Period 2: Strict Liability - Class Recap

My British aunt and uncle's dog, Charlie, featured in the PowerPoint today on strict liability. Charlie wouldn't hurt a soul (even though he sometimes barks up a storm), so it would be unlikely my relatives could be sued under strict liability if he all of a sudden started biting someone.

Hi everyone,

Happy Halloween! It was fun to see everyone that dressed up today. I think we were able to get much more clear about what strict liability is, as well. On to the recap!

Soundtrack: “Thriller” by Michael Jackson. Selected because of it being Halloween related. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/31/13:
Tort Report
Chapter 21 Review
Strict Liability PowerPoint
Torts Test Review

Homework: REVIEW! The torts final is next Wednesday. All late/makeup work needs to be in to me by 11/12 at the very latest. Read the blog. Next tort reports assigned to: Marissa and Randi.

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Tort Report: The two articles selected for today were TheIndianaLawyer.com - Defense firm appeals $277M verdict for Humvee maker (Marsuk) and Tennessean.com - Woman's $350,000 civil suit details sexual contact by TN probation officer (Luke). Thank you both!

Chapter 21 Review: For the first 15 minutes or so of class, students answered the questions posed in Chapter 21 of the Street Law textbook (except 21.4 and 21.6). We then went over the answers to most of the questions together, before moving on.

Strict Liability PowerPoint: Short and to the point. This was almost identical to what the book had to say, but hopefully I was able to explain it in a way that made it make more sense. Here it is to download/look at, if you want:

Google Drive - Strict Liability PowerPoint

I will also post all the other tort related PowerPoints below.

Torts Test Review: Again, you have a huge torts test next Wednesday. This is not a surprise. I passed out a review in class - we will go over it next Monday. If you missed class or lost the paper, here it is to download:

Google Drive - Torts Test Review Guide

Many of the questions on that guide will be on the test. Some of them we did not go over in class, so I will make sure to explain the answers on Monday. Here are the PowerPoints that might help with studying over the weekend. Your notebooks should help, as well.

Google Drive - Torts Introduction PowerPoint

Google Drive - Intentional Torts PowerPoint

Google Drive - Negligence PowerPoint

Please be studying! Next class, we will play Jeopardy to review, which should be pretty fun. Have a great and safe Halloween weekend!

Period 2, Negligence, Day 2 - Class Recap

The view from the top of Diamond Head, Oahu, Hawaii, in 2011. To get to this stunning vista point, you have to climb up a very steep set of stairs and tunnels - one with all sorts of warning signs. I think one of the reasons that the signs are there is that the park service is hoping they will not be liable for any damages as a result of neglecting to warn visitors.

Hi everyone,

We are SO close to being done with book work! I think just a little more time next class, then we will go over Chapter 21 answers and a Strict Liability PowerPoint, before I give out a final torts test review.

Soundtrack: “Who Let The Dogs Out?” by Baha Men. Selected because an easy example of strict liability is animals that are so dangerous that they injure others, without the owner having anything to do with it. In those sorts of cases, the owner is always liable for damages. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/29/13:
Tort Report
Blog Recap
Chapter 20 Review
Strict Liability: Chapter 21 (Not 21.4 or 21.6)

Homework: Study for upcoming unit final test! Turn in missing work. Read the blog! Next tort reports assigned to: Luke/Marsuk.

Tort Report: Jaxon brought in this article (which is over a decade old, but I guess I will take it, mostly because it is a ridiculous example of a lawsuit): TheSmokingGun.com - Another Ass Sues Viacom.

Bertina selected this article, which is directly related to a unit I did last year in Economics here: ChicagoTribune.com - Bank of America liable for Countrywide mortgages fraud.

Finally, Tommy chose this article about a lawsuit from July against Delta Air Lines: DailyMail.co.uk - Paralyzed man sues Delta Airlines claiming he was forced to crawl from plane while wearing his 'best suit'

Thank you, everyone! As always, I always like hearing about various different lawsuits and what your takes on them are.

