And we’re back! I hope everyone had a nice spring break. Over the break my mom visited from Wisconsin, and we visited museums together and celebrated her birthday. It was lovely!

My professor was hiking in the Andes in Peru. She said the trip was wonderful (did you know Peruvians have over 4,000 different types of potatoes??), other than a “minor” bicycling accident that resulted in some scrapes and a couple broken ribs. She, of course, did not mention this until she needed help reaching the projector screen and casually explained the accident. I want to be her when I grow up.

As for class, we are now reading “Miranda: The Story of America’s Right to Remain Silent” by Gary L. Stuart. It is our second book this semester and explains the 5th and 6th Amendment protections against self-incrimination. Its a fascinating read, but not the easiest, and I am a little worried since I only see about half the class bringing in a physical copy of the book. I hope everyone is doing the readings!

I am meeting with the Professor on Friday to have lunch and discuss how I’ve been doing as an Academic Fellow. I am also planning on using the meeting to ask her advice about law school and job searches, and ask that she write me a letter of recommendation. Wish me luck!

So I am really excited about writing this post. Class last week went GREAT! I was able to get through my entire lesson plan with time to spare. First we went over the facts of the case with a power point presentation I made and ate chocolate chip cookies I brought. Then after a question-answer period we watched a short video of a real supreme court oral argument reenacted by dogs. Then I presented my oral argument for the petitioner all the way through, which was about 10 minutes long.  We broke down the sections of argument and constructed a working outline on the board. Then after answering more questions, we got out early. A couple students stayed afterwards to ask questions about their papers, and two even thanked me for the presentation and told me I did a great job! 

I had rehearsed over and over again and pictured myself teaching the class to stay calm and confident. I was pretty sure I did a good job, and the oral argument presentations by students absolutely confirmed it. Their arguments were more organized and much better structured than last year’s, and everyone who presented was prepared and clearly rehearsed. A couple of outstanding students even had their notes almost memorized! I was blown away and my Professor agreed she was too. She said when she left last Monday she felt like the class had a loose understanding of the case, and when she came back everyone sounded like lawyers! When she asked what helped make the assignment really “click”, the first thing someone said was my power point presentation. I was ecstatic. I’m so proud of everyone in the class!

Here’s hoping we don’t get snowed in tomorrow, I want to see the rest of the arguments!

So last week my professor asked me to lead the class while she is out of town on Wednesday. We are approaching the midterm project and will be performing oral arguments for an upcoming Supreme Court case. I had already agreed to give an oral argument as an example, which would be 7 minutes long. Now, I will be responsible for the content for the entire hour and forty minutes. I have taken all of the professor’s classes before and have never seen her trust an academic fellow with so much responsibility. I am enormously honored but also extremely nervous. I have never taught a class before.

The case we are focusing on involves a brutal rape and murder of a mother of 6, so the content is fairly touchy. I sent out an announcement on canvas to warn the class about the sensitive material included, and assure them that they will not be expected to memorize any of the crime scene specifics. We will be focusing instead on the constitutional question of withheld exculpatory evidence. My lesson plan (so far) is as follows:

First, I’m going to bring in chocolate chip cookies, because the case is so graphic and I feel like everyone was fairly tense in the last class. Combine public speaking with a brutal murder case and you don’t have the most comfortable classroom environment. So I think its a good idea to begin with snacks.

I have prepared a powerpoint on google slides that includes a recap of the facts of the case, maps of the crime scene area, the withheld exculpatory and impeachment evidence, the legal precedent involved, and the constitutional question at hand.

After answering any questions, I will explain the role of oral arguments in the Supreme Court and show a short dog reenactment of a recent SCOTUS argument. I will then demonstrate how to perform an oral argument by reading one I have prepared out loud. Next, I will break down each section of the argument and create an outline for an oral argument on the board. With any luck, discussion and questions about the case will take up sufficient time so that the class will not be let out too early.

I am super nervous but I feel better knowing that I have the professor’s confidence and chocolate chip cookies on my side. Our pedagogy class is immediately after the class, so I will probably be fairly sweaty and rocking a sweet adrenaline high! Wish me luck!