For your final paper, you will undertake an independent project in which you evaluate how law can be, has been, and should be, used to address an issue of social policy that is currently the subject of legislation and/or litigation in the American legal system. Your paper should demonstrate your ability to read case law and evaluate precedent, and to craft an effective legal argument in favor of effecting a particular policy option through the legal system. Papers will be assessed based on the thoroughness, clarity and persuasiveness of your writing and analysis and your effective and accurate integration of legal concepts and principles into your argument.
It should be approximately 10-12 pages long, double-spaced with 12-point type and standard margins. Given the long lead time and the limited time between the due date for papers and the date on which I have to submit grades, I do not anticipate agreeing to extensions.
We have talked in class about citing cases, and you will see that form throughout your class readings and your research for this paper. You will also easily see the correct format for law review articles, and that information is available on the web and through the law librarians. If you use a non-legal source, you may use any generally accepted method of formal citation. I am far less concerned with the technical form of the citation, however, than with its presence, clarity and accuracy.
Finally, your work on this paper must be your own. Any substantial copying without citation, use of ChatGPT, corroboration or other violations of these rules will be reflected in your grade and may result in your not receiving credit for the paper or even failing the class. Although you may discuss your topic in a general way with classmates and others, all writing and ideas must be yours or cited to its original source. This means, of course, that you may not copy any part of your paper, no matter how small and no matter whether you use the exact words or only the ideas, from any other source without attribution. All borrowed words or ideas must be attributed It also means that you alone must do the final writing, without text editing from anyone else. If you have any questions, please discuss them with me or refer to www.upenn.edu/academicintegrity.
Example: Law and Policy Final 2.pdf (attached)
Below are the links to some readings from class and I also attached some readings:
https://ballsandstrikes.org/legal-culture/how-judges-turn-legal-rights-into-hollow-promises/
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/what-biden-cant-do-on-student-debt-and-what-he-wont-do
For people of color, banks are shutting the door to homeownership
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/08/forced-out
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/06/15/remarks-president-immigration
https://www.sentencingproject.org/policy-brief/juvenile-life-without-parole-an-overview/
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/09/lie-about-supreme-court-everyone-pretends-believe/620198/
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2019/06/19/the-case-for-abolition
