SYLLABUS. Tulsa Community College, Metro Campus Spring 2016

Transcription

1 SYLLABUS Tulsa Community College, Metro Campus Spring 2016 Course: PLGL 2343 Advanced Legal Research Day(s) and Time(s): 16-week Lecture, W 5:30-8:20 p.m. Section No: 101 Begins: January 11, 2016 Ends: May 8, 2016 Call No: Instructor: Michael Speck Office Hrs: 2:30-4:00 M-Th TO CONTACT YOUR INSTRUCTOR Office: MCAC Michael.Speck@tulsacc.edu TO CONTACT THE DIVISION OFFICE Division Name: Business and Information Tech Division Associate Dean: Mitchell Ober Division Office Number: MCAC 416 Division Phone Number: (918) TCC rarely closes. If extreme weather conditions or emergency situations arise, TCC always gives cancellation notices to radio and television stations. This information is also posted on the TCC website ( PREREQUISITES FOR THIS COURSE N/A COURSE DESCRIPTION: PLGL Advanced Legal Research and Writing: Advanced course in research and writing techniques, analysis, and strategies. Emphasis is on development of legal argument, format, and use of legal citations. Competency in WESTLAW, LEXIS, and the Internet as research tools will be achieved. GENERAL EDUCATION GOAL STATEMENT General Education courses at TCC ensure that our graduates gain skills, knowledge, and abilities that comprise a common foundation for their higher education and a backdrop for their work and personal lives. TCC s General Education goals are: Critical Thinking, Effective Communication, Engaged Learning, and Technological Proficiency. Updated: January 4, of 10- PLGL

2 COURSE OBJECTIVES At the successful conclusion of this course, the student will be able to: o Use subscription, free, and public resources to: Locate and review case law. Determine the status of reported case law. Locate and review enacted statutory law, including local ordinances. Find and evaluate legislative history. Locate and analyze regulatory law. Review civil procedure rules and local addendums to same. o Cite to electronic resources. o Brief a case using the IRAC analysis format and online resources; and o Prepare a legal memo utilizing online resources. TEXTBOOKS, SOFTWARE, & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL Required textbooks: o Legal Research, Analysis and Writing by Joanne B. Hames and Yvonne Ekern, 5 th Edition, ISBN: o ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation by Barger, 5 th Edition, ISBN: Companion Website: BlackBoard and ALWD online. Required software: WestNext, and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)(free online). o If you do not have Office, you can download it from Blackboard free. Go to the Organization tab Search for: software Enroll in the organization Follow the on-screen instructions o Required address: All TCC students receive a designated Office 365 address (ex: firstname.lastname@tulsacc.edu) (see the information for Office 365 for Students). All communications to you about TCC and course assignments will be sent to your Office 365 address; and you must use your Office 365 to send to, and receive from, the instructor regarding this course. TECHNICAL SKILL REQUIREMENTS You should be comfortable with the following: o using a word processor (changing font, spell check) o using for communication o sending an attachment o navigating the Internet o downloading appropriate plugins, and o using an Internet search engine.teaching Methods Updated: January 4, of 10- PLGL