Blog Recap: I showed the class the blog entry for last time, making sure to note that the PowerPoint could be downloaded for help in preparing for the upcoming test.

Chapter 20 Review: I gave everyone more time to try and finish up Chapter 20 in the textbook. If students were able to complete this before I went over it, I gave out a Chapter 19/20 worksheet and assigned Chapter 21 (except answers to 21.4 or 21.6).

I had fun going through the book answers with everyone here! Such great responses and questions. Hopefully, the concepts of the four elements of negligence are getting clearer: duty, breach, causation, and damages.

Strict Liability: Chapter 21: The rest of class (after the review time) was devoted to working on Chapter 21. If you were able to finish, congratulations! No more book work for me the rest of my time as your long term substitute. If not, I will give you more time to work at the start of next class.

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments or by email. See you on Thursday!

Period 2: Negligence, Class Recap

This is me in pre-school. If I had kicked over an elderly lady's chair and caused her to fall and break her hip (like in the book), yes, I could be held liable for damages in a civil court, if the plaintiff could prove a reasonable person at my age would know that my act was wrong.

Hello everyone,

Shockingly, today was my last Friday class with you all before my tenure as your long term substitute is over! I hope you are enjoying the class as much as I am. Here's what we did today:

Soundtrack: “Brain Damage” by Pink Floyd. Selected because sometimes, brain damage can be a result of negligence. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/25/13:
Tort Report
Chapter 19 Answers
Negligence PowerPoint
Finish Chapter 20

Homework: Turn in missing work. Check the blog! Review for unit final. Next tort reports assigned to: Jaxon, Bertina, and Tommy.
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Tort Report: We did not have this section today, as it was "neglected" to be remembered by a student. Next class! :-)

Chapter 19 Answers: Yeah, there were a lot of questions that I asked you to do in Chapter 19. This is a fact. We reviewed most of them as a class and talked about what makes a tort intentional. Hopefully, this sort of stuff is becoming really obvious.

Negligence PowerPoint: Next, we started moving on to the concept of negligence, which is Chapter 20 in the Street Law textbook. Here is the PowerPoint that I went over in class, which should help explain many of the concepts.

Google Drive - Negligence PowerPoint

Please be reviewing this material for your upcoming unit final, which is November 6.

Finish Chapter 20: The rest of class was devoted to trying to finish the answers in Chapter 20, so we can go over them and then complete our book work by doing Chapter 21 next week. 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Period 2: Intentional Torts and Negligence, Class Recap

This is me in front of the Grand Canyon in 2007 (I was a junior in college). If my parents (who I made the road trip with) had just left without me from here, that could be considered a negligent action.

Hey everyone,

Yeah, as I explained in class, it seems like we are getting a bit behind schedule with everything, just with the amount of book work needed to be done as we are talking about these important concepts. As such, be ready to just work on finishing and discussing Chapters 19 and 20 next class, along with a PowerPoint on Negligence/Chapter 20. If you are already almost done with both chapters, bring

Soundtrack: “The District Sleeps Alone” by Postal Service. Selected because "the district" refers to Washington, DC (where our federal government is based), and again, being left alone could be considered to be a negligent action. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/23/13:
Tort Report
Quiz
Chapters 19 and 20
Review

Homework: Turn in missing work, retake the unit one test if needed. Study vocabulary for upcoming torts test. Read the blog! Next tort report assigned to: Tommy.

Tort Report: Tim brought in this article about various lawsuits against Tylenol that have been filed in federal court: ClassAction.org - Tylenol Lawsuits Claim Drug Caused Liver Failure. Interesting case, as always. It looks like this website is also helping people who believe they have a similar claim to join in with the case - creating a "class action" lawsuit.

Quiz: Hopefully, this wasn't too difficult (it was 16 questions related to intentional torts). I will have these entered in the grade book and back to you on Friday. If you missed class, expect to take this (make sure to ask me) when you get back.

