Featured Website: YouTube Channel for Jason Mance Gordon

ALSB member Jason Mance Gordon from Georgia Gwinnett College maintains a YouTube site with a hundred or more short informative videos on BLAW topics. I find that sometimes it is important to stop prattling on in front of the class and show a video, even if it is just another professor talking.  It is at least something different that causes students to look up from their computers.  Also, links can be provided for students who need a quick explanation of a concept.  As always with YouTube videos, you should screen the video first to make sure it is consistent with your own teaching.

Example: What is a Tort?

Featured Website: USLawEssentials YouTube Site

According to his USLawEssentials Blog, New York Attorney Daniel Edelson teaches United States Law at Soongsil University College of Law in Seoul, S. Korea.  I stumbled upon his YouTube site while looking for some resources on jurisdiction. Attorney Edelson has produced a number of videos based on questions that he has been asked by his international students.  I thought the videos that I had an opportunity to smaple were simple without being simplistic.  They are short (3-4 minutes) and limited to a single topic.They strike me as being at just about the right level of depth of analysis to assist undergraduates in understanding basic law concepts.  The site includes about 70 videos on a wide range of topics relevant to BLAW, all posted since about April of 2014 with more being posted daily.  Below is a sample on Long Arm Jurisdiction.

"American President" Movie Speech Echoes Supreme Court

The American Rhetoric Website on Movie Speeches offers an opportunity to view President Andrew Shepherd's (Michael Douglas) address to the press from the movie The American President. Shepherd, running for re-election has been attacked by his opponent on "character issues." The widower president had begun dating an environmental lobbyist, Syndney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening), when an old photo of her surfaced. The image captured a college -aged Wade burning an American flag during a protest.

Shephard's impassioned words echo Justice Brennan's decision in Texas v. Johnson (flag burning case):

The best way to preserve the flag’s special role in our lives is not to punish those who feel differently but to persuade them that they are wrong.  We do not honor our flag by punishing those who burn it, because in doing so we diminish the freedom that this cherished emblem represents.

I find this clip useful to describe the concept and legal principles surrounding political speech to set the stage for a comparative analysis of commercial speech.

To view the speech from The American President, click here or on the image below:

Featured Website: Top Documentary Films

Top Documentary Films features an impressive list of full length documentaries available on-line free of charge. What a great way to extend the classroom by assigning movies for students to watch outside of class!  The list of movies available is quite extensive and diverse. I pulled out a few relevant examples:

Big Brother, Big Business
trailer:


Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
trailer:



WalMart: the High Cost of Low Price
trailer:


Consuming Kids
trailer:


Capitalism: a Love Story
trailer:

"Frivolous" Lawsuit Stories Exposed by Cracked.com

The website Cracked.com reports on 6 Famous "Frivolous Lawsuit" Stories That Are Total BS. Undergraduate students are very familiar with the Cracked website which provides a healthy dose of humor and sarcasm to the youger generation.  Warning! Cracked does not hesitate to express its ideas in language that you would otherwise try to avoid in class. So, I wouldn't put this up on the projector, but I might assign it on a syllabus.

A sampling of other Cracked articles of interest:
5 Awesomely Sarcastic Supreme Court Decisions
7 Bullshit Police Myths Everyone Believes (Thanks to Movies)
The 5 Most Wildy Illegal Court Rulings in Movie History
7 Brilliant Movie Lawyers (Who Suck at Their Job)
6 Judges Who Went Completely Insane on The Bench

Featured Website: LawInfo.com YouTube Channel

The Law Info You Tube channel has a plethora of short (around 1:00) videos that are great for introducing legal topics or defining terms. I find that students can zone out on my voice.  Sure, I can define a promissory note or briefly introduce the concept of employment discrimination, but having another face/voice do it gives an opportunity to have students close laptops to look up at a video and lends credibility to what I have to say (since the video lawyer agrees).  Below are some examples:

Click on the image below to see a video on Promissory Notes:



Click on the image below to see a video on Commercial Speech:

Introduction to Torts . . . or is it "Sorts?"

Professor Robert Emerson at the University of Florida maintains a YouTube channel with a host of delightful videos, many featuring his unique talents for student engagement. I use the video below to introduce the Torts unit in my Legal Environment class. If you visit Professor Emerson's channel, you are certain to find a video resource that will enhance your class presentations.  Thank you, Prof. Emerson, for sharing these valuable resources with your colleagues by making them available on the web.

