A=90-100, B=80-89, C=70-79, D=60-69, F=Below 60.

Attendance:
Attendance is expected and necessary to master course materials. More than three unexcused absences will result in a grade reduction. Being tardy twice equals one absence. At six absences the student will be assigned a “WF” or a “WP.” (See Catalog.)

Cheating:
Cheating will not be excused or tolerated. Anyone caught cheating on an exam or plagiarizing on a paper will receive an “F” for the course. (See Catalog.)

Methods of Instruction:
The Socratic method will be used by the professor. Class debate is an integral part of the learning process. If you do not appear for your debate (without making prior arrangements for a substitute), your maximum grade for the debate is 50.

Expected Learning Outcomes:
The student will be able to understand and defend each side of several contemporary legal and political issues. The student will also learn how to analyze arguments in a systematic manner.

Statement on Disabilities:
Special services and reasonable accommodations are available to those who are registered with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities and who request assistance before the beginning of the semester. I will do my best to reasonably accommodate you.

Course Schedule:
Below is a tentative list of class assignments, in class as well as outside of class. This schedule is as detailed as possible, but the future is unwritten and uncertain. The schedule may be modified occasionally at the discretion of the professor and for the benefit of the class.

ASSIGNMENTS:

Week 1- Introduction to course, discussion of syllabus, assignment of argument topics, and review of techniques to analyze controversy.

Week 2- Issues 1 & 2 Manual Recounts; Constitutionality of Abortion.

Week 3- Issues 3 & 4 Physician Assisted Suicide; Human Cloning.

Week 4- Issues 5 & 6 Copyright Law; The Insanity Defense.

Week 5- Issue 7 Pretextual Stops; Political Forum.

Week 6- Issues 8 & 9 Religious Groups; The Fourth Amendment.

Week 7- Mid-Term Exam.

Week 8- Issues 10 & 11 Virtual Child Pornography; The Death Penalty.

Week 9- Issue 12 Detaining Sexual Predators; Political Forum.

Week 10- Issue 13 Political Forum; Legalizing Drugs.

Week 11- Issues 14 & 15 Notification of Sex Offenders; Web Site Violence.

Week 12- Issue 16 Legality of Same-Sex Marriages.

Week 13- Issue 17 & 18 Student-on-Student Sexual Harassment; Mainstreaming.

Week 14- Issue 19 Affirmative Action Programs in Public School Admissions.

Week 15- Comprehensive Final Exam – Multiple Choice/Essay (See Registrar’s Schedule)

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.” I have often said, “The lack of preparation for one of my exams is stupidity and, therefore, a handicap for obtaining a high grade.”

 

 

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