BGEN 361 CTU Business Law Bostock v Clayton County Case Memorandum

we are doing Option B. U.S. Supreme Court Oral Argument

BGEN 361-801, Spring 2021
PAPER ASSIGNMENT
DUE SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2020
150 POINTS
This assignment asks you to either attend in person a hearing at the Law & Justice Center or listen
to an oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court available online, and then report on your
observations in a short memo. The purpose of the assignment is to help you understand how the
legal system works by experiencing the real thing in real time. Your paper is due by Sunday,
March 28, at 11:59 pm, on D2L, although I encourage you to complete it as soon as possible.
Learning Goals
• Reflect on “real life” legal procedures
• Practice critical thinking skills
• Practice writing skills
Assignment
1. Attend a Court Proceeding or Listen to a U.S. Supreme Court Oral Argument
You may choose whether to attend a court proceeding in person or to listen to an oral argument
before the U.S. Supreme Court, available online (see more detail below). I prefer that you attend a
hearing at the Law & Justice Center in person because that experience will give you a better “real
life” sense of how the court system works, but, given the challenges of the new Coronavirus, it may
not be possible to attend court in person. Therefore, listening to an oral argument before the U.S.
Supreme Court is a good alternative.
Option A: District Court Proceeding
You must attend at least 90 minutes of a hearing or trial at any of the courts at the Law &
Justice Center, 615 South 16th Avenue, Bozeman. There are three departments in District
Court: Dept. 1 (Judge Holly Brown), Dept. 2 (Judge Rienne McElyea) and Dept. 3 (Judge
John Brown). There is Municipal Court (Judge Seel or Judge Brandis in the lower level, and
Justice Court (Judge Adams or Judge West) also on the lower level. You can attend a hearing
in any of the departments.
Due to the settling and rescheduling of trials and hearings, it is best if you go to the Law &
Justice Center early in the morning – 8:30 a.m. without a particular court in mind. You are
likely to find one of the five courts in session.
You might end up watching a hearing on a criminal or a civil matter. You might be able to
watch a jury being selected, an argument on a motion for summary judgment, a bail hearing, a
portion of a trial, a sentencing, etc. Because it is hard to understand the substance of a hearing
or trial without knowing the details of the case, it is not important that you understand all the
legal proceedings. I am more interested in your watching how the judge, attorneys and clients
interact with each other, how they communicate, and the procedure for conducting business in
a court. Just sit back and observe.
Note: Please dress in clean clothes, preferably business casual, wear a face covering, and
do not wear a hat in the courtroom (some judges have been known to stop proceedings to
ask a member of the public to remove his/her hat). Also, turn off your cellphone and
throw out your gum! Although almost all court proceedings (except juvenile cases) are
open to the general public, your proper attire shows respect to the court. You are
representing MSU and the JJCBE, so please leave a good impression on everyone in the
courthouse.
Option B: U.S. Supreme Court Oral Argument
You must listen to 60 minutes of one of the following actual oral arguments before the U.S.
Supreme Court, available on Oyez.org. These are real-time recordings of the actual arguments
before the Supreme Court, so this is your best opportunity to understand how an argument
before the Supreme Court works, short of visiting the Court in Washington D.C. yourself
(which I highly recommend).
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Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) (sexual orientation discrimination under Title VII),
available here (click on “Oral Argument” in the vertical blue banner on the left)
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office v. Booking.com (2020) (whether the addition by an
online business of a generic top-level domain (“.com”) to an otherwise generic term
can create a protectable trademark), available here (click on “Oral Argument” in the
vertical blue banner on the left)
Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania (2020) (religious exceptions to Affordable
Care Act requirements that employers cover contraceptives in health care plans),
available here(click on “Oral Argument” in the vertical blue banner on the left)
Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue (religious discrimination in state-sponsored
scholarship program in Montana) (2020), available here (click on “Oral Argument” in
the vertical blue banner on the left)
2. Write a Reflection Memo
After attending a proceeding or listening to an oral argument, please write a short memo answering
the following questions:
Option A: District Court Proceeding
1. On what date did you attend the proceeding and for how long? What was the name of the
judge? If you were able to find out, what were the names of the attorneys?
2. What kind of proceeding did you watch? E.g., was it a civil or criminal proceeding? A jury
selection, an evidentiary hearing, a sentencing, etc.?
3. Briefly describe what happened during the time you were present at the hearing or trial.
No need to give a blow-by-blow account – one paragraph is enough.
4. What three things did you observe that surprised you? Why did these things surprise you?
E.g., did you have a preconceived notion that turned out to be wrong? Why do you think
these things occurred?
5. Has observing this proceeding affected your attitude toward plaintiffs or defendants,
attorneys, judges, or our legal system? Please explain.
→ Be sure to include an introductory paragraph that previews your key points in the paper,
and a conclusion pulling it all together.
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Option B: U.S. Supreme Court Oral Argument
1. What case did you listen to?
2. Briefly describe the issue(s) before the Court – one paragraph is enough.
3. What three things surprised you? Why did these things surprise you? E.g., did you have a
preconceived notion that turned out to be wrong? Why do you think these things
occurred?
4. Has listening to this oral argument affected your attitude toward plaintiffs or defendants,
attorneys, justices, or our legal system? Please explain.
→ Be sure to include an introductory paragraph that previews your key points in the paper,
and a conclusion pulling it all together.
Memo Requirements
• 1-2 single-spaced pages (definitely not more than 2 pages please!)
• Typed, 11-12-point font
• 1” margins
• Include both introduction and conclusion paragraphs, and make sure you have a strong topic
sentence for each paragraph.
• Submit to D2L Assignments folder by 11:59 pm on Sunday, March 28. I will gladly accept
papers early!
→ Keep in mind that D2L will automatically check your paper against all papers in the
Turnitin database, including other students’ papers and everything available on the web.
Therefore, please make sure that the paper you submit is indeed your own work.
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