law

OBJECTIVES

In law, as in life, a lack of applicable information or unclear and imprecise argumentation will put

the brakes on any journey to success. To avoid this pitfall, you must know your facts and craft well-

reasoned arguments and counterarguments. The goal of this paper is to help you practice selecting

accurate information and making legal arguments with precision and clarity.

Information presenting relevant facts about a situation, event, or issue to support the

interpretation of a legal case.

Argument connecting premises to conclusions in a logical and persuasive manner.

Precision and clarity providing concrete details and communicating ideas effectively with

the reader.

TASK

The Editor-in-Chief of an online publication LAWYER IN PROGRESS where you have been recently

hired has just emailed you.

Hi,

Well be publishing an e-book on judicial activism and judicial restraint of the Supreme Court in the

legal context of the 2015 case of Obergefell v. Hodges. Id like you to research Obergefell v. Hodges and

write a paper explaining how the Courts decision could be framed in terms of both judicial activism

and judicial restraint. Use the following guidelines.

1) Define judicial activism and judicial restraint of the Supreme Court. Then, describe and explain

how precedent and law passed by the legislature are used to detect judicial activism and how

precedent is used to detect judicial restraint.

2) Select and analyze a relevant legal precedent to demonstrate that the Obergefell v. Hodges

decision can be interpreted as an example of judicial activism.

3) Select and analyze law passed by the legislature to show how the Courts ruling in Obergefell v.

Hodges can be understood as judicial activism. Be sure the law you choose is clearly a federal law

enacted by Congress.

4) Select and analyze a relevant legal precedent to prove that the Obergefell v. Hodges decision can

be interpreted as an example of judicial restraint.

Keep the deadline in mind 11:00 a.m. on March 12.

Write the paper according to the managing partners guidelines.

FORMAT AND LENGTH

Use Microsoft Word to write your piece. If you do not have Microsoft Word, you can download it

for free from http://iuware.iu.edu.

2

Your text should meet formal writing requirements, including formatting:

typed, double-spaced, Calibri, 11-point font, with one-inch margins

typed, double-spaced, Aptos, 11-point font, with one-inch margins

typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12-point font, with one-inch margins, or

typed, double spaced, Cambria, 11-point font, with one-inch margins,

and correct syntax, punctuation, and spelling.

Include your name (first and last) and an original, engaging title for your essay on the top of the

first page of your paper. Your title should be appropriate to the topic and more creative than a

generic or overly plain heading.

Your paper should have approximately 900-1200 words. Approximately 900-1200 words

means that your paper should have at least 900 words but no more than 1200 words.

Points will be deducted if your paper is not within this range.

Disregard the consolidated cases that were adjudicated together with Obergefell v. Hodges: Bourke

v. Beshear, DeBoer v. Snyder, Henry v. Himes, Tanco v. Haslam, and Love v. Beshear.1

Points will be deducted if your paper includes references to the consolidated cases.

CITING SOURCES

For citations, footnotes, etc., use Chicago style. A concise overview of Chicago style is available at

http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html. When citing

sources, you should reference them in footnotes.2

Keep in mind that citations are references to sources; they lend support to ideas. They

should not replace your own arguments, claims, or reasoning. Always explain how your

evidence connects to your arguments.

If you are citing PowerPoint slides posted by the course instructor, you do not need to reference

them in footnotes. A bibliography is not required.

WRITING STYLE

A few general rules for writing papers:

Use correct spelling throughout the paper.

Write in the third person; avoid first-person (I) and second-person (you).

Do not use contractions (e.g., dont, cant, wont).

Avoid indefinite pronouns (e.g., Some say…) and avoid posing and answering rhetorical

questions (e.g., Is this view correct? Some would say so.).

Do not use this without a noun immediately following it (e.g., say this argument, not

simply this) to prevent ambiguity.

Be precise; choose accurate, meaningful words rather than vague or overly broad terms

such as good or bad.

Be specific; avoid redundancy, tautologies, and unnecessary filler.

1 A consolidated case is a legal term that refers to the administrative process of combining two or

more separate cases into one for all parties involved. This is usually done when the cases involve

the same facts (or similar facts) or the same legal questions or issues.

2 Unlike endnotes, footnotes are placed at the bottom of the page, not at the end of the paper. For

example, what you are reading right now is a footnote.

3

Avoid progress-report language and bureaucratic phrasing (e.g., It is now time to

conclude…).