Law & Culture Professor Banner Law in Action ASSIGNMENT FOUR Each of these assignments asks you to apply the course material by completing a project or providing advice similar to what an actual law student or lawyer might do. You will conduct research, counsel a client, and outline points of law. Often these assignments require you to review additional, short assigned videos or documents, which are available in the Law in Action folder located in the Files section on Canvas. In each case, unless specified otherwise, your answers should be as short as possible and as long as necessary. The assignments must be submitted in a Word document on Canvas by the Due Date listed on the syllabus. 50 points—Excellent (professionally presented, no errors in legal analysis) 40 points—Satisfactory (solid legal analysis; small grammatical or proofreading issues) 30 points—OK (ideas are good but not fully formed; assignment is sloppy) 20 points—Assignment was submitted but includes multiple errors of law and/or grammar and proofreading issues 0 points—Assignment contains multiple mistakes and is not professionally presented or assignment was not submitted There are 8 LIA assignments in all, each worth 50 points, for a total of 400 course points. You have seven days to complete each of these assignments. Late assignments will not be accepted without a documented medical or religious excuse. Being sick for one or two days of seven is not an excuse. Assignment Four Assume that you are a reporter on the “legal beat” for a national newspaper. You have been asked to write an opinion piece discussing whether Michelle Carter’s appeal to the US Supreme Court of her criminal conviction for involuntary manslaughter* of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy is likely to succeed. Based on the criminal law principles discussed in Chapter 5 and any criminal procedure or constitutional argument you wish to add, outline your strongest and best arguments as to why Carter is likely to succeed or fail on appeal. Consider, in your answer, whether the prosecution failed to prove she committed the crime beyond a reasonable doubt based on the elements of the crime, and whether, if the elements were met, there should have been any affirmative defenses available to Carter. * Should you take a criminal law class, you will learn that the common law crime of homicide is divided into four categories: · First Degree Murder (requires knowing intent and premeditation) · Second Degree Murder (requires knowing intent but not premeditation) · Voluntary Manslaughter (Second Degree Murder committed after being Provoked) · Involuntary Manslaughter (Reckless Homicide, meaning that the defendant knew the risk of their actions and proceeded to act) · Negligent Homicide (The defendant should have been aware of the risk of their actions and proceeded to act) Here, the accusation is that Carter acted recklessly in causing the death of Roy. Claim: College Should Not Be Free Writing Requireme.

1. Law & Culture
Professor Banner
Law in Action
ASSIGNMENT FOUR
Each of these assignments asks you to apply the course material
by completing a project or providing advice similar to what an
actual law student or lawyer might do. You will conduct
research, counsel a client, and outline points of law. Often
these assignments require you to review additional, short
assigned videos or documents, which are available in the Law in
Action folder located in the Files section on Canvas.
In each case, unless specified otherwise, your answers should be
as short as possible and as long as necessary.
The assignments must be submitted in a Word document on
Canvas by the Due Date listed on the syllabus.
50 points—Excellent (professionally presented, no errors in
legal analysis)
40 points—Satisfactory (solid legal analysis; small grammatical
or proofreading issues)
30 points—OK (ideas are good but not fully formed; assignment
is sloppy)
20 points—Assignment was submitted but includes multiple
errors of law and/or grammar and proofreading issues
0 points—Assignment contains multiple mistakes and is not
professionally presented or assignment was not submitted
There are 8 LIA assignments in all, each worth 50 points, for a
total of 400 course points.

2. You have seven days to complete each of these assignments.
Late assignments will not be accepted without a documented
medical or religious excuse. Being sick for one or two days of
seven is not an excuse.
Assignment Four
Assume that you are a reporter on the “legal beat” for a national
newspaper. You have been asked to write an opinion piece
discussing whether Michelle Carter’s appeal to the US Supreme
Court of her criminal conviction for involuntary manslaughter*
of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy is likely to succeed.
Based on the criminal law principles discussed in Chapter 5 and
any criminal procedure or constitutional argument you wish to
add, outline your strongest and best arguments as to why Carter
is likely to succeed or fail on appeal. Consider, in your answer,
whether the prosecution failed to prove she committed the crime
beyond a reasonable doubt based on the elements of the crime,
and whether, if the elements were met, there should have been
any affirmative defenses available to Carter.
* Should you take a criminal law class, you will learn that the
common law crime of homicide is divided into four categories:
· First Degree Murder (requires knowing intent and
premeditation)
· Second Degree Murder (requires knowing intent but not
premeditation)
· Voluntary Manslaughter (Second Degree Murder committed
after being Provoked)
· Involuntary Manslaughter (Reckless Homicide, meaning that
the defendant knew the risk of their actions and proceeded to
act)
· Negligent Homicide (The defendant should have been aware of
the risk of their actions and proceeded to act)

