Journal Entry 2
- Due May 14, 2023 by 11:59pm
- Points 100
- Submitting a file upload
Law, Social Change and the Supreme Court
In this assignment, we want you to produce original research on a contemporary legal topic before the Supreme Court. Your original research will form the basis of a reading reflection, in which you analyze the contemporary legal topic in light of our course readings. To identify a pending court case for this assignment, you should consider checking out these lists curated by ScotusBlog Links to an external site. and Oyez Links to an external site.. Here are some other sources that may help you identify important pending cases:
- Heritage Foundation, “9 Key Cases Supreme Court Will Hear in 2022-23 Session” Links to an external site.
- Axios, “Here are 5 Supreme Court cases to watch this term” Links to an external site.
- USA Today, “Supreme Court: A look at the key cases and questions pending before the nation’s high court” Links to an external site.
NOTE: Your final assignment in this class will also involve a Supreme Court case. Please be advised that you may use any research you produce for this assignment on the final assignment (i.e. you can use the same case for both assignments, if you choose).
By Sunday, May 14, you should submit a document that includes:
- Basic case information (need not be complete sentences): Which pending case have you chosen for this assignment? Briefly, what is the legal question facing the Supreme Court?
- An annotated bibliography of original research. These should be sources you found outside the course readings. Your annotated bibliography should include complete annotated bibliographic citations (see Journal Entry 1) for each (total 5) of the following:
- One (1) high quality peer-reviewed article or academic book publication
- Two (2) high quality news sources
- Two (2) advocacy organization publications from different perspectives
- These may include amicus curiae briefs submitted by advocacy organizations to the Supreme Court
- Citations for each additional source you used in your reflection (course and non-course readings - no annotations necessary)
- A reading reflection that considers the following (~750-1000 words):
- Help us understand the stakes of this case:
- Who are the parties litigating in the case? What do they stand to gain or lose?
- What are the potential broader consequences of this case? If one party or the other wins or loses, how will that impact society more broadly?
- Put your chosen case in conversation with our course readings (especially from weeks 4-7). You should bring in specific quotes or evidence from readings or lectures. You may also choose to consider your own reactions to different ideas and pieces of evidence. The strongest reflections may present a creative discussion of course themes and concepts, or develop an original thesis, and will be well written and well-organized.
- Help us understand the stakes of this case:
Rubric
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Short Case Summary
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Annotated Bibliography
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Journal Reflection
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Mechanics
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