Chapters 19 and 20: As I wrote above, since we are so behind on our work calendar, I gave the rest of class for work time in the book. I think most people will be ready to talk about Chapter 19 on Friday. I will also give more time to do answers to Chapter 20 and talk about those, as well. I will probably start off class with a PowerPoint on Chapter 20/Negligence. It is unfortunate that I can't assign the book work as homework due to just having a class set of textbooks, but we will make it work. Thank you for staying with it!

Period 2: Intentional Torts, Day 2 - Class Recap

One of the slides in my PowerPoint on intentional torts was about false imprisonment. I used the example of my job at the airport - here's a place I wouldn't mind being in for long stretches of time: the flight deck of the Boeing 747 Dreamlifter, in the pilot's seat!

Hello all,

Welcome to another blog recap! This one may be looked at a bit more than usual, seeing as you have a quiz next class on intentional torts (Chapter 19 in the textbook). Hopefully, this will help with studying!

Soundtrack: “Sweet Emotion” by Aerosmith. Selected for today because one of the intentional torts we talked about was intentional infliction of emotional distress. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/21/13:
Tort Report
Intentional Torts PowerPoint
Chapter 19 Review
Study for Quiz

Homework: Study for intentional torts quiz, next class! Turn in missing work. Check the blog! Next tort report assigned to Tim.

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Tort Report: Ryan brought in this article: WFAA.com - Women sue over product they say 'melted' hair. Another interesting lawsuit! Ryan mentioned the pain (both mentally and physically) of losing hair as a possible cause for remedy. Thanks, Ryan. Tim, you are up next. 

Intentional Torts PowerPoint: Most of class (this took longer than I anticipated, I apologize), we spent looking at various ways of defining intentional torts and thinking of a few examples. If you missed class, or wanted to review for your quiz, here are the slides:

Google Drive - Intentional Torts PowerPoint

There were a few torts related vocabulary that I did not go over, which yes, you will need to know (they are in Chapter 19): compensatory damages, nominal damages, and punitive damages, as well as copyright and infringement. 

Chapter 19 Review: Actually, we still did not really get to review this yet. I know that there are a lot of questions and problems to go through. After the quiz next class, I will give everyone more time to finish this, then we will talk about it, then move on to Chapter 20. So yes, expect a fair amount of book work in class. I want to have us catch up to where we are on the calendar, and this is really the only way to do it.

Study For Quiz: Again, next class, there will be a quiz on intentional torts at the beginning. See above for help on what will be on it. The quiz will have some fill in the blank and some "identify the tort" questions. An example of one that will be on the test is: "Mo Muckraker tells a group of Pentagon officials that Senator Howard is such a drunk that she can’t be trusted with military secrets. Muckraker knows this isn’t true, but he doesn’t agree with the politics of the Senator. Senator Howard becomes the subject of a Congressional inquiry because of this and loses her seat on a powerful committee." What kind of intentional tort is this? Guess in a comment and I will tell you if you are correct or not.

Sound like a plan? Thank you for your focus and attention today. Let's make it a good week.

Period 2: Intentional Torts, Class Recap

The Rocky statue in Philadelphia. Boxing is usually not considered any sort of crime or tort against either party, since both fighters usually agree (or consent) to take part.

Hello all,

Today was another one with a decent amount of book work, in learning about intentional torts. Hopefully we can continue to dive into the details of these next class, so you know the main concepts a bit better.

Soundtrack: “Bring it on Home” by Led Zeppelin. Selected for today because some intentional torts are torts that harm property, like homes. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/17/13:
Tort Report
Worksheet Answers
Chapter 19 Definitions/Questions
Review

Homework: Know tort vocab! Read the blog. Next tort report is assigned to Ryan.

Tort Report: Erin brought in this article about a woman suing for harassment: DailyMail.co.uk - Advertising exec sues boss for $6MILLION for saying she looks like Susan Boyle. As I said in class, I wonder about the specifics of the case. The number of damages sought for a remedy is quite high, which prompts us to think it might be frivolous in nature, but I hope we learned in the Hot Coffee case to withhold judgement until we know the details. Thanks, Erin!

