JURI 1106 Case Analysis and Commentary Worth 15% of your Final Grade Due: September 29 in class. Grace Period: September 30 – October 6 This assignment asks you to write a 3-6 page (750-1500 words) paper in which you critically analyse and comment on one of the assigned cases. The assigned cases and their links can be found at the end of this outline. In analyzing the case, you will be asked to describe and analyze the content of the case and comment on its significance. This is not simply a summary of what happened, but an explanation of your opinion of the decision and its wider ramifications. The purpose of the assignment is to help you become familiar with legal writing, reading cases, and connecting the decisions to the broader social context. All of these skills are important ones within the Law & Justice program. Beyond the program, however, you will be working on critical thinking skills, analytical skills, writing, and rhetorical skills; all of which should prove useful elsewhere! Your analysis should contain a clearly stated argument (thesis statement) in which you express your opinion on the case. I don't have to agree with your argument, but what's important is that you make one and that you justify your argument. It's in the justification that you will demonstrate your understanding of the material and get to the heart of the assignment. Although you may find it helpful to incorporate some secondary sources you are not required to complete any external research. If you use outside sources make sure that you reference them properly using some form of citation (preferably Chicago *hint*hint*). If you are having any difficulty with the assignment, need some clarification, or just want to bounce ideas around, please come see me. I hold regular office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays. I can also speak with you after class. If you can't make office hours, please email me to set up an appointment. It bears repeating here that there are no stupid questions, so please ask if you need help. Your analysis should consist of the following elements1 : 1. Introduction (1/2 page) • Your introduction will set out the outline of your paper, explaining its broad direction, identifying the focus of the commentary, and the thesis statement. • Remember, you need to have an argument. Don't be afraid to take a stand. I'm not marking you on whether your argument is right or wrong, but rather on how well you justify your argument. • A good argument does more than just state a broad fact or general conclusion (The judge in R v. Ghomeshi was wrong). Instead, you need to explain the 1 In a short paper like this, it's not necessary (and is actually discouraged) to include subheadings for each section. Instead, use the topic sentences of your paragraphs to indicate what you will discuss in each paragraph and to indicate a transition. how or why of your reasoning (The judge in R v. Ghomeshi was wrong because his verdict focused on the credibility of the witnesses rather than on the issue of consent). • The argument (thesis) needs to be stated clearly in the introduction. For this paper, I will ask that you indicate your thesis statement in bold font. 2. Description/Background (1.5 pages) • In this section you will be summarizing the case and its decision. Remember, your paper is a case analysis not a case summary. The summary is important, but it shouldn't be longer than 1.5 pages. Make sure you have enough room left to properly analyze the case! • The description and background should include: the facts of the case, the legal history, the main legal issues under consideration, and the judgment (what was decided, by whom, his/her reasoning, and any dissenting opinion). 3. Commentary/Analysis (2-3 pages) • This is the bulk of your essay and the place where you'll demonstrate your understanding of the material. In other words, the majority of your marks come from the analysis. • Your analysis will indicate whether you agree or disagree with the decision and why. Why was the judge (or judges) right or wrong? • Another way to approach the analysis is to think about why the decision is important. • Remember, a legal decision has wider ramifications outside of the courtroom and the decision doesn't happen in isolation. Here, I want you to think about the broader context of the decision. This broader social and political context may help you explain the significance of the decision and it may also help you to explain your opinion on the decision. It may, in fact, play a significant role in determining what your opinion is on the matter. • Make sure you explain yourself as clearly as possible. Be sure to connect the evidence to the argument. It's these sorts of explanations that will convince me of the validity of your argument and will help you reach the page requirements. 4. Conclusion (1/2 page) • Your conclusion will connect everything together, summarizing your key points and reiterating your argument. Don't introduce new points in the conclusion, but rather highlight the main points from the essay. Assigned Cases: Choose one of the following cases, all of which can be found by following the attached links. The keywords listed below the links indicate the general topics that are considered within the case. If you are having difficulty deciding on a case or would like further information, please come speak with me as soon as possible. Please note that papers written on a case other than one listed below will not be accepted. 