3. Here, the accusation is that Carter acted recklessly in causing
the death of Roy.
Claim: College Should Not Be Free
Writing Requirements (APA format)
· Due in 24 hours on 2/9/2020
· Length: 100-150 words per source for Part 1 (Annotation); 50-
80 words per source for Part 2 (Evaluation) (not including title
page or references page)
· 1-inch margins
· Double spaced
· 12-point Times New Roman font
· Title page
· References page must include links to scholarly articles from
journals
· Must be ran through a plagiarism checker or Turnitin with
report
IntroductionBy this week, you should have collected the sources
that you need to support, with relevant evidence, the position
you have taken on the issue you chose, and the three aspects of
the issue you will write about. This week you will submit a
thesis statement and an annotated bibliography of at least five
sources that you will use in your paper.
InstructionsThis week, you will submit a thesis statement and
an annotated bibliography with evaluation of at least five (5)
sources you intend to use in your final paper to support your
claim. These are sources that provide evidence to support that
your claim should be accepted by the reader. Scholarly sources
are preferred and should be used where available; due to the
nature of some of the topics, authoritative articles in very high
quality substantive journals may also be acceptable.
Claim: College Should Not Be Free

4. · Below are my reasons/aspects of why college should not be
free. Find scholarly articles to help you get more information on
the aspects to help support your claim. (Choose 3 of the
following reasons/aspects)
1. The Money Has to Come From Somewhere
If America were to move to a tuition-free college policy, where
would the money come from? The short and simple answer is
taxes. Who gets taxed seems to vary based on who is talking,
but it seems certain that the upper echelons of American society
will see increased taxes if this passes. There is a likelihood that
it will increase the upper-middle-class as well. Or maybe it will
all come from Wall Street speculation taxes. The point is, all we
know is that someone will pay these dues through taxes. The
uncertainty of who will carry the burden is not making many
Americans comfortable.
2. Younger Generations Won’t Know How to Handle Finances
College is full of learning experiences, one of which is
learning how to create a budget to save money. College loans
are often the first major financial dealing that people work with.
Paying them off in a timely manner proves you know how to
budget your money, skills people use again and again when
buying cars or houses. Without having to pay for school, that
experience won’t exist. That might be trouble down the road for
buying that house or car.
3. College Might Not Seem As Important
If higher education at public schools becomes free, it might
appear to devalue a college degree. It might also lead to
students cutting more classes or not trying because they don’t
have to “get their money’s worth” when they aren’t paying for
anything. The current price of college drives students to
complete their schooling as quickly as possible so as to reduce
debt. Without that financial drive, we might see more laziness
and lackadaisical behavior from our students.

5. 4. More People Would Go to College
As enrollment at public schools increases, so do the fees. Either
more money would have to be given to the schools, or they
would have to create waitlists. This means that the taxes for
education-related purposes might go up, or funding for
something else (such as military expenditures) might be
diverted to pay the influx of fees. In addition to this, the large
number of graduates might oversaturate some areas of the
workforce. That leaves even more people with degrees working
jobs that they are overqualified for.
Use the Source Evaluation Worksheet to submit the annotated
bibliography. Prepare a citation, annotation, and evaluation for
each source.
For each source do the following:
Annotation ExampleWaite, L. J., Goldschneider, F. K., &
Witsberger, C. (1986). Nonfamily living and the erosion of
traditional family orientations among young adults. American
Sociological Review, 51, 541-554.
The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown
University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of
Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that
nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values,
plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in
traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly
supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in
studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents
before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and
changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study
by Williams cited below shows no significant gender
differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living.
Source Evaluation Example2a. While this source is not current,
it has formed the basis for numerous follow-up studies and it
frequently cited in the literature; it has both historical value and
also serves as a base-point for tracking changing attitudes.
2b. This is a scholarly source; the source is credible, reliable

6. and authoritative. The authors were experts in their fields,
published their study in a peer-reviewed journal, and the study
has held up under rigorous scrutiny by other experts in the field.
2c. This source strongly supports my thesis that the current
pattern of young adults remaining with family because they
cannot afford independent living due to student loan obligations
is having a negative effect on young adults developing self-
sufficiency and individualism.
2d. This source is popular; it is used to show how public
opinion was influenced by advertising.
Week 5 Source Evaluation Worksheet
First read the notes that begin on p. 3 of this handout and the
table that follows. Then, complete the analysis for each of your
sources.
Part 1: Annotation (minimum 5 annotations)
Using APA format, identify the source and write a concise
annotation that summarizes the central theme and scope of the
book or article. A sample annotation can be found in the
directions for this assignment.
Annotation 1
Annotation 2
(Continue for as many annotations as you have developed)
Example: Annotation 1
Waite, L. J., Goldschneider, F. K., & Witsberger, C. (1986).
Nonfamily living and t he erosion of traditional family
orientations among young adults. American Sociological
Review, 51, 541-554.
The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown

7. University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of
Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that
nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values,
plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in
traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly
supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in
studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents
before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and
changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study
by Williams cited below shows no significant gender
differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living
Part 2: Source Evaluation (minimum 5 source evaluations)
Use the following criteria to evaluate each source:
a. How current is this the source you are using? (If not current –
explain why information is still applicable)
Source 1
Source 2
(Continue for as many sources as you have developed)
Example 2a
2a.While this source is not current, it has formed the basis for
numerous follow-up studies and it frequently cited in the
literature; it has both historical value and also serves as a base-
point for tracking changing attitudes.
b. How authoritative, credible, reliable? (For example:
recognized expert; peer-reviewed journal; trusted site such as
.edu, .gov, .mil; experienced and knowledgeable in the field;
information consistent across several sources, etc.)

