Civil Rights SYLLABUS POS 223 Section 34038 Glendale Community College | Fall 2008 Contact information Instructor: Toni McClory Telephone: (623) 845-3730 Email: [email protected] (To avoid the college spam checker & ensure that your email gets priority treatment please put POS 223 somewhere in the subject line!) Office: 05-135 (same building as campus bookstore) Office hours: MW 11:00-12:00; TR 8:30-10:00 (other times by appointment) Class meets: MWF 9:00-9:50a; HTA6 Class website: (BlackBoard) https://ecourses.maricopa.edu/webapps/login/ Go to this page for announcements, handouts, links to online cases, study guides, extra credit, grades & other important class material Required textbook Epstein & Walker, Constitutional Law for a Changing America: Rights, Liberties and Justice, 6th ed. (CQ Press 2007) About the course This course focuses on the constitutional guarantees of liberty and equality in five different areas: freedom of expression, freedom of religion, personal privacy, criminal justice, and discrimination. We will study classic Supreme Court rulings as well as current controversies over abortion, affirmative action, anti-terrorism measures, the death penalty, gay rights, hate speech, Internet pornography, religion, and more. Students should leave the course with a richer understanding of: (1) the diverse groups and viewpoints that make up American society; (2) the tension that exists between personal freedom and security; and (3) the courts’ pivotal role in resolving social conflict. POS 223 is designed for political science majors as well as for students interested in law, history, sociology, social work, philosophy, education, and business. The challenging reading and writing exercises will develop critical thinking skills useful in most professions. POS 223 qualifies for both Cultural Diversity (C) and Social and Behavioral Science (SB) credit at ASU. There are no prerequisites. MCCCD official course description, competencies, and course outline: http://www.dist.maricopa.edu/cgi-bin/cpr.pl?trm=20072&crs=pos223&inst=99 Class policies • The primary assignment in this course is to keep up with the reading. You should expect to spend roughly three hours per week in preparation for class discussions. Because the reading is challenging, this course is recommended only for motivated students with good study habits. (Note: Supreme Court cases are difficult to read in the beginning. Don’t panic—it gets easier with practice!) • Because a significant portion of the course will be presented by lecture, regular attendance is strongly advised. • Late work will be accepted within 1 week of the due date with a 10% grade deduction. (Deadlines and penalties will be waived for special circumstances.)• Your own words please! To receive credit, all written work must be in your own words unless you are quoting and properly credit the source. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense; the college penalties are severe (see MCCCD Policy 2.3.11). There are no joint projects in this course. • Please keep a copy of all your work until the end of the semester as insurance against loss by you or me. • Taping of lectures and class discussions is not allowed without permission. Please let me know if you have any special needs that require accommodation and make appropriate arrangements with the Disability and Services Office: (623) 845-3080. • Consult the college and district handbooks to learn your rights and responsibilities as a student at GCC. GCC Student Handbook: http://www.gc.maricopa.edu/catalog/student_rights.html MCCCD Student Guide: Polices, Procedures and Resources http://www.maricopa.edu/legal/student/ Grading The course grade will be based on the following point system: Required Assignments Points 8 case briefs (10 points each) 80 Paper* 100 Appellate court visit & write-up* 50 U.S. Supreme court oral argument write-up 50 Video review 20 3 exams (Multiple choice, 100 points each)* 300 Total points * Required to pass course 600 The final grade will be assigned on a scale of: A = 540 points or higher; B = 480–539 points; C = 420–538 points; D = 360–419 points; F = below 360 points. Strong classroom participation will be credited in borderline cases. Extra credit Up to 60 extra credit points can be earned by completing additional assignments that will be posted in Blackboard. These credits can be used to offset low grades or late penalties. They cannot be used as substitutes for the required (starred) assignments indicated above.Important dates 9-10 Texas v. Johnson brief due 9-22 Exam 1 (please bring a scantron) 9-29 Lee v. Weisman brief due 10-10 Planned Parenthood v. Casey brief due 10-17 Exam 2 (please bring a scantron) 10-24 Terry v. Ohio brief due 11-03 Miranda v. Arizona brief due 11-05 Paper due 11-12 Atkins v. Virginia brief due 11-21 Video review due 12-01 U.S. v. Virginia brief due 12-08 U.S. Supreme Court oral argument write-up due 12-10 Grutter v. Bollinger brief due 12-12 Court report due 12-12 Last day to submit extra credit 12-15 Exam 3 (please bring a scantron) Assignments • The following reading and writing assignments should be completed by the date indicated below. • Materials designated “online” can be accessed by a single click from the class BlackBoard page https://ecourses.maricopa.edu/webapps/login/ (go to “online cases”) • How to read the textbook: With the exception of the first unit, the assigned textbook readings only include cases. However, you are encouraged to read the explanatory material that sandwiches the cases. (I’ll be covering the major points in class.) But you’ll get more out of the course if you read some background material as well. Rights, liberties, and the American legal system M 8-25 Introduction W 8-27 Rights & liberties F 8-29 U.S. Judicial Branch factsheet (online); skim textbook ch. 1 M 9-1 Labor Day–no class W 9-3 Power of Judicial Review factsheet (online); skim textbook ch. 2 F 9-5 The nationalization of the Bill of Rights factsheet (online) & skim textbook ch. 3 Freedom of speech M 9-8 Freedom of Speech factsheet (online); Schenck v. United States, p. 213 W 9-10 Brandenburg v. Ohio, p. 239; **Texas v. Johnson, p. 255 (brief due) F 9-12 Chaplinksy v. New Hampshire, p. 261; Cohen v. California, p. 262M 9-15 Miller v. California, p. 356; Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, p. 365; Reno v. ACLU, p. 372 W 9-17