CJL3038Law & Society

Spring 2016

MWF 12:50-1:40

Little Hall 0113

Instructor: Lauren Henry

Email:

Please contact me either through Canvas messaging or at my email indicated above. I check email daily and if you have not received a response from me in 48 hours please send a follow up email to ensure that I receive your message.

Office Hours:

I am available for office hours on Monday 2:00- 3:00 and Thursday 1:00-2:00 in Turlington Hall Office 3331. If you would like to meet in person outside of these office hours please contact me to make an appointment.

Course Description:

This course provides an introduction to topics that stimulate thought and discussion regarding the interaction between law and society. There will be exploration into topics regarding how law impacts society and how society affects law. By completing this course, students should consider and think critically about legal ideas, institutions, processes and practices.

Requirements:

There are two required texts for this course.

The first is Bon Signore, Katch, D’Errico, Pipkin, & Aron (8th edition) Before the Law: An Introduction to the Legal Process (ISBN: 9780618503452). This text will have required readings that will be discussed in class and will be a source for test material.

The second is Stevenson’s Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (ISBN: 0812994523). This second text will be used for the final paper. There will be no coverage of this text in class and you will need to complete this book in order to complete your final paper due at the end of the semester.

Grading:

There are two key points to keep in mind. Submitting assignments on time and grammar impact grading in this course.

Late papers will be accepted within 24 hours of the due date and will have the assignments grade lowered by one letter grade as a penalty. Any work submitted after 24 hours will not be accepted. This is set in stone and exceptions will not be made. If an emergency occurs, please contact me. Late discussion assignments WILL NOT be accepted. Please contact me before an assignment is due to inform me that it will be late if some emergency arises (more than 24 hours before).

Grammar, punctuation, and syntax matter in all written assignments. You may, of course, discuss assignments with others but you are expected to submit your own independent work. Please be careful about plagiarism; it is easy to “cut and paste” from others’ work. CITE, CITE, CITE! If you take someone else’s ideas, cite them; if you take someone’s words verbatim, use quotation marks and a citation. Remember it is also easier to run programs to detect plagiarism these days.

Grading will be done on a point system. The points are spread across the various graded activities (see below for a description of each graded activity). There will not be any minuses in the final grades. Your final point totals will be graded using the following scheme (there are 310 total possible points in the class):

Points Earned
and Corresponding Grades
279 or higher / A
270-278 / B+
250-269 / B
241-249 / C+
221-240 / C
212-220 / D+
191-211 / D
190 or lower / E

Assignments:

There are four types of assignments for this course: discussion response questions, law quote papers, article analysis paper, and a final Just Mercy paper.

Discussion Response questions:

These questions are thought provoking and reflective of the lectures for the week. For these responses please reflect on the question and pull in both your own thoughts on the subject but also concepts and topics discussed in the class.

Discussion Grading Rubric
Requirements / Point Value
Clear indication of what was discussed in class
Clear example of material and points made in class / 2
Personal reflection and discussion
Your conclusions and thoughts, expansion of the topics discussed / 2
Length
Minimum of 150-200 words / 1
Total: 5

Law Quote Paper:

For these assignments you need to choose quotes and write a minimum of1 1/2 - 2 pages of reflection and discussion on your quote of choice. You need to interpret the quote, reflect on it, tie it into concepts from class and submit a paper in the proper format. If you submit this assignment at least a week before the due date you will receive 1 point of extra credit on your lowest test grade.

Quote Paper Grading Rubric
Requirements / Point Value
Interpretation of the Quote
In your own words, what does the quote mean? / 3
Personal reflection and discussion
Your thoughts on if you agree with the quote and general discussion of the quote
Examples of what can be addressed: The context in which the quote was presented (who said it, the time period and overall societal climate, etc.), is it generalizable to multiple societies or more specific to one (like America) / 3
Class reflection and discussion
Does it still apply to law & society today? Your thoughts on the relevancy of this quote as a whole and in relation to topics discussed in class / 3
Length & Formatting
Minimum of 1 ½ -2 pages
APA format required / 1
Total: 10
*If this assignment is turned in at least 1 week early, you will receive 1 point extra credit on your lowest test grade

Legal Quotes:

