AT: Schedule

Before Week 1 (before January 15th)

You will complete this deliverable by visiting the Before We Begin section of ShannonWeb.

Course Resources: Voting Rights

Familiarize yourself with the following so that you can use these sources throughout the course

Week 1, Class 1

During Class

  • Review the course requirements

Week 2, Classes 2 & 3

Before Class
Review the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
During Class
  • Discuss
  • Review current events

Week 3 Classes 4 & 5

Before Class
Review the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
During Class
  • Discuss
  • Review current events

Week 4, Classes 6 & 7

Before Class
Review the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
During Class
  • Discuss
  • Review current events

Week 5, Classes 8 & 9

Before Class
Review the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
During Class
  • Discuss
  • Review current events

Week 6, Classes 10 & 11

Before Class
Review the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
During Class
  • Discuss
  • Review current events
Deliverable(s)
  • Case Simulation #1 Materials Available No Later Than Sunday at 1p ET
  • Case Simulation #1, Phase 1 Memo Due No Later Than Thursday at 11p ET; Submit Using Teams DM
  • ATP Status Report Due No Later Than Saturday at 1:12a ET, submit using Teams

Week 7, Classes 12 & 13

Case Simulation #1
  • Monday: Phase 1, discuss case simulation memos
  • Wednesday: Phase 2, team Q&A

Week 8, No Classes | Spring Break

Week 9, Classes 14 & 15

Before Class
Review the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
During Class
  • Discuss
  • Review current events

Week 10, Classes 16 & 17

Before Class
Review the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
During Class
  • Discuss
  • Review current events
Deliverable(s)
  • ATP Portfolio Due No Later Than Thursday at 4:47a EDT, submit using Teams

Week 11, Classes 18 & 19

Before Class
Review the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
During Class
  • Discuss
  • Review current events
Deliverable(s)
  • Case Simulation #2 Materials Available No Later Than Sunday at 1p EDT
  • Case Simulation #2, Phase 1 Memo Due No Later Than Thursday at 11p EDT; Submit Using Teams DM

Week 12, Classes 20 & 21

Case Simulation #2
  • Monday: Phase 1, discuss case simulation memos
  • Wednesday: Phase 2, team Q&A

Week 13, Class 22

Before Class
Review the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
  • AT Projects
During Class
  • Discuss Voting Rights
  • Review current events
Deliverable(s)
  • CA Materials Due No Later Than Thursday at 2:18a EDT, submit using Teams

Case Analysis

Week 14, Classes 23 & 24

Team 1 –  Environmental Protection (Monday)

West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, 597 U.S. ___ (2022) 20-1530, Argued February 28, 2022 – Decided June 30, 2022 (Consolidated with: Westmoreland Mining Holdings, LLC v. Environmental Protection Agency, North American Coal Corp. v. Environmental Protection Agency, North Dakota v. Environmental Protection Agency )
  • Summary: In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated the Clean Power Plan rule, which addressed carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, citing Section 111 of the Clean Air Act,” 42 U.S.C. 7411(d). Although the states set the enforceable rules governing existing sources, EPA determines the emissions limit with which they have to comply by determining the “best system of emission reduction” (BSER). In the Clean Power Plan, EPA determined that the BSER for existing coal and natural gas plants included “heat rate improvements” at coal-fired plants and “generation-shifting,” i.e., a shift in electricity production from existing coal-fired to natural-gas-fired plants and from both coal and gas plants to renewables (wind and solar). An operator could reduce the regulated plant’s production of electricity, build or invest in new or existing equipment, or purchase emission allowances as part of a cap-and-trade regime. No existing coal plant could achieve the emissions performance rates without generation-shifting. The Supreme Court stayed the Clean Power Plan in 2016. It was later repealed when EPA determined that it lacked authority “of this breadth.” EPA then promulgated the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, mandating equipment upgrades and operating practices. The D.C. Circuit held that EPA’s repeal of the Clean Power Plan rested on a mistaken reading of the Clean Air Act and vacated the ACE rule. The Supreme Court reversed. Congress did not grant EPA the authority to devise emissions caps based on the Clean Power Plan’s generation-shifting approach. Restructuring the nation’s mix of electricity generation cannot be the BSER under Section 111. Under the major questions doctrine, an agency must point to “clear congressional authorization” for such an unprecedented exercise of authority. On EPA’s view of Section 111(d), Congress implicitly tasked it alone with balancing vital considerations of national policy. Issues of electricity transmission and distribution are not within EPA’s traditional expertise. The Clean Power Plan “conveniently enabled” EPA to enact a program, cap-and-trade, that Congress rejected numerous times.
  • Issue: Under a provision of the Clean Air Act, did Congress prohibit the EPA from issuing rules and standards of performance that could potentially reshape the country’s electricity grids and unilaterally decarbonize any sector of the economy?
  • Holding: Congress did not grant the Environmental Protection Agency in Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act the authority to devise emissions caps based on the generation shifting approach the agency took in the Clean Power Plan.
  • Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 6-3, in an opinion by Chief Justice Roberts on June 30, 2022. Justice Gorsuch filed a concurring opinion, in which Justice Alito joined. Justice Kagan filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Breyer and Sotomayor joined.

