RULES OF THE CLASS

I have traditionally encouraged students to have as much fun as possible while taking this class. Unfortunately some students have taken advantage of this more liberal atmosphere to hand assignments in late or not at all, to come to class late or leave early without permission, to behave in an unprofessional manner, to engage in rude or obstreperous conduct, and to forget that they are soon to enter an ancient and honorable profession. Therefore I must reluctantly list the following rules for class.

Please do all assigned reading before class. We will NOT cover assigned reading in class unless I tell you otherwise. This means that you are expected to know the material in the readings since we will not go over it in class unless you have questions. This is an important point: the class exercises require that you be familiar with the material in the readings. If you are not, we will not be able to make adequate progress through the syllabus.

Please hand in assignments at the beginning of the class they are due. Although it should go without saying apparently I must say the following:

Please staple the pages together.

Put your name on your assignments. 

Proofread your work.

All work is due on the dates I give you. No exceptions unless I give you an extension or exemption. All final memos due by 4p.m. on December 12, 2003 to my secretary, Mrs. Bland. NO EXCEPTIONS. 

Your graded assignments and final memo must be your own work, unless I give you leave to work with another student in the class. In that case, be sure to put both names on the assignment. In addition, if you quote from a source (WESTLAW, LEXIS, the Internet, CJS, AmJur, a law review, a person, or some other source) YOU MUST SO INDICATE using quotation marks and a complete citation to the original source. No exceptions. I will consider any deviation from this rule PLAGIARISM and will report it to the Vice Chancellor in charge of Academic Affairs. If you are unsure whether a use constitutes plagiarism, ask me.

If you need a refresher on what plagiarism is generally, please consult one of the following websites: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html; http://www.wiu.edu/users/mfbhl/wiu/plagiarism.htm; http://www.hamilton.edu/academic/Resource/WC/AvoidingPlagiarism.html

Conduct yourself as required by the Code of Student Conduct.

Have fun, but behave yourself. Be courteous toward your fellow students and your instructor.

For class Fall Semester 2003 you will need the following BY THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS

• Your LEXIS and WESTLAW logons and passwords

• Your PAWS logon and password

• Your email logon and password (if different from your PAWS logon and password)

• Any other logons and passwords needed for access to electronic resources available through the Law Center Library or LSU Libraries webpages (check with Mr. Thompson or Mr. Gray in the Law Library to identify what these might be if you do not know)

• At least one diskette for downloading

In addition: I highly recommend that you get a notebook for tracking and organizing research for your written assignments.

GENERAL GUIDELINES AND RULES FOR CLASS ASSIGNMENTS AND RESEARCH MEMO

You should follow these guidelines and rules as necessary but not sufficient conditions to ensure yourself a passing grade.

• Evaluate all sources for (at minimum) bias, content, accuracy, and currency.

• Always cite to as many formats as you can for any source. You may indicate that you prefer one over others, but if so, tell the reader why. Assignments and memos that cite exclusively or primarily to electronic sources without adequate and reasonable explanation will automatically receive a low grade.

• Include annotations when possible or helpful if you are not evaluating the source or research technique in the body of the work.

• Remember that I will grade you on all content that is required to answer the questions posed by the assignments. This means that you WILL be required to include non-legal content, which WILL include evaluation of scientific and social scientific sources, as well as legal materials. If you omit scientific or social scientific content that is necessary for an adequate treatment of the issues presented, you WILL NOT get a 3.0 (or even a 2.5).

• If, in your memos, you take a position on a scientific or social scientific issue that is not generally accepted, you will also need to explain in your memo explaining why the science or social science evidence that you rely on in support of your position meets the applicable requirements (e.g. Daubert or Frye, depending on the jurisdiction you select). You will also have to explain in an additional memo why the case should not be dismissed, either on a 12(b)(6) motion by your opponent, or as a frivolous lawsuit (Rule 11). Note, however, that taking the opposite position (i.e. taking the generally accepted scientific or social scientific position) does not relieve you of the obligation to justify that position with the appropriate evidence. 

PAPER OPTION (TO FULFILL WRITING REQUIREMENT)   

General Rules

If you still need to fulfill the writing requirement and you would like to fulfill it in this course, you must see me as soon as possible in the semester and notify me that you intend to do so. At that time, you will need to give me some idea of the topic that you would like to write on. By the end of September you will need to provide me with an outline and a bibliography for your paper. By the end of October you will need to give me a rough draft of your paper. Your final paper will be due on December 12, unless you and I agree to another date. Please note that completing the paper will not entitle you to more credits for the course, unless you enroll for independent research credit with the permission of Vice Chancellor Joseph. Nor does mere completion of the paper guarantee that you will receive writing requirement credit, or an automatically higher grade in the course. 

    My minimum standards for granting writing requirement credit

·           Your paper must be comprehensible. You must state a thesis, support it with appropriate evidence, and draw a conclusion. You must have a title and footnotes or endnotes. You must follow the Uniform System of Citation (the Bluebook).

·            Your paper must show some originality. You DO NOT have to develop an entirely new theory of tort law, for example. You DO have to explore some legal issue and present some original content related to that issue. For example, you might write a paper asserting that wolf-dog hybrids should not qualify as household pets because of the danger of unpredictable behavior. You would then research and present evidence for and against the wolf-dog cross as a dangerous animal, including scientific evidence supporting and attacking the view that the wolf-dog is more unpredictable than the purely (or more distantly wolf-ish) domestic canine. You would need to address any genetic or behavioral evidence that suggests that geneticists have difficulty differentiating between the dog and the wolf-dog. You might do this by attacking the methodology of studies that suggest this conclusion. You would examine the statutes and regulations that allow the government to dictate what animals citizens may and may not keep as pets, and the legal justifications for these decisions. Your final conclusion might be that because of the paucity of information and the danger to humans and other species, keeping a wolf-dog as a pet is not permissible and a legislature may regulate or prohibit the practice, but throughout the paper, you must keep your eyes on your thesis and present your evidence and argument in a way that links the evidence to the thesis. For more on wolf-dogs, see the pages of the National Animal Interest Alliance.

·         For more ideas on writing a paper try some of the following sources:

o        Richard Delgado, How to Write a Law Review Article, 20 U.S.F. L. Rev. 445 (1986)

o        Elizabeth Fajans and Mary R. Falk, Scholarly Writing for Law Students (2000)(on law library reserve)

o        Pamela Samuelson, Good Legal Writing: Of Orwell and Window Panes, 46 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 149 (1984)

o        Eugene Volokh, Writing the Law Student Article, 48 Journal of Legal Education 247 (1998)

·         Your paper must be long enough to present the relevant evidence and justify the conclusion. Generally speaking 25 to 30 pages is long enough, if you choose your topic carefully and do not select an issue that is overbroad. I will be glad to help you select an appropriate topic.

·         Choose a topic that you care about, but do not substitute passion for reasoned argument.

·         Please use Times Roman or a similar font and 12 point type and one inch margins. Please use double spacing except when the Bluebook tells you to do otherwise. If I think you are “padding” your paper I will deduct points or lower your grade accordingly.

·         Please proofread your work.

·         Please use active rather than passive voice. “The aggressor shot the victim” rather than “The victim was shot by the aggressor”.

·         Use clear and concise language rather than legalese. Say what you mean. Write, then re-write. Writing is difficult work but if you practice, you WILL improve.