Syllabus for Government 435
T-Th, 3rd and 7th Periods, Fall 2007, Room 112W
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Judicial Processes and Politics
Instructor: Professor Daniel R. Pinello
Office: 3228N Telephone: 237-8762 Email: dpinello@jjay.cuny.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m., and by appointment
Course Description and Objectives
At a micro level, the course examines how justices of the U.S. Supreme Court decide cases. Then, in macro analysis, the seminar investigates the capacity of courts and the legal system to impact American society.
(A) Developing students’ ability to think critically and analytically and (B) understanding the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in the American legal system and polity are primary objectives of the semester.
Prerequisites: ENG 102, GOV 101, and Senior Standing
Required Texts
The books required for the course and available for purchase at the John Jay Bookstore are:
Lee Epstein and Jack Knight, The Choices Justices Make
Edward Lazarus, Closed Chambers
Gerald N. Rosenberg, The Hollow Hope
David A. Schultz, Leveraging the Law
Course Arrangements, Requirements, and Rules
The course format will be both lecture and class discussion of topics.
This is a senior-level, capstone course, and accordingly, assigned reading is plentiful and challenging. If you are taking more than 12 credits this semester, work full-time, and/or have significant family responsibilities, you should seriously reconsider the wisdom of taking this course now. The Instructor expects all students to keep up to date with assigned reading.
Students should complete readings assigned below as indicated. Since five days elapse between Thursday and Tuesday class meetings, and only two between Tuesday and Thursday, students may have to apportion part of Thursday assignments to the preceding Tuesday.
In general, course grades are determined by students’ performance on examinations and pop quizzes. However, students should note that attendance, class participation, inappropriate classroom behavior, and abuse of library privileges may affect their course grades, as discussed below.
Examinations are as follows:
A. Four non-cumulative multiple-choice tests, each counting 10% of the course grade. The
first is given on September 20th; the second on October 16th; the third on November 13th; and the fourth on December 11th.
B. Two essays, each counting 20% of the course grade. The first occurs on October 18th.
The second is the Final Exam.
Students may use two 5" X 8" index cards of prepared notes for reference while taking each multiple-choice exam and writing each essay in class, and may write or print as small as they want on the four sides of the cards, as long as the notes may be read without aids like magnifying glasses.
In addition to the exams above, and to insure students keep current with reading, the Instructor will give an unspecified number of unannounced (“pop”) quizzes throughout the semester, collectively counting 20% of the course grade. Students may not use notes while taking quizzes. Those who miss quizzes because of absence, late arrival, or other reason will receive scores of zero for the quizzes missed.
Note: The mastery of standard college English is required for this course. Accordingly, in grading essay exams, the Instructor will count off (up to one full letter grade) from exam grades for improper grammar, spelling and punctuation errors, and other problems with students’ written communication skills. Students having any questions about this policy (which is strictly applied) should consult with the Instructor early in the semester, long before taking essay exams. The Instructor will most likely refer students to the John Jay Writing Center or other resource before exams are taken.
Make-up examinations (but not quizzes) are offered only for those students having legitimate and documented (that is, something the Instructor independently can verify) excuses for missing scheduled exams. Any student without a legitimate and documented excuse who misses a scheduled exam receives a grade of zero for it. The Instructor is the final judge of the legitimacy of an excuse.
In order to encourage student participation in class discussion, the Instructor allows up to 20% of a course grade optionally to be reflected by a student’s informed, thoughtful, and consistent classroom participation. In such event, the proportion of the value of examinations in calculating a course grade is diminished, if beneficial to the student. The Instructor allows no other form of “extra credit” in the course.
Students should not feel embarrassed to ask questions in class they may think are “stupid.” If a student honestly does not know the answer, there is a very good chance many of his or her classmates are in the same position. Asking sincere questions, therefore, is an important contribution to class participation.
Attendance is taken at every scheduled meeting of the course at the very beginning of class. Three late arrivals (regardless of reason) equal one absence. Students may miss no more than five course meetings to receive credit for the course. More than five absences automatically results in a course grade of “WU.”
In addition, attendance is important if a student is on the borderline between two grade levels when course grades are calculated. For example, suppose a student has a course average, say, of 89 after taking all examinations, where 90 is the minimum score for an “A-“. If the student’s attendance is high, then he or she will receive the benefit of the doubt and get the higher grade. If another student also has an 89, but with low attendance, then the second student will receive a “B+”.
The Instructor reserves the right to have students who disrupt class removed involuntarily from the course, with whatever impact such removal may have upon course grades. Cross-conversations between students during class, late arrivals, and early departures disrupt class and are not acceptable. Also, students’ abuse of library privileges, such as not returning reserve books on time, is unacceptable and may subject abusers to removal from the course or other academic sanction.
Both cheating and plagiarism (using someone else’s ideas or words as one’s own or otherwise without proper attribution) are separate and independent grounds for failing the course. Each may lead to further College disciplinary proceedings as well (see the discussion of cheating and plagiarism in the John Jay College Undergraduate Bulletin).
Adult visitors are welcome, provided they observe course rules. However, please do not bring children to class. Doing so is unfair both to the Instructor and to the other students in the course.
Reading Assignments and Course Calendar
8/28 — Introduction and housekeeping details.
8/30 — Epstein and Knight, pages xi-21.
9/4 — Epstein and Knight, pages 22-88.
9/6 — Epstein and Knight, pages 88-137.
9/11 — Epstein and Knight, pages 138-186.
9/13 — No class meeting. Religious holiday.
9/18 — No class meeting. Friday classes meet on this date.
9/20 — First Multiple-Choice Exam.
9/25 — Lazarus, pages v-85.
9/27 — Lazarus, pages 86-165.
10/2 — Lazarus, pages 166-250.
10/4 — Lazarus, pages 251-342.
10/9 — Lazarus, pages 343-424.
10/11 — Lazarus, pages 427-518.
10/16 — Second Multiple-Choice Exam.
10/18 — First Essay Exam.
10/23 — Rosenberg, pages xi-36.
10/25 — Rosenberg, pages 39-106.
10/30 — Rosenberg, pages 107-169.
11/1 — Rosenberg, pages 173-227.
11/6 — Rosenberg, pages 228-303.
11/8 — Rosenberg, pages 304-343.
11/13 — Third Multiple-Choice Exam.
11/15 — Schultz, pages 135-167.
11/20 — Schultz, pages 63-134.
11/27 — Pinello, America’s Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage, pages 33-72 and 175-193 (on
reserve in the John Jay Library).
11/29 — Schultz, pages 215-249.
12/4 — Schultz, pages 169-213.
12/6 — Schultz, pages 251-291.
12/11 — Fourth Multiple-Choice Exam.
Final Exam (Second Essay)