Team 2 – Free Exercise Clause, School Prayer (Wednesday)

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 597 U.S. ___ (2022) No. 21–418, Argued April 25, 2022 – Decided June 27, 2022
  • Summary: Kennedy lost his job as a high school football coach after he knelt at midfield after games to offer a quiet personal prayer. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the summary judgment rejection of Kennedy’s claims against the school district. The Supreme Court reversed. The Constitution neither mandates nor permits the government to suppress such religious expression. The district acted on a mistaken view that it has a duty to suppress religious observances even as it allows comparable secular speech. A plaintiff may demonstrate a free exercise violation by showing that a government entity has burdened his sincere religious practice pursuant to a policy that is not “neutral” or “generally applicable,” triggering strict scrutiny. Kennedy seeks to engage in a sincerely motivated religious exercise that does not involve students; the district’s policies were neither neutral nor generally applicable. The district sought to restrict Kennedy’s actions at least in part because of their religious character. Kennedy established a Free Speech Clause violation. When an employee “speaks as a citizen addressing a matter of public concern,” courts should engage in “a delicate balancing of the competing interests surrounding the speech and its consequences.” Kennedy was not engaged in speech “ordinarily within the scope” of his coaching duties. His prayers occurred during the postgame period when coaches were free to attend to personal matters and students were engaged in other activities. In place of the “Lemon” and “endorsement” tests, courts should look “to historical practices and understandings.” A rule that the only acceptable government role models for students are those who eschew any visible religious expression would undermine a long constitutional tradition of tolerating diverse expressive activities.
  • Issue: Whether a public school district had the constitutional authority to prevent a high school football coach from continuing his longstanding practice of leading student-athletes in midfield prayer immediately after games.
  • Holding: The free exercise and free speech clauses of the First Amendment protect an individual engaging in a personal religious observance from government reprisal; the Constitution neither mandates nor permits the government to suppress such religious expression.
  • Judgment: Reversed, 6-3, in an opinion by Justice Gorsuch on June 27, 2022. Justice Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the court, in which Chief Justice Roberts, Justices Thomas, Alito, and Barrett joined, and in which Justice Kavanaugh joined except as to Part III-B. Justices Thomas and Alito filed concurring opinions. Justice Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Breyer and Kagan joined.

Week 15, Classes 25 & 26

Team 3 –  Second Amendment (Monday)

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 597 U.S. ___ (2022) No. 20–843, Argued November 3, 2021 – Decided June 23, 2022
  • Summary: The State of .New York makes it a crime to possess a firearm without a license. An individual who wants to carry a firearm outside his home may obtain an unrestricted license to “have and carry” a concealed “pistol or revolver” if he can prove that “proper cause exists.” An applicant satisfies the “proper cause” requirement if he can “demonstrate a special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community.” New York residents who unsuccessfully applied for unrestricted licenses to carry a handgun in public based on their generalized interest in self-defense challenged the “proper cause” requirement. The Supreme Court reversed the dismissal of the suit. New York’s “proper cause” requirement violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in public for self-defense. The “historical evidence from antebellum America does demonstrate that the manner of public carry was subject to reasonable regulation, but none of these limitations on the right to bear arms operated to prevent law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from carrying arms in public for that purpose.” The Court stated that the “constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense is not a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees.” The exercise of other constitutional rights does not require individuals to demonstrate to government officers some special need.
  • Issue: Does New York’s law requiring that applicants for unrestricted concealed-carry licenses demonstrate a special need for self-defense violate the Second Amendment?
  • Holding: New York’s proper-cause requirement for obtaining an unrestricted license to carry a concealed firearm violates the Fourteenth Amendment in that it prevents law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
  • Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 6-3, in an opinion by Justice Thomas on June 23, 2022. Justice Alito filed a concurring opinion. Justice Kavanaugh filed a concurring opinion, in which Chief Justice Roberts joined. Justice Barrett filed a concurring opinion. Justice Breyer filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Sotomayor and Kagan joined.

