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Learning Activity and Grading Criteria
Assignment: Look up the case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan on LexisNexis or Westlaw and read the case fully. At the beginning of your paper, record the full name of the case and its citation, including the case number, year, and the court in which the case was heard. The main body of your paper will be a complete IRAC analysis of the case. Write two or three paragraphs for each of the four steps in the IRAC method, except for the "A" (Analysis) step for which you may write up to four paragraphs. Include page numbers from the original case in your paper. Grammar, spelling, and presentation will count toward your grade.
Evaluation and Grading Rubric
|
Excellent |
Good |
Fair |
Poor |
Basic Research Skills 5% |
Yes – Case citation info is accurately recorded. Accurate page numbers are provided in the IRAC analysis. |
N/A |
N/A |
No – Case citation info is not accurately recorded. Accurate page numbers are not provided in the IRAC analysis. |
I 20% |
The issue is unpacked and made clear to reader. The issue is stated in terms of the facts of the situation that lead to the court proceedings. |
The issue is unpacked but with some lack of clarity for the reader. Some facts of the situation are missing. |
The issue is not unpacked adequately or described in detail for the reader. Many facts of the situation are not discussed. |
No understanding of this step's requirements, or a general absence of relevant facts. |
R 20% |
The statute, case law, or jurisdictional authority that applies to the issue is described in detail. The reasoning behind the rule is discussed in depth. |
The statute, case law, or jurisdictional authority is correctly identified, but inadequately described. |
An incorrect statute, case law, or jurisdictional authority is identified, or the correct one is presented with no discussion or elaboration. |
No understanding of this step's requirements. or a generally insufficient description of the rule and reasoning. |
A 20% |
How the rule is relevant for the issue is described in detail. The facts of the case are compared and contrasted with the rule's requirements. All specific facts are interwoven with the rule being applied. |
An analysis is completed but contains some errors in logic. An interweaving of the facts with the rule is attempted but is lacking sufficient detail. |
An analysis is attempted, but the rule is misapplied to the facts, or relevant comparisons and contrasts are not described adequately. |
No understanding of this step's requirements, or a general absence of comparison and contrast between the facts and the rule. |
C (Conclusion) 20% |
All points are tied together adequately. The application of the law to the facts is made apparent to the reader. |
A conclusion is presented but contains some logical errors, or some points are not made clear to the reader. |
A conclusion is attempted, but the application of the law to the facts is incorrect or largely unclear to the reader. |
No understanding of this step's requirements, or a general absence of conclusive application of the law to the facts. |
Writing and Presentation 15% |
Strong use and understanding of legal terms. Sophisticated, readable style. No pelling or grammar errors. |
Good use of legal terms but with some misapplications. Organized presentation with a few spelling or grammar errors. |
Avoidance or frequent misuse of legal terms. Unorganized presentation with poor spelling and grammar. |
No attempt to use or understand legal terms. No proofreading, unorganized and unreadable. |
Explanation of the Activity and Grading Criteria
This is a take-home written assignment for early in a junior/senior-level course in Media Law. This will be the first written assignment after basic course concepts are introduced. The assignment is based on a technique in legal studies called the "IRAC" method, in which the student considers the Issue (I) and legal Rule (R) that are relevant to an important court case. The student then performs an Analysis (A) and provides a Conclusion (C). This method is widely regarded in legal education as a technique for teaching students how to fully understand the process and decision of a court case. In the current academic and legal environment, mastering the IRAC method is an essential skill for students in law-oriented courses.
Prior to this assignment, students will have been given a demonstration of the online legal database services that are available to university students. There are two options, LexisNexis and WestLaw, which provide full transcripts of court cases. The nature of proper legal citation, as utilized by these research databases and case histories, will have also been introduced. Students will have also been given an introduction to the IRAC method, including its requirements, uses, and advantages, along with examples of student exercises from previous classes. The case assigned for analysis, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, is a classic and influential case in media law, and appears in most (if not all) of the introductory textbooks on the subject.
The first requirement of the assignment is a display of basic research skills. All cases in the American court system include one or more official citations which are used in legal writing about that case. (For the case assigned here, the citation is "376 U.S. 254.") The case documents found in the database will also include page numbers. The student's ability to accurately record this information from the database will be the basis for 5% of the grade.
Each step of the IRAC method will be 20% of the grade. The requirements for each step are based on standard descriptions of the IRAC method that are found in many introductory law text books. The final 15% of the grade will be spelling, grammar, and presentation. Utilizing the research databases and performing an IRAC analysis are fundamental skills for media law students, so this assignment will be graded only by the instructor (no self-assessment or peer review).
The ultimate grade for the assignment will be based on the rubric. The percentages for each category will be based on a total of 100 points. "Excellent," "Good," "Fair," and "Poor" performances for each of the categories in the rubric will be converted to scores corresponding to A, B, C, and D respectively. An F grade will be reserved for students who don't do the assignment.
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