Worksheet Answers: This was in regards to the Chapter 18 worksheet most students completed in class last time. There were some true or false statements and a fill in the blank about various concepts related to our torts introduction. Use these to help study for a probable upcoming quiz next week (not Monday).

Chapter 19 Definitions/Questions: For much of the rest of class, students were working on a sheet of definitions from Chapter 19 and answering the "You Be The Judge" and 19.1-19.9 questions. It seemed like everyone was working really hard on this, so we will pick it back up next class (I wish we had the books to allow you to check them out and do it as homework, but alas, we do not) and go over the various answers to the scenarios.

Review: We will review next class, but please be studying and looking over your notes on the various vocabulary terms we are learning about.

Have a great weekend - see you next week for the last three-B-days week of my time as your long term substitute!

Period 2: Introduction to Torts - Class Recap

One of the slides in the presentation today was from my trip to Vietnam in 2011. This is one of my favorite pictures from that trip - a man and his child in Hanoi.

Hi everyone,

First off, here is the calendar of what we will be doing in class until November 15th, which is my last day. This is a rough guide, but should definitely help you in planning and knowing what you will be doing. Please refer to this!

Google Drive - Civil Law Calendar Until November 15

Soundtrack: “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol. Selected for today because we were talking about various forms of car insurance. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/15/13:
Tort Report/Debrief Hot Coffee
Torts PowerPoint
Chapter 18 Worksheet
Start Chapter 19

Homework: Study terms for possible quiz upcoming. Turn in missing work. Read the blog! Next Tort Report assigned to Erin.

Tort Report/Debrief Hot Coffee: To begin class, Ellen brought in this article about an interesting recent lawsuit: DailyNews.com - North Hollywood woman sues her psychic.

What a case! Love curses, expensive paintings, gift cards... what more could you ask for? Fascinating. Thank you, Ellen!

We also went through the answers on the Hot Coffee worksheet, which is here, if you missed this:

Google Drive - Hot Coffee Documentary Questions

Hopefully you found this interesting. I thought we had a good discussion about it.

Torts PowerPoint: This was over the concepts and terms addressed in Chapter 18. I'm not sure if the video embedded in the presentation will play, but here is the document again if you wanted to check it out (or missed class).

Google Drive - Introduction to Torts PowerPoint Presentation

Most of these should not be new concepts, but some of the ways of explaining them might have helped you understand better. These terms will be on a test, for sure.

Chapter 18 Worksheet: We started this at the end of class - I think many people were able to finish. Next class, we will go over it, then start on the work in Chapter 19.

See you on Thursday!

Period 2: Intro to Civil Law, Day 7 - Class Recap

A look at the White House, in Washington, DC. We talked today about the federal government shutdown in class.

Dear class,

Welcome to your three day weekend! Here's what we did this morning.

Soundtrack: “Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer. Selected because we are waiting on the U.S. government to end the shutdown. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/10/13:
Tort Report
Shutdown
Continue Hot Coffee
Grade Check/Work

Homework: Turn in any missing/late work by the end of the day (today), in order for your progress report grade to be updated. Read the blog! Have a great weekend. Tort Report assigned to: Ellen.

Tort Report: Antonio had an article that he talked about, in regards to a lawsuit, but he hasn't emailed it or given me the printout yet, so I can't post it or give him credit (yet) for the assignment. Get it to me, Antonio!

Shutdown: I wanted to be sure to take a little time to address the current U.S. government shutdown and how it is related to what we talked about at the start of the year. Why can't President Obama simply declare a new national budget? Answer: because the legislative branch of the government is what decides new laws and passes the budget. Why can't the Republicans in the House of Representatives get what they want in terms of reforming (or defunding) the Affordable Care Act (also known as "Obamacare")? Answer: because President Obama would veto the legislation if it made it to his desk to sign.

Those are two very simplified examples, but hopefully the class understood that our system of limited government and checks and balances means that sometimes, we have conflicts like this. Hopefully, it will get resolved soon.