Team 4 –  Regulatory Authority (Wednesday)

Covid In The Workplace

National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor, 595 U.S. ___ (2022) No. 21-A244, Argued January 7, 2022 – Decided January 13, 2022 (Consolidated with: Ohio v. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
  • Summary: The Secretary of Labor, through OSHA, enacted a vaccine mandate, to be enforced by employers. The mandate preempted contrary state laws and covered virtually all employers with at least 100 employees, with exemptions for employees who exclusively work remotely or outdoors. It required that covered workers receive a COVID–19 vaccine or obtain a medical test each week at their own expense, on their own time, and also wear a mask at work. Challenges were consolidated before the Sixth Circuit, which allowed OSHA’s rule to take effect. The Supreme Court stayed the rule. Applicants are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that the Secretary lacked the authority to impose the mandate. The rule is “a significant encroachment into the lives—and health—of a vast number of employees,” not plainly authorized by statute; 29 U.S.C. 655(b) empowers the Secretary to set workplace safety standards, not broad public health measures. Although COVID–19 is a risk in many workplaces, it is not an occupational hazard in most. COVID–19 spreads everywhere that people gather. Permitting OSHA to regulate the hazards of daily life would significantly expand OSHA’s regulatory authority without clear congressional authorization. The vaccine mandate is unlike typical OSHA workplace regulations. A vaccination “cannot be undone.” Where the virus poses a special danger because of the particular features of an employee’s job or workplace, targeted regulations are permissible but OSHA’s indiscriminate approach fails to distinguish between occupational risk and general risk. The equities do not justify withholding interim relief. States and employers allege that OSHA’s mandate will force them to incur billions of dollars in unrecoverable compliance costs and will cause hundreds of thousands of employees to leave their jobs.
  • Issue: Did the Occupational Safety & Health Administration exceed its authority in promulgating a rule mandating that employers with at least 100 employees require covered workers to receive a COVID–19 vaccine or else wear a mask and be subject to weekly testing?
  • Holding: The court grants the applications to stay the Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s challenged rule mandating that employers with at least 100 employees require covered workers to receive a COVID–19 vaccine.
  • Judgment: Application granted in a per curiam opinion on January 13, 2022. Justice Gorsuch filed a concurring opinion, in which Justices Thomas and Alito joined. Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan filed a dissenting opinion.

Covid in Health Care Facilities

Biden v. Missouri, No. 21-A240 595 U.S. ___ (2022) Argued January 7, 2022 – Decided January 13, 2022
  • Summary: In November 2021, the Secretary of HHS announced that, in order to receive Medicare and Medicaid funding, participating facilities must ensure that their staff—unless exempt for medical or religious reasons or teleworking full-time—are vaccinated against COVID–19. Two district courts enjoined enforcement of the rule. The Supreme Court stayed the injunctions pending appeals in the Fifth and Eighth Circuits. The rule falls within the Secretary’s statutory authority to promulgate regulations “necessary to the efficient administration of the functions with which [he] is charged,” 42 U.S.C. 1302(a), including ensuring that the healthcare providers who care for Medicare and Medicaid patients protect their patients’ health and safety. Conditions with which facilities must comply to be eligible to receive Medicare and Medicaid funds have long included a requirement that certain providers maintain and enforce an “infection prevention and control program.” Vaccination requirements are a common feature of the provision of healthcare in America.  The rule is not arbitrary. The Court noted the Secretary’s findings that in addition to the threat posed by in- facility transmission itself, “fear of exposure” to the virus “from unvaccinated health care staff can lead patients to themselves forgo seeking medically necessary care.” Nor did the Secretary fail to consider that the rule might cause staffing shortages. The Secretary’s finding of good cause to delay notice and comment was based on a finding that accelerated promulgation of the rule in advance of the winter flu season would significantly reduce COVID–19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths.
  • Issue: Does the Department of Health and Human Services have the authority to enforce a rule requiring health care workers at facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they qualify for a medical or religious exemption?
  • Holding: The court grants the applications to stay the two injunctions barring the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ regulation requiring facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid to ensure that their employees are vaccinated against COVID–19.
  • Judgment: Application granted in a per curiam opinion on January 13, 2022. Justice Thomas filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Alito, Gorsuch, and Barrett joined. Justice Alito filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, and Barrett joined.