1. Kahkewistahaw First Nation v. Taypotat 2015 SCC 30 https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/15383/index.do Keywords: education, election law, residential schools 2. R v. Hutchinson 2014 SCC 19 https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/13511/index.do Keywords: consent, sexual assault, safe sexual practices 3. SLT v. AKT 2009 ABQB 13 S.L.T. v. A.K.T., [2009] A.J. No. 1541 Keywords: parental alienation, divorce, child custody 4. R v. Meszaros 2013 ONCA 682 R. v. Meszaros, [2013] O.J. No. 5113 Keywords: mandatory minimums, private property, trespassing 5. Dionne v. Commission scolaire des Patriotes 2014 SCC 33 https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/13620/index.do Keywords: workplace safety, pregnancy, workers' rights The Mean Details: • Your paper must be between 3 and 6 pages in length (excluding a title page) using standard 12 pt. Times New Roman or Cambria font (~750-1,5000 words). Please ensure you double space your essay and don't adjust the margins, font size, or spacing. Only the first 6 pages of your assignment will be marked. In order to ensure that you follow the standard formatting guidelines, you are asked to hand in a signed copy of the "Essay Formatting Checklist" with your paper. • Please note that a hard copy of your assignment must be handed in in class. Email submissions will not be accepted (except in extenuating circumstances). • There is a one-week grace period for this assignment. Cases Analyses handed in on or before October 6 will not receive any late penalties. Papers handed in during the grace period will receive minimal grading feedback and are ineligible for the revise and resubmit policy. Late papers are subject to a 2% daily penalty (including weekends) and anything over two weeks late receives an automatic mark of zero. The absolute last day to hand in this assignment is October 13. Papers received after this date will receive an automatic mark of zero. • Don't plagiarize! Any form of plagiarism is cheating. Plagiarism will result in penalties ranging from a zero on the assignment to further academic action. I would encourage you to familiarize yourself with what constitutes plagiarism and the university's policies on the same. Further discussion of what constitutes plagiarism can be found at: http://library.acadiau.ca/sites/default/files/library/tutorials/plagiarism/. Marking Guidelines for Case Analysis (A+) 90% - 100%: Outstanding. The essay thoroughly develops an intellectually engaging analysis that considers significant ideas from the case and demonstrates an analytical, scholarly application of the student's own thinking. The student is in command of the topic and shows a high degree of originality and enthusiasm in discussing it. Evidence is drawn from the assigned case and clearly connected to the overall analysis. The essay is well organized, convincingly argued, and clearly expressed -- a pleasure to read. It is free of errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. (A) 80% - 89%: Excellent. The essay demonstrates an awareness of the prominent ideas from the case. The student displays a good command of the topic and shows some originality and enthusiasm in discussing it. Evidence is drawn from the assigned case and clearly connected to the overall analysis. The essay is well organized, convincingly argued, and clearly expressed. It is virtually free of errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation. (B) 70% - 79%: Good to Very Good. The essay is a competent, accurate treatment of the topic. The essay is well written and considers pertinent themes from the case in its analysis. Essays at the bottom of this range may not have fully digested the material, and may lean towards uncritically summarizing or paraphrasing. Some evidence is present but not always connected to the analysis. The organization is good and the sentences are all comprehensible. There are few errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation. (C) 60% - 69%: Fair to Good. The essay is largely a summary or paraphrase, with only occasional analytical comment. It shows a lack of knowledge of the case and its key points. There may be inaccuracies, and the essay is disjointed and disorganized; some sentences may be convoluted and incomprehensible. Little to no evidence is presented and there are minimal attempts at connecting evidence to argument. There are mistakes in grammar, spelling, and punctuation (D) 50% - 59%: Poor. This essay has serious inaccuracies or inconsistencies. The student has limited grasp of the topic. Where evidence is considered, it tends to be misused or misinterpreted. No proper analysis of the case is evident. The student may express opinions, but does not support them with evidence or argument. The essay lacks coherence, is unclear, and has many errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation. Below 50%: Failure. A failing essay will contain one or several of the following serious problems: the essay shows no evidence of proper academic analysis of the case; the essay does not consider any element of the assigned case; the essay does not fulfill the requirements of the assignment; the essay lacks any proper organization; the essay is full of grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors; the essay contains evidence of plagiarism