Purpose: This assignment is meant to give you an opportunity to develop and articulate your view of critical issues in law and society. In other words, I want you to show me your perspective, and I encourage you to develop your ideas and opinions. However, your opinion must be grounded in scholarly research, and you must engage with evidence or arguments both in favor and against your perspective.
Essay Options
Option 1: Argue to uphold or overturn a major supreme court case
This semester we have learned about dozens of important court decisions that have shaped our understanding of law and society. In some instances, weve learned about the court issuing a ruling at one time, and then reversing itself years later as facts, circumstances, or politics change. Take an existing court ruling, one that is standing as law today, and either argue for or against overturning it.
Option 2: Argue for or against amending the constitution
This semester we have taken a brief look at American constitutional history, including moments of constitutional expansion (ie: the reconstruction amendments), and the ways that courts have changed their interpretation of the Constitutions amendments. Now, as we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, it is worth considering whether the constitution should be changed, either by editing an existing Amendment, or adding a new one.
Option 3: Identify a violation of the rule of law and how the Rule of Law can be strengthened
Return to our week 1 discussion of Paul Gowders 3 pillars of the rule of law: regularity, publicity, and generality. Do you see areas of the law where one of these elements of the rule of law is being violated today? Identify the violation, what may be causing it, and what it might take to repair this violation and strengthen the rule of law.
Guidelines for all essay options:
Structure and Requirements: Your essay should have an introduction, conclusion, and 3 main body elements. In the body of your essay, you should develop 2 arguments for your position and engage with 1 strong argument against your position. When you engage with the counter-argument, explain that perspective fully and then explain why your perspective remains stronger. Reference the elephant in the room.
Length and formatting: Your essay should be a minimum of 4 pages long, though 5 pages is encouraged. Use Times New Roman, 12pt font, double spaced, with 1-inch margins. You may either place citations on the last page or in footnotes.
Scholarly engagement and citations: Do not use Chat-GPT, Grammarly, or other AI programs. You must cite at least 3 sources (one per major body section), but are encouraged to cite more. They must all be external sources, not the casebook, lecture, or assigned readings (these are acceptable to reference but dont count towards your citation total). Cite academic sources – peer reviewed scholarly journal articles or books published by academic presses. Do not use History.com, Encyclopedia Brittanica, etc., as a citation. I should be able to locate your citations through a search on google scholar.
