|
Date |
Required
Reading |
Click here for
syllabus (adobe.pdf) | Career
& Job Info
|
|
Jan 9 |
Introduction &
Greeting |
I would recommend bookmarking this page for
further reference. You may need to hit the Reload/Refresh button to get
the latest version.
|
| Jan 16 |
Reiman, CJ
Ethics (intro); Nash, Teaching Ethics; Part 1,
Bazelon |
|
| Jan
23 |
Part 1, Katz; Part 2,
Feinberg p 87-88 (skip section 4) & 92 (Mill) - 108
Class will cover substantial
material not in the text
|
By now, nearly everyone has heard of Armin
Meiwes. Meiwes, a German citizen, has freely admitted to dismembering another German man and eating his flesh. Indeed, Meiwes carefully preserved the killing on videotape and still had pieces of the body in his freezer when he was arrested. During much of the process of dismemberment, the victim reportedly remained conscious.
The obstacle to a murder charge is the fact that the evidence incontrovertibly shows that Meiwes's victim wanted to be eaten. Indeed, he had agreed to the arrangement over the Internet, answering an ad placed by Meiwes that specifically sought a person who wanted to be slaughtered and cannibalized.
In the U.S., the victim's consent is no defense to murder, and it would be easy to prosecute an American counterpart to
Meiwes. But in Germany, the victim's consent renders the crime a "killing on request" -- that is, an instance of illegal euthanasia. Unfortunately, this offense is punishable by a very modest sentence of from six months to five years of incarceration.
[Is it Always Torture to Dismember and Eat a Conscious Human Being?
Findlaw.com]
|
|
IN CLASS QUIZ #1: From
the Katz reading, what are the facts of Commonwealth v Dunaway? On which
charge(s) did the appeals court find him guilty? Why?
|
| Jan
30 |
Part 2,
Drug debate (Trebach and Inciardi); Prostitution (In re P; MacKinnon; Committee for
Prostitutes’ Rights |
|
|
PAPER
1 DUE: Read the COPS
bulletin on Street Prostitution (.pdf). Review the material up to the
Appendix and summarize the key points in a 2-3 page double-spaced paper.
|
| Feb
7 |
Part 2,
Hate
Crime (Wisc v Mitchell);
Corporate Violence
|
|
|
|
|
IN
CLASS QUIZ #2: Read
the blog posting about Bernard Ebbers’
sentencing. Your quiz will be: (1) what did Ebbers do and
what was his sentence? (2) & (3) – what are two bulleted objections
and what is the response to them?
|
| Feb 14 |
TEST 1 remember
to be on time because no one will be admitted to take the final after the
first person has left
Link
for bonus question on Williams v Alabama is here
|
| Feb
20 |
Appendix on Codes of Ethics; Part 3, Kleinig; Skolnick & Leo |
|
|
IN
CLASS QUIZ #3: Read about Brewer
v Williams ('Christian Burial' case). The quiz will ask about (a)
the facts, (b) the reasoning of the majority and (c) the reasoning of the
dissent.
|
|
Feb 26 - Mar 4: NO CLASS - WINTER
RECESS |
| March
6 |
Part 3, Marx; US v Tobias; Selective
Enforcement |
|
|
IN
CLASS QUIZ #4: Examine
Part III of Why
Driving While Black Matters,
where the author lists six specific reasons. Your quiz will be:
"Write down three as well as their definition or
explanation for why the author believes driving while black does
matter.” |
| March 13 |
Part 4, Lawyers’
Ethics - Haskell; Amar &
Cochran debate;
Weinstein
|
|
| March 20 |
TEST
2 remember
to be on time because no one will be admitted to take the final after the
first person has left
Link for bonus
question on Morse
v Frederick
|
| March
27 |
Part 5,
Treatment of Inmates - Gorman; Newman |
The text for the first edition of Just
and Painful is available online. |
| IN
CLASS QUIZ #5: spanking
machines. The quiz will ask about spanking machines:
(1)
what some people see as the problem with whipping and (2) how the spanking
machine could promote the administration of justice. |
| April
3 |
Part 5: National Council of Churches on death penalty;
Nathanson, Reiman, van den Haag exchange; American Medical Association |
|
| IN CLASS QUIZ
#6: Read this statement
by the president of the ASA. Be prepared to answer the following
questions: (1) in this context, who is the ASA, (2) which of the following
actions is ethical for them to perform - selecting injection sites;
starting intravenous lines as a port for a lethal injection device;
prescribing, preparing, administering, or supervising injection drugs or
their doses or types; inspecting, testing, or maintaining lethal injection
devices; and consulting with or supervising lethal injection personnel,
and (3) does the ASA President feel that having the execution chamber be
more like an operating room is good or bad? Why?
|
| April
10 |
Part 6, Strossen and Allen debate;
Reiman |
MSNBC had a good piece on 'child
erotica' - nonnude but suggestive pictures of young teenage girls;
there's also a link to the Knox
case where a circuit court decides nudity is not a requirement for 'lewd
and lascivious exhibition of the genitals' required for a child porn
conviction.
|
|
IN CLASS QUIZ #7:
Read column
in Findlaw.com about the virtual child pornography case. The quiz will
ask you about (1) what is 'virtual child porn', (2) what is the
significance of the Ferber case, and why the law prohibiting 'real'
child porn doesn’t also apply to 'virtual' child porn? And (3) the
reasoning in the majority
|
| April
17 |
Part 6, Seagal;
Leighton |
Televising
executions ~ Televising McVeigh's execution was dealt with in Lappin
v Entertainment Network. My
research on televising McVeigh's execution - description of the work
and 25 minute mp3 file |
| April 24 |
Final Exam
- regular class time
Bonus: read
this link about an emerging legal issue. What is the general issue and
what are some of the specific questions the author raises? [The bonus
question is only based on the link above, but if you enjoyed the article,
the author has a blog you may enjoy
- but that is not relevant for the bonus question]
remember
to be on time because no one will be admitted to take the final after the
first person has left |
