This is basically a “current events” reporting assignment. Based on what we’ve learned so far, give me your assessment of a legal issue or legal article from a news source. Please limit the subject matter to articles or news items about what we’ve learned so far – legal process and procedure, alternative dispute resolution, roles of an attorney, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law and the Supreme Court, Torts, Crimes, Contracts, or Agency and Employment. In order to get credit you must either attach a copy of the news article to your assignment or provide a link to the article. In other words, I must be able to see a copy of the article that you used. This is a strict rule – no article, no credit. You may use newspapers, newspaper sites (like Coloradoan.com, New York Times.com, DenverPost.com, or your hometown paper), or any other legitimate news source (like CNN.com, FoxNews.com, ABC.com, or the like). I am not so concerned with the source provided it is legitimate and not something that is obviously one-sided or meant to be a joke, like TheOnion.com. The article must be no older than 2 years. Picking a good article is imperative. Please make sure it is something we covered in class. If you choose criminal law as your topic you can only use criminal law articles that deal with criminal procedure type situations — ie the 4th Amendment, the Exclusionary Rule, etc. You cannot use a criminal article about crimes themselves. This assignment is designed to see what you learned in class and how you can relate it to current events. Therefore it is important that your article relate to something we covered in class. I cannot stress this enough. Answer the following questions with regards to your article (5 points each):

Give a brief synopsis of the news item.

What is the legal issue addressed in the news item?

In your answer identify the subject, such as Constitutional Law, Tort Law, etc. How does this news item apply to what you learned in class?

Based on what you learned in class, was the issue addressed in the news item decided (or explained) correctly?

Do you agree or disagree with what happened in your news item? Why?

Make sure to apply what you learned in class to all your answers for full credit. The assignment, by definition, is fairly subjective. What I want is for you to think about something legal that is current and in real life. You can maximize your points if you apply a concept(s) you’ve learned to the “why” part of the answer. Don’t just say “I think this is unfair”, or “his Constitutional rights are being violated”, or “justice is being done”. You can say that, but tell me why! What makes it unfair? What would be fair? Whether you think it’s fair or unfair, is the legal concept being correctly applied? What legal concept(s) is being violated or upheld? What is the trend (if any) and why is that good or bad? If you just give me a summary and say it’s a torts issue, you will get some points. If I sense that you’re thoughtfully considering the issue and trying to understand it (trying to “wrap your head around it”), you will get more points.