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Chapter 14: You, the Jury |
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This chapter previews a situation in which you might one day find yourself—fulfilling your civic duty as a juror. More generally, it will provide you with some interesting cases through which you can practice a very fundamental intellectual task in the academic and professional worlds: applying a general principle to a particular case or circumstance. The reading selections in this chapter provide you with actual criminal and civil case studies to review. In addition to the case studies, you will find essays on how to look at law and how to write using legal thinking. For the most part, you will not be told the final ruling in these cases. It is up to you, "the jury," to deliberate the facts of the case and determine a ruling.
In "The Maiden and the Pot of Gold," (a civil case that went before the Supreme Court of Louisiana in 1920) a woman sues some men who tricked her into believing that she had recovered a pot of gold from a field. In "The American Legal System," David Hricik explains where the law comes from and describes the process of the typical lawsuit. "IRAC: How to Write About Legal Cases" by Leonard Tourney and Gina Genova show how the IRAC (issue, rule, application, conclusion) technique organizes legal writing and give an example of its use in "Incident at the Airport."
In "The Ridiculed Employee, the Overweight Nursing Student: Two Additional Cases of Emotional Distress" a man who stutters and has a nervous condition sues his supervisor for repeatedly ridiculing and mimicking him, and a nursing school student sues when she is forced to withdraw from school because of her weight. In "Assault and Battery on the Gridiron: A Case of Reckless Disregard of Safety," a football player sues a football player on an opposing team for injuring him during a game. "Who Gets the Kids?" covers some of the most bitter lawsuits that pass through the civil courts. This is followed by "Hot Coffee Spills" which detail several cases concerning fast food restaurants and their customers. The last cases involve teenagers: "The Felled Stop Signs," examines the actions of teenagers, which resulted in one or more automobile-related deaths. "Drag Racing and Death" looks at a case where the defendants were convicted of involuntary manslaughter because they were involved in a drag race. The chapter concludes with "A Glossary of Legal Terms" to help you with language that may be unfamiliar to you as you study the cases presented here.
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