3 This is a lecture class, which will meet in a classroom setting. Students will be expected to have read the material prior to class, and be prepared to discuss and explain same. The class material will consist of an assigned text, online resources provided by the publisher of the text, and additional online resources identified or provided by the instructor via Blackboard. Students are responsible for completing all assigned work. ATTENDANCE TIME COMMITMENT STUDENT EXPECTATIONS Attendance is essential for maintaining the best learning environment. Learning occurs in relationship not only between student and course materials, but, just as importantly, peer to peer, professor to student, and student to professor. Therefore attendance is required as follows: o There are sixteen (16) class meetings for the semester. Each class lasts 2.8 hours. You will be required to document 39.2 hours of class time for full attendance. You will receive 2.8 hours of time for Spring Break. This permits you 2.8 hours to arrive late, leave early, or have one (1) unexcused absence without affecting your grade. o Each student will make monthly reports on hours spent in class through a practice management web service called Clio (additional information to be provided at a later date). Those records will provide the data required to calculate the Attendance Modifier. o The Attendance Modifier is calculated and applied as follows: (documented attendance / 39.2 hours) X base grade = class grade. NOTE: This class demands that the student be self-motivated and self-disciplined. You are responsible to keep up with the schedule, assignments, and exams. In addition to announcements made in class, I will be contacting you throughout the semester by , and Blackboard is available at all times. ADMINISTRATIVE WITHDRAWL FOR NON-PARTICIPATION Students who fail to participate in the course during the first week or fail to complete the first quiz by the due date will be Administratively Withdrawn from the course. EVALUATION TECHNIQUES Your grade in this course will reflect the quality of the college level writing you produce not your effort. While extra effort is admirable, you will be successful throughout the remainder of your college experience only if you are able to produce college level writing. It is your demonstrated knowledge of the material that will be evaluated, not your opinion or belief. In stating your answers, avoid stating I believe, In my opinion. Tell me what you ve learned, and what you know. Updated: January 4, of 10- PLGL

4 You are expected to demonstrate your understanding of the course material through effective communication. Therefore do not underestimate the importance of good grammar in the completion of your written assignments. While I will not deduct from your grade for minor grammatical errors, those mistakes will make your work less intelligible, which will be reflected in your grade. o Classroom discussions must be related to your knowledge of the material rather than your opinion or belief (unless your opinion or belief is explicitly sought). If you fail to make a significant contribution (i.e. something other than, me too or good post ) to a discussion, you will not receive any credit. o Letter grades will be determined on the following basis: Grading Scale % A 80-89% B 70-79% C 60-69% D below 60% F The Blackboard gradebook keeps a Running Score in your Grade Average row. This is the top row in your gradebook. This score looks at the assignments you have completed to date, weighs them according to the Assessment Matrix and calculates the "current grade" in the class. If you are interested in determining what you must make on a given assignment to obtain a specific grade, this is a relatively simple math problem which you should be able to solve. Graded and Returned Assignments o Student assignments that are submitted by the stated due date will be graded and returned within 1 week of the due date. o Assignments submitted after the stated due date will be returned as soon as possible, but may not be returned until the end of the semester. o Your corrected (graded) assignments with comments about the quality of your work can be accessed through the Student Gradebook. Click on the underlined score for an assignment to open the window containing my comments and returned Word document. Please make sure that you read these comments! Updated: January 4, of 10- PLGL

5 TESTING POLICY (if applicable) Your examination(s) will be administered in class. The following are the testing procedures you are expected to follow while taking the exam: o You are to take the test by yourself. No group efforts or help from other people in answering the test questions. o You will not be able to use your book, notes, etc. o If you must leave the room during the exam you must leave the room empty handed, including cell phones etc., and return empty handed. TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES Each week we will be covering a different subset of the information relevant to the Course Objectives. An outline of the tentative schedule by week, with the readings, assignments and activities, and the learning objectives addressed, follows: Week Week One (1), Jan 14 Readings Assignments & Activities Related to Learning Objectives, and Graded Assignments Read and Review the Syllabus WestNext and ALWD Online credentials Boolean Searches Two (2) An Introduction to WestLaw and WestNext Finding and analyzing case law using WestNext. WestNext Certification Core Grammar Post Test Three (3) Chapter 5 of the ALWD Companion WestNext Certification continued, and to be completed by the beginning of class on Week Four (4). Core Grammar post test continued, and to be completed by the beginning of class on Week Four (4). Assignment 1: ALWD Online Citation Chapter Exercises 5 (all), to be completed before the beginning of class on Week Four (4). Four (4) Chapter 10 of Hames and Eckern An Introduction to Lexis Advance Assignment 2: Complete Chapter 10 Assignments and Activities 1-3 and 5 as a memo to a junior paralegal, to be submitted before the beginning of class on week Five (5). Updated: January 4, of 10- PLGL