Week 16, Classes 27 & 28

Team 5 –  Establishment Clause: Separation of Church and State (Monday)

Carson v. Makin, 596 U.S. ___ (2022) No. 20-1088, Argued December 8, 2021 Decided June 21, 2022
  • Summary: Maine offers tuition assistance for parents who live in school districts that neither operate a secondary school nor contract with a school in another district. Parents designate the secondary school they would like their child to attend; the school district sends payments to that school to defray tuition costs. To be eligible for tuition payments, private schools had to be accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges or approved by the Maine Department of Education. Since 1981, Maine has limited tuition assistance payments to “nonsectarian” schools. The First Circuit affirmed the rejection of constitutional challenges to the “nonsectarian” requirement. The Supreme Court reversed. Maine’s “nonsectarian” requirement for otherwise generally available tuition assistance payments violates the Free Exercise Clause, which protects against “indirect coercion or penalties on the free exercise of religion, not just outright prohibitions.” A state need not subsidize private education but if it does so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious. A law that operates in that manner must be subjected to “the strictest scrutiny.” A neutral benefit program in which public funds flow to religious organizations through the independent choices of private benefit recipients does not offend the Establishment Clause; a state’s anti-establishment interest does not justify enactments that exclude some members of the community from an otherwise generally available public benefit because of their religious exercise.
  • Issue: Does a state law prohibiting students participating in an otherwise generally available student-aid program from choosing to use their aid to attend schools that provide religious, or “sectarian,” instruction violate the Religion Clauses or Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution?
  • Holding: Maine’s “nonsectarian” requirement for otherwise generally available tuition assistance payments to parents who live in school districts that do not operate a secondary school of their own violates the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.
  • Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 6-3, in an opinion by Chief Justice Roberts on June 21, 2022. Justice Breyer filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Kagan joined, and in which Justice Sotomayor joined as to all but Part I-B. Justice Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion.

Team 6 –  Abortion Rights (Wednesday)

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 597 U.S. ___ (2022) No. 19-1392, Argued December 1, 2021 – December June 24, 2022
  • Summary: Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act provides that “[e]xcept in a medical emergency or in the case of a severe fetal abnormality, a person shall not intentionally or knowingly perform . . . or induce an abortion of an unborn human being if the probable gestational age of the unborn human being has been determined to be greater than fifteen (15) weeks.” The Fifth Circuit affirmed an injunction, prohibiting enforcement of the Act.  The Supreme Court reversed, overruling its own precedent. The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; the authority to regulate abortion belongs to state representatives. Citing the “faulty historical analysis” in Roe v. Wade, the justices concluded that the right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the nation’s history and tradition; regulations and prohibitions of abortion are governed by the same “rational basis” standard of review as other health and safety measures. The justices analyzed “great common-law authorities,” concerning the historical understanding of ordered liberty. “Attempts to justify abortion through appeals to a broader right to autonomy and to define one’s ‘concept of existence’ … could license fundamental rights to illicit drug use, prostitution, and the like.” Noting “the critical moral question posed by abortion,” the justices compared their decision to Brown v. Board of Education in overruling Plessy v. Ferguson, which “was also egregiously wrong.” Roe conflated the right to shield information from disclosure and the right to make and implement important personal decisions without governmental interference and produced a scheme that “looked like legislation,” including a “glaring deficiency” in failing to justify the distinction it drew between pre- and post-viability abortions. The subsequently-described “undue burden” test is unworkable in defining a line between permissible and unconstitutional restrictions. Traditional reliance interests are not implicated because getting an abortion is generally an “unplanned activity,” and “reproductive planning could take virtually immediate account of any sudden restoration of state authority to ban abortions.” The Court emphasized that nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion. Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act is supported by the Mississippi Legislature’s specific findings, which include the State’s asserted interest in “protecting the life of the unborn.”
  • Issue: Is Mississippi’s law banning nearly all abortions after 15 weeks’ gestational age unconstitutional?
  • Holding: The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey are overruled; the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.
  • Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 6-3, in an opinion by Justice Alito on June 24, 2022. Justices Thomas and Kavanaugh filed concurring opinions. Chief Justice Roberts filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan filed a dissenting opinion.

