POLS 3301A: Judicial Process
Georgia Regents University
Summer 2015
Instructor:
Email:
Phone:
Office Hours:
Martha H. Ginn, Ph.D.
mginn@gru.edu
706-667-4425
By appointment, Allgood Hall N308
Course Description
An introduction to the judicial process within American politics that includes: the structure of
federal and state court systems, the procedures involved in civil, administrative and criminal
cases, methods of judicial selection, factors in judicial decision making, and the role of courts in
our society.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to do the following:
1) Describe the structure and principles of the American judicial systems including the
differences between the federal and state levels of courts.
2) Explain the differences between the three major areas of the law: criminal law, civil law,
and administrative law.
3) Describe how legal controversies develop and proceed through the court systems.
4) Understand the selection process of judges at the federal level as compared to states.
5) Understand the factors in judicial decision making including the role of the facts of the
case, the law, institutional constraints, and judicial ideology.
Required Materials
Judicial Process in America, 9th Edition
by Robert A. Carp, Ronald Stidham, Kenneth Manning
ISBN: 978-1-45222-632-3
The text is available for purchase in the University Bookstore.
All other course materials will be made available in Desire2Learn.
Attendance
This is a hybrid course, so we will physically be in the classroom (Allgood Hall E158) at 9am on
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday classes. For our Tuesday and Thursday classes, I will post
assignments in Desire2Learn (D2L) which must be turned in via dropbox in D2L by midnight that
day. Note, exam #3 will be on the last day of class which is a Thursday, so you will be required
to attend class on that Thursday, June 18th.
The days we meet in class will be primarily utilized to discuss the assigned readings from the
textbook. This will not be a standard lecture format, rather it will be guided discussion and will
provide you the opportunity to ask questions and should reinforce the material. This means
students should come to class prepared and have read all the assigned material for each class
prior to the class meeting. I anticipate attendance on these days will dramatically impact your
grades on the exams in a positive way, but failure to attend these discussions will not count
against you. However, to incentivize attendance, students who attend all class meetings will
have their two lowest online assignment grades dropped and replaced with perfect scores. We
will have three guest speakers and your attendance is required for these lectures. Your
attendance on these days will count as individual graded assignments like the online
assignments. If you have an excused absence that day, I will provide a makeup assignment for
you.
Late/Incomplete Work
You are expected to meet the deadlines indicated below. Late work will not be accepted, and
will be given a grade of zero unless you have made a prior arrangement with me.
Grading
Your grade for this course will be based on three examinations, a research paper, online
assignments and attending guest lectures. Each exam is closed book and will be administered
in class. Exams will consist of a combination of multiple choice and short essay questions. The
exams are not cumulative. Each exam will be worth 20% of your course grade. Each student
will write one research paper (6-8 pages) tracing a case that was decided by the U.S. Supreme
Court through the American legal system. The research paper will be worth 20% of your course
grade. The remaining 20% of your course grade will be determined by your completing the
online assignments and attending guest lectures. Note that many of the online assignments are
intended to help you prepare for and write your final paper.
The online assignments will be posted as word documents in an assignments folder in the
content section of D2L. Students should download the assignment, save the assignment with
their name added to the document name and then type their answers into the word document.
Save the document when you have completed the assignment then upload it in the appropriate
drop box folder in D2L. All assignments are due by midnight of the date assigned unless
otherwise noted.
While I will provide a more detailed rubric for the research paper at a later date, be advised
that the paper should contain the following components:
(1) Fact summary and legal issues: how did the case begin? What laws are implicated by the
case? What provisions of the Constitution are at play?
(2) Procedural Posture: Where did the case originate? How did federal and/or state lower
courts rule? How did the U.S. Supreme Court come to take the case? What actors were
involved (who are the litigants, were there amicus curiae briefs, was the case sponsored by an
interest group)?
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(3) U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling: How did the Court dispose of the case? Who wrote the
majority or plurality opinion and what did he or she say? Who joined that opinion? Were there
any dissenting or concurring opinions? What was said in those separate opinions and why did
those justices write separately? Did the Court follow or depart from precedent? What was the
rationale for the decision?
(4) Impact of the Case: What have newspapers and law reviews said about the U.S. Supreme
Court’s decision and its broad importance?
(5) Your Analysis: Is the decision good law and good policy? Is it a clear decision that will be
helpful for future litigants and judges? What long-term impact will this case have on society?
E-mail/Office Visits
The best way to contact me is via email but you should expect me to respond to emails
between 9am and 5pm on Monday through Friday within forty-eight hours of receipt. Before
sending questions via email, make sure that your question is not answered on the course
syllabus or Desire2Learn. Please be specific about the subject of the email in the mail subject
heading and use proper format (e.g. Dear Dr. Ginn), spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Be
advised that I will not discuss any concerns about grades via email; you must make an
appointment to speak with me face-to-face about any grade related matters.
I welcome students to stop by my office or to make appointments to meet with me to discuss
their performance in the class or for other advisement. If you do make an appointment with
me, please be courteous of my time and keep that appointment or give me at least a day’s
notice that you need to cancel or reschedule. As I may have multiple appointments, please be
on time for your appointment because I will not make another student wait due to your late
arrival.
Other Course Policies
All other aspects of this course will follow the Pamplin Course Policies posted online at this URL:
www.gru.edu/colleges/pamplin/coursepolicies.pdf. Please read them carefully, as they include
important information about Academic Honesty, Disruptive Behavior, Accommodations for
Disabilities, Withdrawals, and other topics. By remaining in this course, you agree to abide by
these policies.
NOTE: The instructor reserves the right to alter any portion of this syllabus at any time.
Students are responsible for any changes in the nature of timing of assignments and other
schedules changes that may be announced in class, via emai,l or in Desire2Learn.
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CLASS SCHEDULE (Dates in bold indicate on campus meetings)
Date
Task to Complete or Assignment Due
May 18th
Introduction to the course
May 19th
Online Assignment: Choosing a case for your research paper
May 20th
Discuss Chapter 1 and Chapter 2
May 21st
Online assignment: Investigating your state’s judiciary
May 22nd
Discuss Chapter 3 and Chapter 4
May 25th
Memorial Day Holiday: No Class
May 26th
Online assignment: So you think you want to go to law school…
May 27th
Guest Lecture focusing on chapter 8, attendance required
May 28th
Online assignment: Procedural history investigation
May 29th
Exam #1 over chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8
June 1
Discuss Chapters 5 and 6
June 2
Online assignment: Appointment report for author of your case
June 3
Guest Lecture focusing on chapters 5 & 9, attendance required
June 4
Online assignment: Assessing public defenders
June 5
Discuss Chapter 9 and Chapter 10
June 8
Exam over chapters 5, 6, 9, and 10
June 9
Online assignment: Disposition report on your case
June 10
Discuss Chapter 11 and Chapter 12
June 11
Online assignment: Impact report on your case
June 12
Guest Lecture, attendance required
June 15
Discuss Chapter 13 and Chapter 14
June 16
Online assignment: Your analysis of your case
June 17
Discuss Chapter 15, review paper requirements
June 18
Exam over chapters 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15
June 22
Final research paper due via dropbox in D2L by NOON
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