Our first written assignment will be based on an episode of Law and Order, a television program broadcast by NBC.

You will have the opportunity to watch the last twenty minutes of the show in class. I will have a copy of the tape on reserve in the library as well.

The portion of the show that we are interested in depicts the fictional trial of Tom Willis for the murder of Christina Osborne.

At the end of the show Willis is convicted and the characters comment that the conviction will be appealed.  The appeal process is not shown on the television program.

Your assignment is to pretend that you are a member of the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in New York.  The case of People v. Thomas Willis has been appealed and argued before you.  (The arguments are the same as shown in the program we have on tape.)

Write an opinion reversing or sustaining the conviction. 

Although a judicial decision is called an "opinion," this is not an exercise where you get in touch with your feelings about the Tom Willis character.  The assignment is to find what the law (as determined by the United States Supreme Court) is.  You have to research the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue presented in the case in order to complete this assignment.

Researching this project is not hard, but there is a procedure to follow.