Handout: ASP Handout #1

The handout contains excerpts from Mathews v. Eldridge, in an attempt to clarify the doctrine driving these due process cases. The version handed out in Tuesday's ASP class had some underlining and questions written on it; if you're curious, email me with your locker number for a copy.

For Reference: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld

Prof. Swift posed the question in the syllabus: What kind of hearing will Hamdi get? The government allowed the enemy combatants to bring their cases before military tribunals. Whether a military tribunal is an appropriate court for the enemy combatant's complaint is address in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 14315 (read the case on LEXIS*). You may want to pay close attention to who the judges in the case were . . . Also, if you find the original Hamdi v. Rumsfeld on-line (124 S. Ct. 2633), you can Shepardize it, that is, you can find out which cases have cited to any part of the opinion. This quickly allows you to follow the development of a body of law (in this case, the legal treatment of the enemy combatants).

For additional cases involving enemey combatants, see also In re Guantanamo Detainee Cases, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 4651 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 11, 2005) (consolidating detainee cases) [note the judges hearing the case - literally the three most influential D.C. Circuit judges] and Padilla v. Hanft (4th Cir.). Both cases are still pending on their merits. Decisions will likely be released soon and will surely be appealed to the Supreme Court. More information on the prospects of these cases going before the Supreme Court can be found in Jonathon Adler, Looking Ahead to the 2005-2006 Term, available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=782304 (SSRN is a large database of working papers by faculty nationwide. Most require a subscription, available at school, to download, but this paper is free).

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* If you use Lexis, you can begin accumulating Lexis points [Ed. I bought twenty iTunes and three books to read for fun thanks to the points I got from using Lexis last year - I'm already halfway to another new hardcover novel]. It's a nice little perk to being in law school.

Assignment: ASP on 8/30

Read Van Harken v. City of Chicago, p. 95 of the casebook.

Pay close attention to how Judge Posner arrives at his conclusions about the level of process required in the case. Attempt to follow the math. We'll go over it on on Tuesday. The case provides another perspective on evaluating due process claims as well as a dynamite introduction to the school of legal thought referred to as Law & Economics (in which Judge Posner sheds the title Judge for something more akin to Pope). It is not exaggeration to refer to Judge Posner as the tenth most important judge in America today after the nine on the Supreme Court. This is not the last time you will see one of his opinions (he shows up twice in the first fifty pages of the Franklin & Rabin Torts book).

If you find yourself turned off by the numbers, pay close attention to the discussion of the right to appeal. And before putting the pitchfork in the man's hand, wait and read his opinion in American Nurses when we get to pleading in a week or so.

More information (though mostly unrelated to substantive legal topics) can be found at The Becker-Posner Blog.

Discussion: Fuentes v. Shevin

Feel free to post any insights or questions you have as you read the case. [other questions forthcoming]

No Class

Normally, we will meet on Tuesday from 11:15 to 12: 15 in Room 100. Obviously, this week our session would fall before your first Civ Pro class. Because there would be no material to cover this week, I have cancelled our first session. I look forward to seeing you all in next Tuesday for our first ASP meeting. In the meantime, you will see me in class with you on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Have a great week!

Civ Pro Blog Policies

Purpose

This blog is designed to serve as a portal, warehouse, and forum for Modules 1, 2, and 3 of Prof. Swift's Fall 2005 Civil Procedure I class. The blog will serve as a portal by referring students to additional material and insights if they wish to develop a deeper understanding of the class. The blog will serve as a warehouse by storing all of the materials created for the Academic Support Program recitation that I will be running. Handouts provided in class will be posted here. Lastly, the blog will serve as a forum by providing students in the class with a place to discuss and further explore questions posed in class.

Posting

Posting on the blog will remain anonymous as long as the people posting here display respect for their class mates and other forum participants. Of course, posters who wish to identify themselves to make it easier to respond to their comments are encouraged to do so. The forum is intended for students in Mods 1, 2, and 3. However, if other Boalt students or legally-inclined bloggers wish to make comments and contribute to the discussion as well are encouraged to do so.

I reserve the right to modify these rules to keep these discussions civil and focused.

Welcome

I'm looking forward to next week's first Civil Procedure class! In the meantime, can you believe I got civpro.blogspot.com? I was shocked.