These are the instructions for this paper: The case that I was assigned was O’Co

These are the instructions for this paper:
The case that I was assigned was O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier. 
Supreme Court Prediction Research Paper
Research Paper:  Supreme Court Prediction Paper (modified from an assignment given by Dr. Karen Swenson of Eastern Illinois University).  The entire research paper is worth 25% of your overall class grade.
Your paper will include the following:
Background on the case (approximately 2-3 pages): What are the facts of the case?  Who is the petitioner?  Who is the respondent?  What is the issue before the Supreme Court?  What is the relevant history of this case that led to the case being heard before the Supreme Court? Describe the lower court decisions.  Use at least 3 sources in this section (citing the writ of cert and the respondent’s brief are appropriate)
Precedent case analysis (approximately 2-3 pages):  What is one relevant precedent court case that supports the petitioner’s argument?  What is one relevant court case that supports the respondent’s argument?  Outline the background and outcome of each precedent case and describe 1-2 key arguments that helps the petitioner and 1-2 key arguments made that help the respondent. Use at least 2 sources in this section (citing the precedent case briefs are appropriate)
Parts I and II are worth 5% of your overall course grade.  
DUE DATE:  Friday, March 22nd @ 3pm
Background on two justices (approximately 3-4 pages):  You will need to provide some background information on the Supreme Court justices that you are assigned to research.  Who are these individuals? Where are they from? Where/How did they grow up? Where did they go to school?  What type of things in their formative years  shaped their identity?  What is their political ideology?  What was their path to the Supreme Court?  What types of issues are they passionate about or what causes did they seem to champion when they worked as a lawyer?  Which Supreme Court cases (or earlier cases as a lower court judge) have they been most known for?  Which opinions (majority or dissenting) shape their identity on the Court? Make sure to include some of your own analysis on how what you learned about them shaped the decisions they tend to make as a Supreme Court justice.  (Use at least 2-3 sources for EACH justice for this section.)
Part III is worth 5% of your overall course grade.
DUE DATE: Sunday, April 14th by 5pm
Amicus Briefs Analysis (approximately 2-3 pages):  Select one amicus brief from each side of the case.  What is the STRONGEST argument for each amicus brief?  How does it help support the petitioner’s argument?  How does it help support the respondent’s argument? (Use at least 2 sources for this section.  Using the amicus briefs as your sources is appropriate for this section.  You may also use the Writ of Cert and Respondent’s brief as additional sources for this section.)
Part IV is worth a 25 point assignment.
DUE DATE: Wednesday, April 24th by 1:40pm (class time)
Oral arguments Analysis (approximately 2-3 pages): 
Listen to the oral arguments for your case and do the following analysis (at least a paragraph of information for each #):
Introduced the lawyers arguing each side of the case during oral arguments and provided a basic overview of the key arguments of the case throughout your oral arguments analysis.
Amount of Questions Analysis: Which Supreme Court Justices asked the most questions? Which Supreme Court Justices asked the least questions? Is there anything in the justice’s background that would have led them to speak more or less on this topic?  Did the justices ask anything interesting or unique? Which justice do you believe was the strongest questioner? Why do you think that?  
Petitioner Support Analysis: Which justices seemed to side with the petitioner?  What evidence do you have to support that conclusion? 
Respondent Support Analysis: Which justices seemed to side with the respondent?  What evidence do you have to support that conclusion? 
Personal reflection:  Which side do you believe made stronger arguments for their case?  Why do you think that? 
Grammar and Mechanics: Check your spelling, sentence structure, etc.
If the justices you are researching spoke during the oral arguments be sure to include them in your analysis above- during oral arguments did your justices say anything? Did they tip their hand in how they might vote by seeming to side with the petitioner or respondent?   If your justices were quiet or did not ask much, then the focus of the above questions can be about other justices who did speak more regularly during the arguments. 
Be sure to CITE the oral arguments in this section.  Be sure to use the citation guide to help you.
Part V is worth 5% of your overall course grade.
DUE DATE: Wednesday, May 1st @ 3pm
Prediction Analysis: (approximately 2-3 pages) How will the two justices you were assigned vote on this issue? Will they vote in favor of the petitioner or respondent?  Be sure to give 3 solid reasons for EACH justice with supporting evidence from each justice’s background, voting history, political ideology, etc. that helped you come to that conclusion.  You can incorporate what you heard during oral arguments and/or any relevant news or media coverage on the case that may help to explain how your justice will vote.
It would be appropriate to use both sources you have already used, and additional new sources were appropriate for this section.
Part VI is worth 10% of your overall course grade.
DUE DATE: Wednesday, May 15th @ 3pm (entire paper including the last part for Seniors and all edits made based upon feedback) and Thursday, May 23rd @ 3pm (for Juniors).
Mechanics of the Research Paper:  
Your research paper should have a cover sheet with the name of your paper (at least the case name), your name, the class you are in (Legal Research), and the date
Every part of the research paper that you turn in should be Times New Roman, 12pt font, double spaced, and have page numbers.  
You should make sure to use a traditional paragraph structure and INDENT all new paragraphs.  No section should be one huge paragraph.   
Each section of your paper should have multiple paragraphs. 
Your research paper should have a title and each section of the research paper should have a Roman Numeral Section heading that is BOLDED and clear to see.
Citations
You should also be sure to cite your work consistently using APA citations throughout the paper.  
YOU MUST HAVE IN TEXT CITATIONS!  This can be done using parentheses or by including footnotes. 
Please also include a works cited page at the end of your research paper. 
You can use an online citation generator in order to create your citations.
See the posted citation guide posted to Schoology for more assistance on how to include citations in your paper.
You will turn in each part of the research paper separately according to the requirements listed above.  You should keep adding to the same Google doc as you continue work on your paper. And go back to the original Google document to make any suggested changes or edits based on my feedback.  The final version you submit at the end of the semester should be your best work.
General Sources for this project:
Scotusblog.com (writ of certiorari, respondent’s petition- Parts I and II, amicus briefs- Part IV, oral arguments- Part V)
Oyez.com (quick summary- Part I)
Justia.com (oral arguments- Part V, summary of case- Part I)
JHHS library (biographies and information on the justices- Part III)
New York Times and other online articles & resources (Parts III, Parts VI)