8. Source 1
Source 2
(Continue for as many sources as you have developed)
Example 2b
2b. This is a scholarly source; the source is credible, reliable
and authoritative. The authors were experts in their fields,
published their study in a peer-reviewed journal, and the study
has held up under rigorous scrutiny by other experts in the field.
c. Briefly state specifically how this source provides evidence
that strongly supports your conclusion. For example, “the
article discusses significant evidence that this diet provides all
essential nutrients and supports my view that the diet is
healthy” “this study shows that this diet is deficient in vitamin
D and supports my point that this diet is not healthy” “this
survey revealed that obesity is on a rapid rise among all
demographic groups and supports my view that obesity is
epidemic”
Source 1
Source 2
(Continue for as many sources as you have developed)
Example 2c
2c. This source strongly supports my thesis that the current
pattern of young adults remaining with family because they
cannot afford independent living due to student loan obligations
is having a negative effect on young adults developing self-
sufficiency and individualism.
d. If the information is “popular” or if it is from a blog, from a
marketing site, or is persuasive in nature (i.e., an editorial or
opinion piece, or a publication of a special interest group such

9. as a trade organization, union, etc.) explain why you are using
the source and why you cannot use a more substantive or
scholarly source.
Source 1
Source 2
(Continue for as many sources as you have developed)
Example 2d
2d. This source is popular; it is used to show how public
opinion was influenced by advertising.
Notes: Evaluating Sources
1. In 2b, rate your journal and periodical sources (whether you
are looking at hard copy or on-line) as scholarly, substantive or
popular. The Table “Distinguishing between Scholarly and
Non-scholarly Periodicals” will work for evaluating either print
or on-line journals, newspapers, and periodicals.
2. Beware of bias in any specific article. Determine if the
source is authoritative, credible, reliable, current and unbiased.
(If not current, then information can be rated “valid, regardless
of age,” -- i.e., a 1999 web-based article on the American Civil
War is not “current,” but can be “valid regardless of age.”) All
sources should be authoritative, credible, reliable, current and
unbiased. If bias is found, state if bias may or may not affect
the credibility and reliability of the information you will use
and how you will compensate for possible bias.
3. For websites, generally speaking, .gov and .mil sites are
acceptable sources in academic papers. Most .edu websites will
be acceptable, but analyze under the criteria in 2 above.
4. If the website is a .com, .org or .biz website, you must
further evaluate for authority, reliability and credibility. Never
use a .com, .org or .biz site without evaluating across these
criteria. Be especially careful about blogs – generally speaking,
don’t use them. Many newspaper and magazines also publish to
websites; evaluate those just as you would a journal or

10. periodical.
Distinguishing Between Scholarly and Non-Scholarly
Publications
SCHOLARLY
SUBSTANTIVE
POPULAR
Examples
American Journal of Nursing
JAMA
New England Journal of Medicine
American Journal of Kidney Diseases
National Geographic
Psychology Today
NY Times
The Atlantic
Time
Vanity Fair
Huffington Post
USA Today
Purpose & Use
· Knowledge dissemination
· Reports of original research
· in-depth topic analysis
· Statistical information
· For profit
· Current events and news
· Introduces a subject
· Interviews
· Analysis and opinion
· For profit
· Current events and news
· Overview of topic
· Entertainment

11. · Sell products
Audience
· Reader knows the field (e.g., specialists)
· General audience
· General audience
Authors
· Researchers
· Academics
· Scholars
· Journalists
· Freelance writers
· Specialists or scholars
· Freelance writers
· Staff writers
· Journalists
Content & Language
· Description of research methods with conclusions
· Objective
· Assumes knowledge of language and specialist jargon
· Article may have a specific structure
· Usually peer-reviewed
· Explanation of a subject
· Interpretation of a research article
· May or may not be objective
· Use of non-technical vocabulary
· Shorter articles than in scholarly publications
· May be biased toward a particular point of view
· Less depth
· Everyday language
· Often written like a story
Publishers
· Professional organizations
· University or scholarly presses
· Research institutions
· Commercial entities
· Trade and professional organizations

12. · Commercial entities
· Trade organizations
Sources
· Includes bibliography and/or notes
· Includes extensive citation of sources
· Includes author credentials
· Sometimes includes sources
· May / may not include author credentials
· Rarely includes citations of sources
· Rarely includes author credentials
Graphics
· Includes graphs, charts, and tables
· Advertising is very rare
· Illustrated, often with photographs
· Advertising is present
· Heavily illustrated
· Lots of advertising