You must hand your assigned briefs to me in person, at the start of the class period in which they are due. Briefs submitted by any other means (including by email, in my mailbox, or under my office door) will not be accepted. LATE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Please follow this format:
Your name
Date
Case name and year decided (eg. New York Times v. Sullivan, 1964)
Legal citation (eg. 250 U.S. 616)
Decision: usually just 1 paragraph. What was the main holding of the majority in this case?
Background facts: 1 to 3 paragraphs. Do not get hung up on the procedural history, such as what lower courts the case passed through and all the legal steps. What are the essential facts that led to the case?
Dissent(s) (if significant)
Significance: 1 to 3 graphs. What does this holding mean for the development of First Amendment law and for the news media? How does it relate to other cases studied in class? Here's where you need to do some of your own analysis.
See Model Brief for an example of what I'm looking for.
1st brief is due at the beginning of class on Thursday, Feb. 19:
A-F Abrams; G-L Gitlow; M-R Whitney; S-Z Brandenburg
2nd brief is due at the beginning of class on Thursday, March 12:
A-F Gertz; G-L Hutchinson; M-R Masson; S-Z Milkovich (see libel page)
3rd brief is due at the beginning of class on Thursday, April 16.
(NOTE: These papers should follow a more conventional essay style, not the brief style as in previous papers. Also, there is no word or page maximum, but they should be at least 500 words. Also, please attach a bibliography of sources)
A-F Discuss what steps the Obama administration has taken to make government more transparent.
G-L Discuss press access to coffins of U.S. war dead in the past 25 years.
M-R Discuss the legislation pending in Congress to enact a federal shield law.
S-Z Why is it important for courts to protect journalists from those who wish to easily discover their sources?