Featured Website: The Georgia Civil Justice Foundation

The Georgia Civil Justice Foundation maintains a website with a wealth of materials to assist in educating students about the law. I have made regular use of their videos and animations, accessed by scrolling over the book titles on the bookshelf exhibited at the webpage.  Some of the videos are available at a YouTube channel, if that gives you more flexibility in using these resources.

Unconscionability as Introduced by Professor Sam

The video below is merely one of many made available by former ALSB Master Teacher Award Winner Professor Samuel Hodge at Temple University.  Professor Hodge maintains a YouTube channel hosting a number of usefully entertaining videos.  He also maintians an interactive website providing additional resources. Thank you, Prof. Hodge, for making these delightful teaching resources available to all your colleagues by uploading them to the web.

Featured Website: Clipart, ETC.

Clipart, ETC is an online service of Florida's educational technology clearinghouse. The Consumer Math section of the site has a number of illustrations that I have found useful to exhibit various types of commercial paper and indorsements.  According to the licensing instructions, one may use up to 50 images per project, for educational purposes, without seeking permission.  The site should be credited when images are used.

Credit for the following images: http://etc.usf.edu/clipart

Featured Website - The Copyright Website

This website contains alot of practical information regarding copyright law. I like to use the music section of this site. I have used the George Harrison and ZZ Top examples in class.  The Harrison case is readily available.  I also use the George Harrison example in class to introduce a discussion of the case betwen Harrison and his former manager, Allen Klein.  That case deals with an agent's ongoing duty to protect a principal's confidential information. The music section is easy to use and a very nice classroom resource.  Despite my best effors, I have been unable to determine the identity of the host of this site, but the information has been reliable.

Access Copyright Website Here 



George Harrison:


Alan Klein:

 

Featured Website: Picturing Justice

Picturing Justice was the On-Line Journal of Law and Popular Culture hosted by John Denvir at the University of San Francisco Law School.  Although the Journal is no longer accepting new articles, the archive remains accessible and includes movie reviews, TV show reviews and news and editorials.  There is plenty here to feed an interest in incorporating popular cultural resources and themes into the classroom.

Kudos to John for his fine work over the years. I was sad to see the Journal close. I can't help but wonder if there is interest out there, in ALSB or elsewhere, to coordinate more scholarly discusion of Law and Popular Culture issues. Is there any interest out there in starting a new version of Picturing Justice?

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS PICTURING JUSTICE ARCHIVE

Featured Website: American Rhetoric - Movie Speeches

The American Rhetoric - Movie Speeches site gives access to a wealth of video clips from popular movies.  There are a number of law related movies.  Three of my favorites are:



Frank Galvin's closing argument in "The Verdict": After the judge instructs the jury to disregard the testimony of the  plaintiff's keywitness, Galvin (Paul Newman) prompts the jury to nullification with the brilliantly delivered mandate, "YOU are the law."

Vincent Gambini's cross-examination of Mr. Tipton from "My Cousin Vinny": Vinny (Joe Pesce) uses his newly discovered knowledge of Southern cuisine to prove a key eyewitness could have been mistaken in his identification of Billy and Stan as the perpetrators in a murder.

President Andrew Shepherd's press conference address from "The American President": After his political opponent questions his character, Shepard (Michael Douglas) addresses the charges including the criticism of Shepard's girlfriend for a college-age protest in which an American flag was burned. I show this clip when we discuss Texas v. Johnson

Other law related movies from which clips are available at the site include:

Adam's Rib
Amistad
Inherit the Wind
Judgment at Nuremberg
Legally Blonde
The Hurricane
The Shawshank Redemption
To Kill a Mockingbird
Wall Street

Featured Website: NY Times v. Sullivan - The Full Page Ad

Thanks to English Professor Jean Goodwin the New York Times full page ad that was the subject of this famous case is readily available in both facsimile and in text formats.  Professor Goodwin has also summarized the allegedly false statements giving rise to the defamation claim. The link to her main site for the case is here.

Here are some images of Montgomery Alabama Commissioner L.B. Sullivan: