WRITING
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS FOR WINTER QUARTER:
Instructions for Essay #1 (First full draft due for peer editing on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 11:00-1:00. Final draft due at beginning of seminar on Thursday, Jan. 26.)
Writing the Statement of the Case for the Appellate Brief (due Thursday, January 19, 9:00 a.m. at the Law Workshop)
Instructions for Ethnography of the Washington Supreme Court (two 1-2 page papers both due at beginning of seminar in Week V, Tuesday, Feb. 7. Scroll down for advice on accessing the State Supreme Court oral arguments. *
Writing the Questions Presented for the Appellate Brief (due Thursday, January 26, 9:00 a.m. at the Law Workshop)
Instructions for Essay #2 (First full draft due for peer editing on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 12:00-1:00. Final draft due at beginning of seminar on Thursday, Feb. 9.)
Writing the Argument for the Appellate Brief (Outline due Thursday, February 2, first draft due Thursday, February 9, second draft due Thursday, February 16, 9:00 a.m. at the Law Workshop)
Writing the Summary and Conclusion(s) for the Appellate Brief (due Thursday, February 16, along with second draft of argument)
Presentation of Self: Overview
Presentation of Self: Guide to Organzing Your Oral Analysis and Developing Your Written Analysis (Oral analysis and final written discourse analysis due Wednesday, March 8)
Presentation of Self: Transcription Guide
*Oral arguments for the ethnography assignment can be accessed from the online Washington Supreme Court oral argument archives of the TVW public affairs television station. If you do not have either Windows Media Player or Real Player on your computer to view this, you can download the software free. Click on the one you want to link to its download center. These oral arguments are large files, so you may encounter some difficulty downloading them when the Internet is congested at peak hours or if you do not have a fast enough modem. Cable is best. For best viewing, avoid peak (daytime and early evening) times of Internet use. If you encounter problems of the type we had in class, I recommend that rather than viewing the oral argument online you save the media file to your computer, let it take as long it needs to fully download (while you are doing something else), and then view it later offline. At 11 p.m., it took me 3 seconds to save one of the oral argument files. I was then able to play it back without any interruptions. If you have a PC, you save a file by right-clicking on the link ("watch"), selecting the "Save Target Link As" option, and browsing to the place on your computer where you want to save the file. The file is then on your computer and you won't have any "buffering" problems commonly encountered with streaming audio from the Internet. If you have a Mac with a two-button mouse, I assume that the procedure is the same. If there is still such a thing as a one-button mouse for the Mac, you hold down the mouse button instead of right-click. Viewing the file offline also makes it easier to zoom to full sceen on your player (Real Player or Windows Media Player). --JG
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS FOR FALL QUARTER:
Handout: Explanation of Writing Assignments
Handout: First Expository Essay Topic
Handout: Ethnography Assignment #1 (See below for help on locating courts for this assigment)
Handout: Second Expository Essay Topic (due Week V)
Handout: Ethnography Assignment #2 (due Tuesday of Week VI)
Handout: Third Expository Essay Topic (due Tuesday of Week VII)
Handout: Ethnography Assignment #3 (due Tuesday of Week VIII)
Handout: Final Ethnography Assignment (due Thursday of Week IX)
Handout: Fourth Expository Essay Topic (due Tuesday of Week IX)
Handout: Final Assignment for Language Workshop (due Thursday of Week X)
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Ethnography: Information About the Courts
The recommended court settings for your ethnographic observation are the criminal and traffic courts in your county. Locally, these are the Thurston County Superior Court and the Thurston County District Court. The criminal courts are more likey than the civil courts to yield ethnographic observations that will lead to a thick description.
Thurston County Superior Court is a state trial court of general jurisdiction situated in Thurston County. This court has state-wide jurisdiction and hears major criminal matters (felonies), civil cases over $35,000, cases involving real property, domestic relations matters, appeals from lower courts (Thurston County District and Municipal Courts), and appeals from state administrative agencies.
Juvenile Court is a department of Superior Court and hears juvenile offender matters as well as child dependency cases. Juvenile Court also operates a juvenile detention facility.
Drug Court, another department of Superior Court, is an alternative to jail and/or prison available to eligible non-violent drug and property felony offenders. It integrates chemical dependency treatment and community resources/ancillary services with the criminal justice system.
The District Courts in Washington State are a court of limited jurisdiction. These courts have concurrent jurisdiction with superior courts over misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor violations and civil cases under $50,000. They have exclusive jurisdiction over small claims and infractions.
The Thurston County Court complex (superior court, district court, drug court) is located at 2000 Lakeridge Drive in Olympia. The courtrooms of the District Court are located in Building 3. The courtrooms of the Superior Court are located in Building 2.
For your convenience, I have culled the various court websites and have listed below the court calendars outside our class times :
Mondays: 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., hearings on a variety of matters in the Criminal/Traffic District Court (Building 3). The District Court calendar lists types of cases. Please note that 3:00 p.m. is not an ending time. That is the time the last cases of the day are calendared, so the courtroom likely is open long beyond that time, certainly at least until 4:00 p.m.
Wednesdays: 1:30 p.m., noncompliance hearings in the Criminal Court of Thurston County Superior Court (Building 2). Calendar
Wednesdays: 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., hearings on variety of matters in the Criminal/Traffic District Court (Building 3). See Monday, above, for more information.
Fridays: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., hearings on a variety of matters in the Criminal/Traffic District Court (Building 3). The District Court calendar lists types of cases. Please note that 4:00 p.m. is calendar time, not the ending time.
Fridays: 1:30 p.m., miscellaneous motions in the Criminal Court of the Thurston County Superior Court (Building 2). Calendar
Fridays: 2:00 p.m. (until 3:30 or 4:00, depending on number of cases), Drug Court (Building 2, Room 129).
Fridays: 9:00 a.m., variety of civil matters in six courtrooms of the Thurston County Superior Court (Building 2). The activity is these courtrooms is not likely to be as rich for our ethnographic study as the activity found in the criminal or traffic courts of both the District and Superior Courts. Calendar
Useful links:
Directions and Map to the Thurston County Courthouse
Directory of District Courts in the State of Washington
Washington State Court Directory by County
Washington State Court Directory by City