  1. “Justice is incidental to law and order.” -J. Edgar Hoover
  2. “The great can protect themselves, but the poor and humble require the arm and shield of the law.” -Andrew Jackson
  3. “The law is not so much carved in stone as it is written in water, flowing in and out with the tide.” -Jeff Melvoin
  4. “I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.” -Martin Luther King Jr.
  5. “A man's respect for law and order exists in precise relationship to the size of his paycheck.” -Adam Clayton Jr. Powell
  6. “Law is the embodiment of the moral sentiment of the people.” -William Blackstone
  7. “Common sense often makes good law.” -William Orville Douglas
  8. “The life of the law has not been logic but experience.” -Oliver Wendell Holmes
  9. “The knife of corruption endangered the life of New York City. The scalpel of the law is making us well again.” -Edward Irving Koch
  10. “It is not wisdom by Authority that makes a law.” –Thomas Hobbes
  11. “The power of the lawyer is in the uncertainty of the law.” –Jeremy Bentham
  12. “Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on.” –Robert Kennedy
  13. “It is more dangerous that even a guilty persons should be punished without the forms of law than that he should escape.” –Thomas Jefferson
  14. “Law is the public conscience.” –Thomas Hobbes
  15. “Without law men are beasts.” -Maxwell Anderson
  16. “No organic law can ever be framed with a provision specifically applicable to every question which may occur in practical administration. No foresight can anticipate nor do any documents of reasonable length contain express provisions for all possible questions.” –Abraham Lincoln
  17. “Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.” –Jonathan Swift
  18. “Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered,” –Aristotle
  19. “When I hear any man talk of an unalterable law, the only effect it produces upon me is to convince me that he is an unalterable fool.” – Sydney Smith
  20. “He who dethrones the idea of law, bids chaos welcome in its stead.” – Horace Mann
  21. “Our laws are not generally known; they are kept secret by the small group of nobles who rule us. We are convinced that these ancient laws are scrupulously administered; nevertheless it is an extremely painful thing to be ruled by laws that one does not know.” - Kafka, “The Problem with our Laws.”
  22. “All laws, written, and unwritten, have need of interpretation.” -Hobbes,
  23. “Many things there are, which the law can by no means provide for; and those must necessarily be left to the discretion of him that has the executive power in his hands.” -Locke, Second Treatise on Government.

Article Analysis Paper:

This paper requires that you find an academic article that is on a law and society topic to read and analyze. If you are concerned on whether the article you have chosen is an appropriate article, please contact me. In your 3-5 page paper you need to discuss the article regarding the purpose, origin, value and limitations. Additionally, reflection on the relevancy of the article and linking it to concepts of this course is required. If you complete this assignment and submit it at least a week early, you will receive 2 points of extra credit toward your lowest test grade.

Article Paper Grading Rubric
Requirements / Point Value
Discussion of the Article
Clear reflection on the purpose, origin, value and limitations of the article chosen / 10
Personal reflection and discussion
Your thoughts on the relevancy of the article as a whole
Examples of what can be addressed: generalizability to other societies, what policy implications the article’s topic and conclusions could have, what else you think should have mentioned and included in the article, etc. / 10
Class reflection and discussion
Your thoughts on the relevancy of the article as a whole and in relation to topics discussed in class / 5
Length & Formatting
Minimum of 3-5 pages
APA format required / 5
Total: 30
*If this assignment is turned in at least 1 week early, you will receive 2 points extra credit on your lowest test grade

Just Mercy Paper:

You are required to read this text on your own throughout the semester and provide a well-developed and written response paper. Once you have completed the reading, reflect and think of a theme that arose when you were reading this book. There are many to choose from within the text. Keep in mind also that you are welcome to introduce personal beliefs but they must be relevant and supported with fact. For example, if you wanted to state that the death penalty is right/wrong you would need to provide evidence for your statement.

This paper has 5 main parts. The first is the title page. Please provide a descriptive title for what the topic of your paper is (not just something like ‘Just Mercy Paper’). The secondis the introduction. This provides the major themes of the book,your intellectual response to them, and the focus that your paper will further delve into. The third section is the body of the paper where you further delve into your main points in great detail. This is a good section to pull in specific references to the text and concepts from the course. Make sure to cite the book and provide the page number for any specific points and references you make. The penultimate section is the conclusion where you will summarize your reactions to the text, your views on its significance, and implications of the text. The final section is your references. This needs to include any sources that you reference within the text.

It is in your best interest to work on this as soon as possible to ensure that you do not have the book to read and writing your final paper right before the due date. I am quite familiar with this text and it will be clear to me if you did not read the text and/or wrote the paper the night before. If you submit this assignment at least a week early you will receive 3 points of extra credit toward your lowest test grade.

Just Mercy Paper Grading Rubric
Requirements / Point Value
Discussion of the book
Did you clearly state a focus of the paper? Do you support your focus? Did you show that you read the book and understand the concepts discussed? Did you use specific examples from the text? / 20
Writing and Analysis
Did you show original thinking? Is it well organized, written and clear? / 10
Class reflection and discussion
Do you show links to specific aspects of this course for your arguments and discussions? Did you use specific examples from the course? / 10
Length & Formatting
Minimum of 5-6 pages
APA format required
Proper citations used
All outlined sections present / 10
Total: 50
*If this assignment is turned in at least 1 week early, you will receive 3 points extra credit on your lowest test grade

The weight and point values of all assignments are listed below:

Law & Society Assignment Information
Assignment / Length / Point Value
Discussions / 150-200 words / 45
Quote Paper 1 / 1-2 pages / 10
Quote Paper 2 / 1-2 pages / 10
Quote Paper 3 / 1-2 pages / 10
Quote Paper 4 / 1-2 pages / 10
Quote Paper 5 / 1-2 pages / 10
Article Paper / 3-5 pages / 30
Just Mercy Paper / 5-7 pages / 50
Exam 1 / 40-50 questions / 45
Exam 2 / 40-50 questions / 45
Exam 3 / 40-50 questions / 45
Total: 310

Make up Policy:

I understand that sometimes one's personal life interferes with one's ability to complete graded activities like assignments and exams. If you have a legitimate reason for missing a class assignment (e.g., documented illness, religious holiday, death in the family),you will be allowed to make up what you missed IF you contact me immediately before/after the missed assignment or exam. Please contact me as soon as you know that you are unable to complete a graded activity and your makeup will be scheduled at my discretion.

In terms of making up exams, your lowest exam grade in this class is dropped at the end of the semester. Therefore, if you miss one exam, you do not need to provide documentation for me right away. However, if an emergency occurs that hinders your ability to complete an exam please contact me so that we can discuss the situation and if a makeup exam is necessary.

Student Rights and Responsibilities:

Please inform yourself about your rights and responsibilities, including academic honesty guidelines, formal and informal procedures for hearing academic dishonesty cases, the grievance procedure, and the confidentiality of student records. See According to university rules, on all work submitted for credit by students at the university, the following pledge is either required or implied: “On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment.” Student records are confidential. If your parent(s) contact(s) us about your grade or any information that is not “UF directory information,” we will ask them to contact you.

Student Accommodations:

Please contact the Dean of Students Office in order to receive documentation of your needs. Contact me with the accommodation information and documentation and I will be happy to make all necessary accommodations. Please contact me as soon as possible in the course regarding accommodations.

Communication:

Email is the best form of communication for individual concerns for this class; it’s easy to maintain a history and record that way. USE YOUR UF EMAIL! It’s one way to indicate official business; it is less likely to be delayed or rejected as spam; we use it to set priorities in how I respond because I get in excess of 100 emails on some days. The email in Canvasorganizes emails for us, so please use that delivery. However, if it is critical, contact me directly just in case the alert mechanism in Canvas gets turned off). Sent messages are not completed communications until they are received. If you leave an important message and don’t hear back, follow up after 48 hours to ensure that it has been received.

Technical Issues:

If you ever have a technical issue occur that hinders your ability to complete a quiz or submit an assignment please contact the UF help desk ( to an external site.)). They will give you a ticket number when they assist you. Contact me with this number and I will make sure to work with you to complete whatever you were not able to because of technical issues.

Tentative Schedule:

The tentative schedule for this course is listed below. This is subject to change. Be alert to any announcements in class and any made on the Canvas page. Make sure to keep up with the readings, lectures and assignments and I hope that you learn from and enjoy this class!

Law & Society Weekly Plan, Spring 2016*
Topic / Readings / Assignments
Week 1: 01/05-08 / What is Law? / 1-Intro / Discussion 1 (due 01/11)
Week 2: 01/11-15 / History of Law / 6.1 / Discussion 2 (due 01/18)
Week 3: 01/18-22 / Challenges of Law / Foreword / Discussion 3 (due 01/25)
01/22: Law Quote Paper 1
Week 4: 01/25-29 / Challenges of Law Part 2 / - / 01/29: Exam 1
Week 5: 02/01-05 / Theoretical Approaches / 5-Intro, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.10 / Discussion 4 (due 02/08)
02/05: Law Quote Paper 2
Week 6: 02/08-12 / Theoretical Approaches Part 2 / 7-Intro, 7.1, 7.3, 7.5 / Discussion 5 (due 02/15)
Week 7: 02/15-19 / Legal Systems / 13-Intro, 13.1, 13.2, 13.3 / 02/19: Exam 2
Week 8: 02/22-26 / Legal Systems Part 2 / - / Discussion 6 (due 02/29)
02/22: Law Quote Paper 3
02/26: Article Assessment Paper
Week 9: 02/29-03/04 / SPRING BREAK!
Week 10: 03/07-11 / People & Processes of Lawmaking / All of Chapter 1 / Discussion 7 (due 03/14)
03/11: Law Quote Paper 4
Week 11: 03/14-18 / Lawmaking & its Challenges / Maier & Berry Article / 03/18: Exam 3
Week 12: 03/21-25 / Discretion / 3.5, 3.6, 2-Intro, 2.1, 2.3, 2.4 / Discussion 8 (due 03/28)
03/25: Law Quote Paper 5
Week 13: 03/28-04/1 / Discretion Part 2 / - / 03/30: CLASS CANCELLED
04/01: CLASS CANCELLED
Week 14: 04/04-08 / Legal Professionals / 3-Intro, 3.2 / Discussion 9 (due 04/11)
Week 15: 04/11-15 / Legal Professionals Part 2 / 12-Intro, 12.1, 12.2 / Discussion 10 (due 04/18)
Week 16: 04/18-20 / Juries / 14-Intro, 14.1, 15-Intro, 15.3, 15.4, 15.7 / 04/20: Just Mercy Final Paper
04/27:Exam 4
*This schedule is subject to change, all students will be notified of any changes

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