Continue Hot Coffee: For the rest of class, we watched (and finished) the documentary "Hot Coffee," which looks at four different problems with the civil justice system. The film finished right at the end of class, so we will have a discussion on it next time. If you somehow lost the assignment, here it is:

Google Drive: Hot Coffee Viewing Questions

Hopefully, you found this film interesting. I saw a few attempts to disengage from it, but most of the class looked into it. For me, it is a really excellent way to show interesting aspects of what we are studying.

Grade Check/Work: We did not have any time left over after the documentary was done for this. However, your grades are always posted (by student ID number) in the room. Unless you do something to change that grade by the end of the day, that is what it will be for your progress report.

Let me know if you need any help or support! Have a great weekend.

Period 2: Intro to Civil Law, Day 6 - Class Recap

I don't drink coffee (I have enough energy as is), but here's a delicious morning treat that I once had at JFK airport in New York, in 2010. Jamba Juice is amazing!

Dear class,

As I have said before, I really enjoy exploring different cases and possible outcomes with you all. Yes, this process is somewhat time consuming, but it is also very important to gaining knowledge about how particular laws impact our study. Thanks for following along! Here's what we did today in class.

Soundtrack: “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” by Led Zeppelin. A great song for referencing the concept of liability! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/8/13:
Tort Report
Finish Mosely Case
Chapter 18 Review
Hot Coffee

Homework: Start reviewing terms. Turn in missing work. Check the blog! Tort Report assigned to: Antonio

Tort Report: Patrick brought in this article about one of the largest settlements in California history. SourceFed.com - Brutal Beating Victim Awarded $58 Million Settlement. The picture that accompanies the article gives you an impression of just how bad the man's injuries were. We talked in class about the concept of punitive damages, which is to try and ensure that the entity at fault in a civil case has a big enough incentive to never have something like it happen again.

Finish Mosely Case: Last class, we started looking at Mosely v. Portland Public Schools, which is a case about a student suing the district for negligence in not protecting her from a knife attack. Here is the actual Oregon Supreme Court ruling in the case. Basically, because of the statute cited in the handout, the school was not found responsible. We talked about why this was and then I had students answer a few questions in notebooks, which are on a handout in class.

Chapter 18 Review: Next, we continued our look at the answers to the questions posed in Chapter 18 of the textbook, about various kinds of torts. We still have a few more sections to get through - thank you for working hard on this and contributing to the class discussion.

Hot Coffee: To end class, we started watching the documentary Hot Coffee, which has to do with all sorts of aspects of the civil justice system. In the beginning, it is about the infamous case of a woman spilling McDonald's hot coffee on herself and how that case was misconstrued (in the eyes of the filmmaker) to encourage the concept of tort reform.

Here are the questions that the class is completing as part of watching the documentary. We will occasionally pause and talk about them.

Google Drive: "Hot Coffee" Documentary Viewing Questions

We made it through about the first 15 minutes of the film in class - hopefully we will be able to finish it next class. Usually I do not show entire movies, unless I think they are very good and relevant to what we are learning about. This is definitely one of those circumstances.

We will get back to it next class! Thank you for reading and doing your homework.

Period 2: Intro to Civil Law, Day 5 - Class Recap

One of the topics addressed in today's reading was about civil lawsuits relating to airline bombings. This is a picture I took of a famous airline - Air France - flying in over Maho Bay, St. Maarten in the Caribbean (2009).

Hi everyone,

Hopefully the book work today was not too boring and you are feeling good about where you are in class and the upcoming weekend. Here's what happened today.

Soundtrack: “Remedy” by The Black Crowes. Selected because "remedy" is one of our vocabulary words, as in the restitution owed to make up for a harm done. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/4/13:
Tort Report
Finish Chapter 18
Review
Mosley v. Portland Public Schools

Homework: Start reviewing vocab from Chapter 18. Turn in missing work. Check the blog! Tort Report assigned to: Patrick.

