ROBERT
MCARTHUR
OFFICE:
410 Eustis OFFICE HOURS: M
9:30 – 11:30; T-R 9:30 - 11
PHONE:
Campus: 859-4557; Home: 784-6692
E-MAIL:
rlmcarth
TEXTS: Adams, PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS IN THE
LAW, 4th
ed. (A)
Van
Camp, EITHICAL ISSUES IN THE COURTS
(VC)
Other
assigned materials will be put on reserve (R)
NOTE: You are expected to attend every class, to come prepared
each day to discuss the readings assigned, and to read and respond to class e-mail.
(You will need an active Colby e‑mail account and to check it at least
three times each week.) After the permitted two absences, there will be a
penalty for missing additional classes without previously having received
permission. Class participation (20%), the exam and final (60%), and the
individual writing assignment (20%) will determine your semester grade.
AND ONE MORE THING: No electronic gizmos are
allowed to be used in class. This
covers: cell phones, lap tops, blackberries, cameras, video recorders, ipods, and
anything with an on/off button.
If you happen to be carrying such objects, they should be turned OFF and
kept out of sight. No exceptions
without express permission (which is unlikely).
1. COURSE OUTLINE
Week 1—Introduction
R, Sep. 7—Introduction:
Philosophy of Law, Legal Systems, Laws, and Cases
Readings:
People v.
Stamp;
Maine Statute on Felony Murder (R)
"How to
Read a Court Decision" (VC)
"Philosophy
and the Law" (A)
Week 2, 3 —The
Nature of Law
Readings:
Jackson, "Opening
Adress" (A)
Wyzanski, "A
Fair trial?" (A)
Milosevic, "Statement"
(A)
Prosecutor v.
Milosevic
(A)
R, Sep. 14— Natural
Law
Readings:
Aquinas, "What
is Law?" (A)
King, "Letter
from Birmingham Jail" (A)
Dworkin, "Law
as Integrity" (A)
Riggs v.
Palmer (A)
T, Sep. 19— Positivism
Readings:
Austin, "Legal
Positivism" (A)
Bix, "Inclusive
Legal Positivism" (A)
Readings:
Smith v. U.S.; Church of the Holy
Trinity v. U.S.;
Bush v. Gore
(A)
Scalia, "Role
of Federal Courts" (A)
Dworkin, "Comment
on Scalia" (A)
Week 4—Liberty and
Moral Enforcement
T, Sep. 26—Mill's
Theory
R, Sep. 28— The Hart/Devlin Debate
Readings:
J. S. Mill,
from On Liberty (A)
Devlin, "Enforcement
of Morals" (A)
Hart, "Law,
Liberty, and Morality" (A)
Week 5 ––Privacy
T, Oct. 3— The Concept
of Privacy and the Abortion Debate
R, Oct. 5 — Sexual
Privacy
Readings:
Bork, "Right of
Privacy" (A)
Griswold
v. Connecticut (A);
Roe v. Wade
(VC)
Planned
Parenthood v. Casey (VC)
BSA v.
Dale (VC); Lawrence
v. Texas
(A)
T, Oct. 10— Free
Speech
Readings:
Cohen v. California;
Texas v. Johnson (A)
Collin v.
Smith (VC)
In the Matter of
George T. (VC)
R, Oct. 12 — Religious Freedoms
Readings:
Wisconsin v.
Yoder (VC)
Employment
Div. V. Smith; Wallace v. Jeffree (VC)
Elk Grove v.
Newdow (A)
T, Oct. 17— No
class; mid-semester break
Readings:
Miller v. CA;
N.E.A. v. Finley (VC)
Amer. Booksellers
v. Hudnut
(A)
Feinberg, "Obscenity"
(A)
MacKinnon, "Pornography"
(A)
Weeks 8-9—Justice
T, Oct. 24— Justice and Equality EXAM DUE
Readings:
Rawls, from A
Theory of Justice (R)
Westen, "Equality"
(A)
R, Oct. 26 ––
Employment Issues: Discrimination; Harassment
Readings:
Civil Rights Act
(1964), Title VII (R)
U.S. v. Virginia (A)
California
Fed. Savings v. Guerra (VC)
International
Union UAW v. Johnson Controls
(VC)
Merritor Savings
Bank v. Vinson
; Harris v. Forklift Systems (VC)
T, Oct. 31— Affirmative
Action
Readings:
Nagel, ""Affirmative
Action" (A)
Steele, "Affirmative
Action" (A)
The
Coalition v. Wilson (VC)
Grutter v.
Bollinger
(A)
Week
10—Responsibility
Readings:
Hart and Honore, "Tracing
Consequences" (A)
Palsgraf v. The
L.I. Railroad; Lynch v. Fisher (A)
Holden v. Walmart (A)
Weeks 11- 12—
Criminal Law
T, Nov. 14— The Nature
of Crimes; Criminal Intent (ESSAY TOPICS DUE)
Readings:
People v. Dlugash
(A)
Husak, "Intent"
(A)
Kadish, "Criminal
Law" (A)
R, Nov. 16— Excuses
and Justifications
Readings:
State v. Liedholm (A)
Rosen, "Battered
Woman Defense" (A)
M, Nov. 21—Insanity
Readings:
State v. Cameron (A)
Morris, "Insanity"
(A)
Morse, "Excusing
the Crazy" (A)
Readings:
Bentham, "Utilitarian
Theory" (A)
Rawls, "Two
Concepts of Rules" (R)
R, Nov. 30—
Retribution Theory
Readings:
Morre, "Argument
for Retributivism" (A)
Locker v. Andrade (A)
T, Dec. 5 — For
Capital Punishment
Readings:
Van den Haag,
"Death Penalty" (A)
Gregg v. Georgia (A)
R, Dec. 7— Against
Capital Punishment (INDIVIDUAL ESSAYS DUE)
FINAL EXAM
2. INDIVIDUAL ESSAYS
An
essay, on the philosophical issues in a legal case (approved in advance), will
be due at the end of the semester (Thursday, December 7). These are research papers 7-10 pages in
length. A full copy of the court
decision in the case (e.g., from Lexis Nexis) should be submitted with
the essay.
3. MISC.
Useful
Web Resources:
Philosopher's
Index
(available from Miller Library WebPages) - a reasonably complete listing of all
publications in philosophy.
Lexis/Nexis (available from Miller
Library WebPages) - the standard source for legal cases, law review articles,
statutes, and other information about the law. This is a gold mine.
For
other web resources, see Adams, Appendix 3.