Week 17, Class 29

Course Wrap

Deliverables

Reading

You will have reading deliverables for each class meeting … they must be completed before you arrive for class. If you are not prepared for class it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for you to engage effectively in our class. If you consistently do not engage effectively in class discussions it will have a negative impact on your performance and, therefore, my assessment of your performance. Your success in our course will require you to actively participate in the discussions that we conduct in person and in the cloud. The difference between engagement in a F2F and an online course is really about the platform.

Writing on a Digital Platform

Many of you may be unfamiliar with writing in a digital platform. Since this may be the first time that you will work in a digital platform I suggest that you review Professor Gerald Lucas’ essay, Writing Top Ten, as a starting point. If you are unfamiliar with the appropriate way to source your digital writing, and most of you will be, please review his discussion of Digital Citation for additional guidance on citation when using a digital platform. Since the correct use of hyperlinks will be important to your success in our course discussions I recommend that you consider his advice on using links in your digital writing.

When you use digital platforms to support your submissions you must incorporate multimedia (audio, video and images) in all of your writing deliverables. It is important for you to transition from thinking in terms of text on paper to a text+ environment. As Bo Ren suggests in his essay Why I Believe in Text,

“The future of text is going to be text+ (text + multimedia e.g. photos, videos, gifs, podcasts etc). … readers and users want text+ for a faster, more immersive, gratifying consumption experience. Multimedia stories are the future of text.”

If you have never used Teams before, visit the Microsoft Teams for Education – Quick Start Guide and video training for Teams.

Writing and Research

Many of your course deliverables will involve research and writing. Those assignments will also require that you meet both content and form requirements. I describe the requirements of each deliverable in terms of minimums to provide you with the opportunity to exceed those minimums. Most deliverables involve the use of digital platforms to deliver the content you have developed.

The content requirements are straightforward. You must provide a thoughtful, substantive and well-reasoned submission that draws upon the course readings and materials and that details your perspective and analysis of the implications of the issues raised in the question(s) posed. It is also important that you address the ethics issues raised by the assignment. You must also include sources sufficient to support all aspects of your submission.

The content requirements represent a significant expectation of performance. I may set a minimum requirement for the number of sources used in your submissions. I expect that your sources will be sufficient, both in quality and number, to support the breadth of analysis that I have described above.

The form requirements are equally straightforward. These form requirements are generally described in terms of a minimum word count and the use of live, in-text hyperlinks in lieu of footnotes/endnotes (please see Writing on a Digital Platform above). When you use digital platforms to support your submissions you must incorporate multimedia (audio, video and images) in all of your writing deliverables.

My assessment of your submission will be based upon the extent to which you meet the minimum requirements as to content and form required by that particular deliverable. You can improve your prospects for a strong outcome by exceeding the minimum requirements of the deliverable, i.e., expanding the scope of your content and analysis of the question posed, including addressing potential ethics issues, broadening the scope of the sources used to support that content and analysis, and meeting the form requirements outlined above.

It is important to remember, though, that if you simply meet the minimum requirements the result will be an average grade.

Writing deliverables will be completed using a digital platform unless otherwise specified. Please see your course syllabus for the specific assignment requirements.

Do not post a Word document, pdf or Google doc unless the deliverable specifically requires it.

Connectivity

When taking a quiz or exam, please be certain that your broadband connection is reliable and stable. My students in past semesters have occasionally experienced connectivity issues. In the past, this type of connectivity problem arises as a result of an interruption in your connection (a hiccup in your broadband connection) to Blackboard or where the test has opened in a new tab or window. When that happens your connection times out in the first tab/window while you are working in the second. That has the same effect as the first possible cause … your connection to Bb is interrupted. Your quiz/exam stays active in the second tab/window but stops recording questions because the connection was interrupted due to the timeout in the first tab/window. Your best option is to be sure that your browser opens the quiz/exam in the same tab/window where you originally logged into Blackboard.

Most frequently connectivity issues arise when using Wi-FI particularly when using a public Wi-Fi hotspot. It is best if you avoid public Wi-Fi hotspots when taking a quiz/exam. Be certain that your Wi-Fi connection is strong and stable. I suggest, if possible, that you connect your computer directly to your Internet source (router) via an Ethernet cable. This should assure that you have a stable connection while completing the course assignments.