6 Five (5) Six (6) Chapter 6 of the ALWD Companion Chapter 11 of Hames and Eckern Validating your research using WestNext s KeyCite and other resources. Assignment 3: ALWD Online Citation Chapter Exercises 6 (all), to be completed before the beginning of class on Week Six (6). Finding and utilizing secondary sources using Thomas.gov and other free online resources. Assignment 4: Complete Chapter 11 Assignments and Activities 1-6 as a memo to a junior paralegal, to be submitted before the beginning of class on Week Seven (7). Seven (7) Eight (8) Chapter 7 of the ALWD Companion Chapter 9 of Hames and Eckern Factual Research: finding civil litigation history, criminal records, property records, etc. using paid services. Assignment 5: ALWD Online Citation Chapter Exercises 7 (all), to be completed before the beginning of class on Week Eight (8). Updating the law, how and why. Assignment 6: Complete Chapter 9 Assignments and Activities1-4 as a memo to a junior paralegal, to be submitted before the beginning of class on Week Nine (9). Nine (9) Chapter 12 of the ALWD Companion Assignment 7: ALWD Online Citation Chapter Exercises 12 (all), to be completed before the beginning of class on Week Eleven (11). Ten (10) Spring Break Rest and Relaxation: no coursework is required. Eleven (11) Review of statute formation. Legislative history: what is it; where to find it; and when to use it. Finding constitutions, statutes, regulations, and ordinances using WestNext and free online resources. Assignment 8: Select an Oklahoma Statute enacted in 2015 and outline the legislative history as a memo to your supervising attorney, to be completed before the beginning of class on Twelve (12). Updated: January 4, of 10- PLGL

7 Twelve (12) Final Project: Review of the final project, a dispositive motion and brief in support, using evidence and documents from Discussion of dispositive motions. Review of the anatomy of a brief. Finding constitutions, statutes, regulations, and ordinances using WestNext and free online resources. Thirteen (13) Final Project: Outline the Argument and Research Strategy Outline of brief and research strategy to be submitted before the beginning of class on week Fourteen (14) Fourteen (14) Final Project: Draft Style, Signature, Certificate of Mailing, Introduction, Issues, and First Proposition. Second draft, including first proposition, must be submitted before the beginning of class on week Fifteen (15). Fifteen (15) Final Project: Draft Second Proposition, Conclusion and Prayer for Relief. Submit to classmate for review and correction. Third draft, including second proposition, conclusion and prayer for relief must be submitted before the beginning of class on week Sixteen (16). Sixteen (16) Final Project must be submitted before the last day of class. Graded Activities % of Final Grade WestLaw Next (WestNext) Certification 10% Core Grammar Post Test 10% Assignments % Final Project 40% While you are encouraged to ask questions about your grades, including but not limited to the grading of any particular assignment, do not ask me to calculate what you must earn on a given assignment in order to pass, etc. I am confident that you are competent to solve this mathematical problem. Updated: January 4, of 10- PLGL

8 DO NOT ask me about your grade in open class. See me after class or during office hours, or send me an , so that we may discuss your question in private. NOTE: The ALWD ruled relied upon must be cited with each and every citation on each every assignment. An assignment completed without the ALWD citation will not be graded. MAKE-UP AND LATE ASSIGNMENT/EXAM POLICY Late Assignments o Students are expected to comply with assignment due dates. Please notify me if you unable, through no fault of your own, to comply with the due dates as posted in the Schedule of Assignments and in the Course Info area of the course. o An inability to complete the assignment through no fault of your own might include illness, technical error, military deployment or the like. Forgetting a deadline, or simply being too busy, etc. will not excuse tardy work. o Absent an inability (not failure) to complete an assignment, no late work will be accepted. There will be NO EXCEPCTIONS TO THE DUES DATES FOR QUIZZES OR EXAMS without approval of the instructor, which may include a grade penalty. Be advised that assignments submitted after the due date may contain only limited comments about the quality of the work. Extra Credit: There will be NO EXTRA CREDIT offered in this Course. SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS All assignments are to be submitted through Blackboard, either through the Submission Area, or as an attachment. Your corrected and/or graded assignments will be returned to this same location, or by . I will only accept assignments by , or hard copy, if and only if Blackboard is inoperative, or during emergency situations when connection problems are the result of equipment or Internet failure at TCC. In addition, if TCC equipment problems create a significant hardship to the submission your assignment by the due date, I will adjust the due date. This information will be relayed by and through an announcement. COMMUNICATING WITH THE INSTRUCTOR This course will primarily utilize two methods of whole class communication. During the week, announcements will be placed in the Announcement section of the Blackboard course site highlighting certain aspects of assignments or alerting students to important issues. INSTUTIONAL STATEMENT Updated: January 4, of 10- PLGL

