Legal Theory and Court Cases
This paper is worth 25% of your final grade.
The Cases:
Choose one of the following Supreme Court cases and read the entire majority opinion. The majority opinion for each case is available under the Files section of the course page on ELMS as well as under the Modules section for August 19.
District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)
Roper v. Simmons (2005)
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (2014)
The Assignment:
Please write a formal, 6-7 page paper arguing whether the case you chose was decided correctly based on one of the legal theories we discussed in the first half of the class (ie. formalism, positivism, natural law, realism, critical legal studies, critical race theory, critical feminist theory, or intersectionality). Your paper should include a brief summary of the case, but the majority of your paper should focus on your argument. You should back up your argument with evidence from the majority opinion as well as evidence from outside sources (correctly cited with in-text citations and a bibliography). You are expected to use at least 5 credible outside sources, at least three of which must be academic journal articles. You may also cite materials you read in class, but these do not count toward your 5 outside sources (nor does the majority opinion). Your argument should demonstrate not only that you understand the basic principles of the legal theory upon which you are basing your argument, but also that you can clearly and persuasively apply this theory to your chosen case. Instead of simply listing the basic principles of the legal theory you choose, you should focus on applying these principles to the case and making a strong argument based on these principles.
Formatting Requirements:
Papers must meet the following formatting requirements.
Length: 6-7 pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman font, do not skip an additional space between paragraphs
Title page: Include a title for your paper, your name, the date, and the name of the class
In-text citations: In-text citations should be used to cite any information or ideas that are not your own; whether you are paraphrasing, summarizing, or directly quoting the author. Each of the 5 required outside sources should be cited somewhere in your paper with in-text citations. You may use either APA or MLA style citations. If you have any questions on how to properly cite your sources, a good resource is: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/
Bibliography: Your bibliography should include only sources that you cited in your paper using in-text citations. You are required to use 5 outside sources, at least 3 of which much be academic journal articles. You may use either MLA or APA style for your bibliography. Your bibliography should begin on the page after the end of your paper. Your bibliography page does not count toward the 6-7 page requirement.
Submitting your assignment:
Please upload your paper as a Word document through the final paper assignment page on ELMS. This can be found under the Assignment section or under the Module section for August 19.
Papers are due at 5:00pm on August 19. Papers turned in after 3:00pm on August 19 will be penalized 5 points. Papers turned in after August 19 will be penalized 10 points for each day that it is late. Late papers will not be accepted after 12:00pm (noon) on August 22.
……………………Answer Preview………………..
The Roper V. Simmons court case took place in the year 2004. However, the case was sparked by a situation that occurred in early 1993, whereby Christopher Simmons, a minor aged 17 killed a female victim, Shirley Crook (Scott, 2005). Christopher had planned the murder in detail based on the fact that his actions were guided systematically in accordance with his plans. Christopher entered illegally the house of Shirley Crook in 1993 where he robbed her belongings, tied her up then later threw her over on a nearby bridge. However, after conducting the brutal crime, Simmons was arrested afterward followed by a short trial whereby he was found guilty on all charges. Thus, the court sentenced Christopher…
APa
1793 words