If your connection is interrupted, I suggest that you exit Bb, login again, try to reenter the same quiz/exam attempt and finish the quiz/exam.

Assessment

This information is related to my undergraduate courses. I suggest you review it carefully before your course begins.

Performance

I describe my expectations for your performance in my classes in the Deliverables and Engagement pages of this section. If you have not reviewed them yet, please take a moment and review them before proceeding with this section.

I have very high expectations for performance for my students. I expect that you will bring your best efforts to all of your interactions with your classmates, our course and with me. I presume that you are attending college, and our course, because you are interested in your future success.

You are constructing the platform on which you will build your professional, and personal, lives. That should be sufficient incentive to encourage you to invest in the learning environment we are developing, and those involved in that learning environment, to the fullest extent possible.

Please approach this experience accordingly.

Deliverables

All of my deliverables have hard deadlines. If you miss a deadline you will receive no credit for that assignment. The excuse of “my dog ate my homework” or its 21st century equivalent “my computer crashed” are not acceptable. “I forgot” or “I didn’t calendar the deliverable” or “I didn’t set a reminder” or “I had other assignments due” do not work for me … nor will they work for you.

It is important that you provide your analysis of the issues presented by any deliverable … whether that is a discussion board, journal post, blog comment or POV. Simply regurgitating the content of the question or article is not acceptable … think back to your first book report in elementary school … since I already know what happened in the book you do not really need to tell me again. It is infinitely more important that you demonstrate your understanding of the issues presented and their relevance in context.

My assessment of your submissions will also be based upon the extent to which you meet the minimum requirements of the deliverable. Most deliverables will be described with minimum word and source counts. Page counts are irrelevant when working in digital platforms so the minimum word and source counts will provide you with an expectation framework. You can improve your prospects for a strong outcome by exceeding the minimum requirements of the assignment. And remember that simply meeting the minimum requirements will result in an average grade.

OMG … Technophobia!!!

PLEASE do not tell me that you “are not a technology person” … we are clearly past the point where a lack of familiarity with technology is a good idea or at all acceptable. Since Fear of Technology
we rely on these devices and platforms you should be certain that your mobile device is connected to your SHU email and calendar accounts as well as Teams.

This site and Blackboard are not optimized to play well with Internet Explorer. I suggest that you use either Firefox or Safari as your browser.

That said, mine are not IT courses … they are courses that examine different areas of law. It happens that we will use a variety of different technology platforms to support our work … much the same as you will in your personal and professional lives.

I may be able to assist you with a hardware or software issue. However, it is your responsibility to be sure that both are in good working order. Be certain that your computer’s operating system, browser(s) and the variety of installed software is up-to-date,  If something isn’t working … get it fixed  … in a timely manner. That’s why we have PC Support Services and a Help Desk.

You are responsible for “figuring it out” when it comes to the “how to” aspects of a project. If you don’t know how to do something … “Google it!” … or, of you don’t want to be tracked use Duck Duck Go for search.

In fact, many of my past students have told me that mastering the art of “figuring it out” was both an unexpected and beneficial experience and a critical learning outcome in my courses.

Grading

Remember, as I noted above, that I have very high expectations for performance for my students. I expect that you will bring your best efforts to all of your interactions with your classmates, our course and with me. That will require you to do your best work in our course.

Engagement, i.e., attendance and participation during our course meetings is required. If you do not engage in the course it will have a negative impact on your grade results.

As I note in the Deliverables page, my assessment of your submissions will be based upon the extent to which you meet the deliverable’s minimum requirements as to content and form. You can improve your prospects for a strong outcome by exceeding the minimum requirements for that deliverable, i.e., expanding the scope of your content and analysis, including addressing potential ethics issues, of the question posed,  broadening the scope of the sources used to support that content and analysis, and meeting the form requirements outlined above.

It is important to remember, though, that if you simply meet the minimum requirements the result will be an average grade.

If you fail to participate at all, or do not meet the deliverable’s deadline, you will receive zero points and a grade of “F” for that deliverable. If you only partially meet the deliverable’s requirements you will earn a maximum grade of “D”. If you meet the deliverable’s requirements your submission will be evaluated and assigned a grade subject to the Grade Ranges described below.

I generally do not accept late submissions for credit unless you have experienced a real emergency. I will consider your reasons for missing a deadline if you submit them for my consideration in a timely manner via a Teams DM. That said, a real emergency does not arise if you miss the assignment or deadline because you did not calendar it, or you experienced a conflict that was avoidable or you simply forgot the deadline.