9 Each student is responsible for being aware of the information contained in the TCC Catalog, the TCC Student Policies & Resources Handbook, and semester information listed in the class schedule. All information may be viewed on the TCC website: TRANSFERABILITY: Please visit with the TCC Counseling Center or the Counseling Center at the college or university to which you plan to transfer to determine transferability status of this course. COURSE WITHDRAWAL: The deadline to withdraw from a course shall not exceed 3/4 the duration of any class. Contact the Counseling Office at any TCC campus to initiate withdrawal from a course ('W' grade) or to change from Credit to Audit. Check the TCC Academic Calendar for deadlines. Students who stop participating in the course and fail to withdraw may receive a course grade of F, which may have financial aid consequences for the student. Students who are earning a failing grade should consider withdrawing from the course by the official drop date. Failure to withdraw will result in the student receiving a regular grade of F at the end of the semester. I do not give "AWs" to students who earn failing grades in the course. ADA POLICY - DISABILITY RESOURCES It is the policy and practice of Tulsa Community College to create inclusive learning environments. Accommodations for qualifying students in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act are available. To request accommodations, contact the Education Access Center (EAC) at eac@tulsacc.edu or call (918) (Voice). Deaf and hard of hearing students may text (918) ACADEMIC INTEGRITY PLAGIARISM Academic dishonesty (cheating) is defined as the deception of others about one s own work or about the work of another. Academic dishonesty or misconduct is not condoned or tolerated at campuses within the Tulsa Community College system. Tulsa Community College adopts a policy delegating certain forms of authority for disciplinary action to the faculty. Such disciplinary actions delegated to the faculty include, but are not limited to, the dismissal of disrespectful or disorderly students from classes. In the case of academic dishonesty, a faculty member may: o Require the student to redo an assignment or test, or require the student to complete a substitute assignment or test; Updated: January 4, of 10- PLGL

10 o Record a "zero" for the assignment or test in question; o Recommend to the student that the student withdraw from the class, or administratively withdraw the student from the class; o Record a grade of "F" for the student at the end of the semester. Faculty may request that disciplinary action be taken against a student at the administrative level by submitting such a request to the Dean of Student Services. SYLLABUS CHANGES: Occasionally, changes to the syllabus may be necessary. Students will be notified of any changes to the syllabus in writing. STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES Distance Learning has pulled together information about the student support services TCC offers and has made it available for online instructors. You can put a link to this information in your course site. The link is available on the Bb Welcome tab à left side, about the middle of the page. It is called "Student Support Services." A complete list of student support services can be found in the Resources section of the Blackboard course site. This includes information about college services, free tutoring services, software support, and online tutorials related to course concepts. TOBACCO FREE COLLEGE Tulsa Community College is a Tobacco Free college in accordance with the Governor s Executive Order and Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, Section which prohibits smoking or the use of any tobacco products in all public places, in any indoor workplace, and all vehicles owned by the State of Oklahoma and all of its agencies and instrumentalities. This Order includes property leased, rented, or owned by TCC including, but not limited to, all grounds, buildings, facilities, and parking lots. Tulsa Community College s policy includes a tobacco free environment on all campus and off-campus locations conducting TCC credit or non-credit classes. The TCC Campus Police is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Tobacco-Free Environment Policy. Violations of the policy may be addressed through issuance of campus or state citations. Updated: January 4, of 10- PLGL