3. Was “Justice” being served by this process? Why or why not? You will not have seen a case through to conclusion, so you are considering whether the process that you saw, was contributing to serve justice.

/in /by

 

to avoid the potential for exposure to the COVID-19 virus you will not be required to observe a court in person this semester. In place of an in-person court observation, students may choose any of the numbered options below to view videos of US District Court cases online. If two videos are listed in the numbered option then students are expected to watch both videos.

1. Godfrey v. Branstad et al; Southern District of Iowa; Civil Rights; Motion to Dismiss; 1:03:15; https://www.uscourts.gov/cameras-courts/godfrey-v-… and Grandstaff et al v. Hiner Equipment, L.L.C. et al; Southern District of Iowa; Personal Injury/Wrongful Death; Motion to Dismiss; 26:06: https://www.uscourts.gov/cameras-courts/grandstaff-et-al-v-hiner-equipment-llc-et-al,

2. Horras v. American Capital Strategies, Ltd.; Southern District of Iowa; Contract, Diversity; Motion to Dismiss; 29:42; https://www.uscourts.gov/cameras-courts/horras-v-american-capital-strategies-ltd, and

Hammock v. Jensen et al; Southern District of Iowa; Civil Rights, Criminal Law Related Civil Cases, Search and Seizure; Motion for Summary Judgment, Motion to Dismiss; 57:51: https://www.uscourts.gov/cameras-courts/hammock-v-…

3. United States of America v. Story County, Iowa; Southern District of Iowa; Statutory Interpretation; Motion for Summary Judgment, Motion to Dismiss; 57:09: https://www.uscourts.gov/cameras-courts/united-sta… and United States of America vs. University of Nebraska at Kearney, et al.; District of Nebraska; Americans with Disabilities Act, Civil Rights, Housing; Motion for Summary Judgment, 35:30: https://www.uscourts.gov/cameras-courts/united-sta…

4. Joanna Bielawski v. City of Cleveland, et al; Northern District of Ohio; Civil Rights; Jury Trial: 2:08:27 (Watch the first 1:30:00 – one hour and 30 minutes ): https://www.uscourts.gov/cameras-courts/joanna-bie…

5. Stragapede v. City of Evanston; Northern District of Illinois; Americans with Disabilities Act; Jury Trial; 1:10:59. https://www.uscourts.gov/cameras-courts/stragapede…

6. Powell v. Noble et al; Southern District of Iowa; Civil Rights, Freedom of Religion; Motion for Preliminary Injunctive Relief; 1:14:32: https://www.uscourts.gov/cameras-courts/powell-v-n…

7. Wagner v. Jones, et al; Southern District of Iowa; Civil Rights; Jury Trial; 55:22: https://www.uscourts.gov/cameras-courts/wagner-v-j… and Craig Williams v. Techtronic Industries of North America, Inc.; District of Massachusetts; Product Liability; Motion for Summary Judgment; 42:46: https://www.uscourts.gov/cameras-courts/craig-will…

Your submitted assignment must be in a WORD document. No other form of submission is acceptable. Keep a copy of your assignment submission as a backup. The report should be approx. 800 to 1,000 words long (the equivalent of approx. 2 to 3 double-spaced typewritten pages), responding to the following questions:

1. Identify the numbered video selection that you observed from the above list.

2. What are your most noteworthy impressions? What did you learn about the legal system from viewing this video? – You may comment on the judge, lawyers, court personnel, parties, proceedings, surroundings, fairness and equality of proceedings, etc. – anything that stuck out in your mind as a result of your observation. You are encouraged to be most aware of how you felt about what you observed. Contemplate the experience of encountering the justice system – not merely the events that happened. This is an observation of the court experience – including its procedure and function. It is not a report on the facts of the case involved.

Note: You are NOT being asked to factually report what happened in the videos. You ARE being asked to recognize and describe what you learned from watching the videos. Do NOT summarize the substance of witness testimony or lawyers’ arguments. Rather explain what you learned about the legal system from the process of the witness testimony or the lawyer’s arguments. This assignment is NOT about your understanding of the facts of any case but about your understanding of the process of eliciting the facts and applying the law to get to a conclusion.

3. Was “Justice” being served by this process? Why or why not? You will not have seen a case through to conclusion, so you are considering whether the process that you saw, was contributing to serve justice.

Note: Many students forget to address this question and suffer a loss of points on this assignment.