Grade Ranges

This table describes the range of points assigned to a particular grade.

A 95% – 100% C+

77% – 79.9%

A-

90% – 94.9% C

73% – 76.9%

B+

87% – 89.9% C- 70% – 72.9%

B

83% – 86.9% D+

65% – 69.9%

B- 80% – 83.9% D

60% – 64.9%

F

< 59.9%

LFB: Schedule

Before Week 1 (before August 27th)

Complete this deliverable by visiting the Before We Begin page at ShannonWeb. These deliverables must be completed even if you join the course after the first day of class.

Module 1: Introduction To The Legal Environment

Week 1, Classes 1 & 2

Before Class (Monday):
During Class (Monday):
  • Introduction to the course
  • Review current events

Before Class (Wednesday):

During Class (Wednesday):

  • Overview of Generative AI, Prompt Engineering, Ethics, and Use of Generative AI

Week 2, Class 3

Monday: No Class, Labor Day

Before Class (Wednesday):

During Class (Wednesday):

Deliverable(s):

Week 3, Classes 4 & 5

Before Class:
During Class:
Deliverable(s):

Week 4, Classes 6 & 7

Before Class:
During Class:
Deliverable(s):
  • Success Plan due Sunday no later than 9:18p
  • Ideas Essay due Saturday no later than 11:53p
  • Complete two (2) comments on the Course Blog no later than Friday evening at 9p

 Week 5, Classes 8 & 9

Before Class:
During Class:
Deliverable(s):
  • TID #1 is available on Saturday at 1p
  • Complete two (2) comments on the Course Blog no later than Friday evening at 9p

Week 6, Classes 10 & 11

Before Class:
During Class:
Deliverable(s):
  • TID #1 Initial Response due on Wednesday no later than 11p
  • Complete two (2) comments on the Course Blog no later than Friday evening at 9p

Module 2: Contracts

Week 7, Class 12

Monday: No Class, Fall Break

Before Class:
During Class:
Deliverable(s):
  • TID #1 Critique due no later than Wednesday at 11p
  • Complete two (2) comments on the Course Blog no later than Friday evening at 9

Week 8, Classes 13 & 14

Before Class:
During Class (Wednesday):
Deliverable(s):
  • Complete two (2) comments on the Course Blog no later than Friday evening at 9p

Week 9, Classes 15 & 16

Before Class:
During Class:
Deliverable(s):
  • TID #2 is available on Saturday at 1p
  • Complete two (2) comments on the Course Blog no later than Friday evening at 9p

Week 10, Classes 17 & 18

Before Class:
During Class:
Deliverable(s):
  • TID #2 Initial Response due on Wednesday no later than 11p
  • Complete two (2) comments on the Course Blog no later than Friday evening at 9p

Week 11, Classes 19 & 20

Before Class:
  • Read and prepare the cases and materials in Chapter 12, Performance and Discharge, and Chapter 13, Remedies for Breach of Contract
  • Watch the videos on Contract Law
During Class:
Deliverable(s):
  • TID #2 Critique due no later than Sunday at 11p
  • Complete two (2) comments on the Course Blog no later than Friday evening at 9p

Module 3: Business Associations

Week 12, Classes 21 & 22

Before Class:
During Class:
Deliverable(s):
  • Complete two (2) comments on the Course Blog no later than Friday evening at 9p

Week 13, Class 24

Wednesday: No Class, Thanksgiving Break

Before Class (Monday):
During Class (Monday):

Module 4: Regulatory Environment

Week 14, Classes 25 & 26

Before Class:
During Class:
Deliverable(s):
  • TID #3 is available on Sunday at 1p
  • TID #3 Initial Response due on Thursday no later than 11p
  • Complete two (2) comments on the Course Blog no later than Friday evening at 9p

Week 15, Classes 27 & 28

Before Class:
During Class:
Deliverable(s):

Week 16, Class 29

Deliverable(s):
  • Discuss the Final Exam. The final exam will be a writing assignment requiring each student to define, interpret, and analyze a topic or topics related to the course materials. Details TBA

Do You Offer Extra Credit?

I do not offer extra credit in my courses. If you are diligent during the semester, meet and complete the requirements all of the Deliverables as required in a timely manner there should be no need for extra credit. Please visit the Grading section of the Assessment page of my Course Polices for additional information.