Tort Report: Brenda brought in a news article about the incident in Washington, DC yesterday. It did not have to do with civil law (at least, at the moment), but here it is to check out: Yahoo.com - Attempt to Ram White House Gate Ends With Female Suspect Dead.

Patrick is up next class and he already emailed me an article. Thanks!

Finish Chapter 18: For much of the class, it was quiet work time to be looking over various definitions relating to torts and thinking about different situations they could apply. As I said in the room, we do not have enough Street Law books for every law class, so we just have a class set, which means that sometimes, we will just have to sit and focus on book work. Not my favorite, but necessary so that we get a sense of the terms and situations. I will present the same information in other formats, as well.

Review: I always love talking about these sorts of situations (which came up as the answers to 18.1-11). We went through the answers up to 18.4 in class today, and we will continue this next class. To be honest, I value the discussion and critical thinking from students way more than just the answers in the notebook. That you are actively engaged and thinking about these situations is so important for understanding the content.

Mosley v. Portland Public Schools: To end class, I handed out an actual case that occurred about 20 years ago at Jefferson High School in Portland, having to do with a student getting knifed and then suing the district. I divided the class in half and then had the two sides debate. Next class, we will look at the actual result and answer the questions related to the case.

Have a great weekend!

Period 2: Intro to Civil Law, Day 4 - Class Recap

This is a picture of me with my friends Scott and Clarke before a Portland Blazers playoff game in 2009. If a fight had broken out at this moment and I knocked both of them unconscious with my superhuman strength, I could be tried both as a criminal (for battery) and in a civil court (for damages related to the incident, like medical bills). It's a good thing I have the restraint not to commit such actions!

Hi everyone,

I am glad that we are starting to finally get into specifics of the class! I know it might be tedious at first to learn vocabulary from the book, but it is definitely necessary in order to know what we are talking about. Thank you for the participation today.

Soundtrack: “Royals” by Lorde. Selected for today because it is a very popular current song and royals/rulers are people that oversee laws. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/2/13:
Tort Report
Student Bill of Rights
What is a Tort?
Torts Chapter Work

Homework: Start reviewing terms. Turn in missing work. Check the blog! Next Tort Report assigned to: Brenda.

Tort Report: We actually had two tort reports today, due to Sarah being able to present hers. They were: TheGuardian.com - Police accused of bias over culling of badgers (brought in by Brendan) and NBCnews.com - Man wrongly imprisoned in murder case wins $13.2 million in civil rights lawsuit. I think the second article may relate to our class a bit more (being in the US and dealing more with people), but both were interesting to talk about. Thanks!

Student Bill of Rights: We continued thinking about various rights that students should have (remember that last class we read this article about how high school students were being treated like prisoners) and came up with the following:

1. The right to defend yourself.
2. A process to evaluate and possibly remove ineffective educators
3. No cruel or unusual punishment.
4. Students will be treated equally, regardless of distinction.
5. Students should have the ability to self-govern.
6. Students have freedom of speech.
7. Students should be able to wear whatever they want.
8. Students should be able to choose what work to do.
9. The campus should be open for students to come and go as they please.
10. Students should have the ability to organize groups that are related to any topic they want.

I really appreciated the discussion that these generated as we were thinking about them! In the future, I might ask you to recall this for a test question, or something along those lines.

What is A Tort? Ahh, yes. Finally, we are getting into the details of the class. To begin, I asked the class to think of all the actions that could potentially result in a lawsuit. We created quite a list! This was to get the that there are many different possible lawsuits as a legal remedy for a situation.

Torts Chapter Work: Next, I started going through Chapter 18 in our Street Law textbook (there is an in class set), which is an introduction to torts. We went through a few situations and analyzed whether or not it could be a viable lawsuit as I read the first pages of the chapter aloud. The rest of the class was student directed, as it was going through as much of the rest of the chapter as possible, writing out definitions (aside from what we already know), and attempting to solve the problems presented.

Next class, we will continue on this and talk more about the concept of torts and how they work in practice with examples.