Posted Notice August 20, 1999

General Information

Personal Bio Writing Assignment

Reading Assignments

Privacy Material Discussion 

1.  Pick up and read the course syllabus, available from Mr. Johnson's assistant, Sharlee Fuller, Room 433. It includes early reading and writing assignments, including discussion questions for our first class meeting, August 25.

2.  First class meeting is Wednesday, August 25, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Room 125.

3.  The casebook is: Carter, Franklin and Wright, The First Amendment and the Fifth Estate (5th ed. 1999), available from the law school bookstore.

4.  The first reading assignment is pp. 817-866 -- but be sure to see the section in the syllabus headed "Privacy Material Discussion Wednesday, August 25."

5.  Coordinates for Mr. Johnson are: voice phone and messages: 337-5555; e-mail: njohnson@inav.net; office: room 445.  His Web page (with useful resources for you and links to past classes) is: https://www.nicholasjohnson.org [Previously http://soli.inav.net/~njohnson ]

6. Assistant.  Mr. Johnson’s assistant is Sharlee Feller, Room 433, voice phone and messages: 335-9091; e-mail: sharlee-feller@uiowa.edu

Coordinates: E-mail: njohnson@inav.net Voice: 319-337-5555 (with 24-hour answering machine, where all messages should be left) Postal: Box 1876, Iowa City IA 52244-1876 Web page: https://www.nicholasjohnson.org [Previously http://soli.inav.net/~njohnson ] Office: Room 445, 335-9146 Assistant:  Sharlee Fuller, Room 433, 335-9091.

Time and Place:  Class meets 14 Wednesday evenings, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Room 125 BLB, August 25 through December 1, except for November 24 (Thanksgiving recess).  The final exam is scheduled for Tuesday, December 7, 8:30 a.m.  (Of course, confirm that prior to the exam.)

Casebook:  Carter, Franklin and Wright, The First Amendment and the Fifth Estate (5th ed. 1996)

Purpose:  The "information economy" now constitutes over one half of our gross domestic product.  This course is designed to help you identify, and think through, some of the legal and public policy issues of this Information Age.  Law of Electronic Media (LEM) is one of a cluster of intellectual property courses including Copyright, Cyberspace Law Seminar, First Amendment seminars, Entertainment Law, Patents and Trademarks, and Sports Law -- among others.  (None is a prerequisite.)

Assignments:  See the posted assignment for August 25, the related discussion questions contained in the syllabus, and the personal bio assignment due August 31. It is strongly recommended, if you have not already read it, that you read “So You Want to be a Lawyer: A Play in Four Acts,” available on the Web frohttps://www.nicholasjohnson.org [Previously http://soli.inav.net/~njohnson ]A> under “Nicholas Johnson Writing.”
 
Exams, Grades:  To provide the instructor and students with feedback and incentives, there may be (with advance notice) brief quizzes.  The final will be an open book essay and closed book multiple-choice exam.  Ten percent of the grade will be based on class participation.

Attendance:  You are urged to make the effort to be prepared for, attend, and participate in, every class.  The ABA, AALS and College of Law rules require students to be in "regular attendance."  For this course, "regular attendance" will be 75 per cent (11 of the 14 class sessions).  You are encouraged to save the permitted absences for the end of the semester as those attending less than that (whether excused or unexcused) may be dropped.

Reservation:  An effort will be made to provide advance notice of assignments and exams, respond to reasonable suggestions, and minimize changes.  But the instructor reserves the right to make changes believed to be of benefit to students. 

One of the greatest resources of any law school is the intellectual quality, and diversity of background and experience, of its student body.  We are particularly blessed at Iowa in that respect.  The more we can all know about each other, and the resources we bring to the classroom, the more each of us can take from it.  Besides, it's more fun knowing who these folks are with whom you are about to be locked in a room for 14 evenings.

So, please hand in (to Sharlee Feller, Room 433) by August 31 a brief, one page essay about yourself that can be shared with other members of the class.  You need not, but may, examine examples in bio booklets from past classes, available from Ms. Feller.  We'll put together a comparable one for our class, make copies, and give you one.

Obviously, if there is anything you want to keep to yourself you are a skillful enough writer to do so.  There's nothing you must include.

But while you wait for the muse to strike, be aware that the following kinds of things would be interesting and useful:  (1) something of your family, community and upbringing, (2) early ambitions, goals or professional interests, (3) college majors, intellectual interests, activities, (4) work, travel or other job related experiences, (5) your current obligations and environment outside of law school (e.g., marital and parental status or other family responsibilities, nature and demands of outside employment, hobbies or other activities), (6) areas of specialization in law school, student activities, or legal internships, (7) any experiences working for (or dealing with) print or electronic media, advertising, or political campaigning, (8) future goals, expectations and plans for using your legal education, (9) electronics hobbies (e.g., amateur radio license, computers).

Format Request.  Please use (1) one page maximum, (2) single spaced, (3) using a computer printer or typewriter that creates copy sufficiently dark to make machine copies possible, (3) one inch margins all around, (4) jagged, not justified, right margin, (5) a heading that includes your name, date, and “Personal Bo,” (6) no indentation of paragraphs, (7) any reasonable font.

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* These assignments are, of course, "subject to change" -- including changes proposed by you that are (a) rational, and (b) supported by a significant proportion of your colleagues.  Failing that, this is my current best effort at a reasonable inclusion/exclusion of material and its ordering. Note that we will, at some point, have a scheduled make-up class (to make up for the evening of September 15). The precise date will take into account any conflicts you may have. The reading assignment will also reflect your preferences and our coverage of material at that point.

** This memo is available online and in hard copy from Ms. Feller (Room 333).

As you know from the posted assignment sheet, Wednesday evening we will be discussing the "privacy" material, chapter 14, pp. 817-866.

In preparing yourself to comprehend, and be able to discuss, this material, keep the following (illustrative, not exhaustive) questions/issues in mind:

Prior to/without regard to "media," and without regard to newer technologies (such as the Internet), what are the contexts in which the law has recognized a right of "privacy" and some examples of each?

What is it precisely/how would you describe the nature of the interest that the law is protecting in these cases (e.g., is the trespass relevant in the privacy trespass cases; and, by contrast, how is "privacy" relevant to the Onassis and kidnapping cases on p. 824)?

How would you go about the task of figuring out what is a "reasonable expectation of privacy"?  What factors might modify that expectation from one context/person/time to another?  Do you agree with the Dietemann court, p. 830, that we "should not be required to take the risk" of recording? (p. 831)

Where did "for advertising purposes, or the purposes of trade" come from?  Is it an accident of history or a rational standard?  How does the right protected differ from colloquial "privacy"?

What are the implications of "privacy law" for the news media?  What considerations do the media bring to the balance?  Are ethical/professional standards enough, or do we need "law"? Are there categories of facts that should not be published under any/most circumstances?  Why?

What are some of the technologies available today with privacy implications?  Do they create a unique set of new issues/problems, or are they merely extensions/applications of the old ones?

Finally -- or, perhaps, first -- it is important to be able to feel, as well as to intellectualize, what these cases are about.  In "actors' studio" fashion, try to recall an instance in which you thought your privacy was inappropriately compromised.  What were your feelings at that time? Why is this understanding important to your comprehension of privacy law?