Guide to Rules for Lina Professor Charles R. Calleros Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University

I. The Video

Rules for Lina consists of four “cases” in which a mother develops rules for her teenage daughter regarding evening social activities, much as a court would develop common law, case by case. A video enactment of the four cases can be found at http://www.law.asu.edu/RulesForLina. To inquire about purchasing a DVD copy, contact the author at [email protected] or his assistant, [email protected].

Following is a guide to the analysis of Rules for Lina. Anyone is free to use the video and the lesson plan, without obtaining permission or paying a license fee, in any non-profit educational presentation. Instructors should give suitable credit to the author and should also note ways in which they have altered the author’s work, if any. For permission to use the video or lesson plan in any for-profit enterprise, contact the author at [email protected].

A workshop on Rules for Lina is appropriate for (1) outreach programs to prelaw students, either in high school or college, (2) experienced foreign law students who need an introduction to the common law system, and (3) first-semester law students who need a simple and non-threatening introduction to case analysis and synthesis, outlining, and exam- taking.

II. The Four Cases

After each case, the instructor should lead discussion before presenting the next case. Breaking students into small groups of two or three prior to group discussion is often productive.

A. Case #1

In the first week, Lina’s mother obviously disapproves of Lina’s behavior. Like a judicial opinion whose holding can be read broadly or narrowly, however, the mother’s precise “holding” is uncertain. Did Lina anger her mother by staying out after 11 pm, thus suggesting that her mother is creating an 11 pm curfew? Or does her mother disapprove of JJ’s pizza parlor because it is an unsafe or otherwise inappropriate location for socializing after the football game? Or was her mother upset only because Lina had not informed her of the plans to go somewhere after the football game? Any of these interpretations – and probably others as well – are reasonable interpretations of the case, just as judicial precedent is often ambiguous in its reach, permitting opposing attorneys to reasonably argue that the precedent applies in different ways to a new dispute.

Lina is motivated to clarify her mother’s ruling so that she can avoid being grounded in the future. The instructor can suggest that clarification may lie in viewing more cases.

1 B. Case #2

It will soon become apparent that this case, taking place a week later, is identical to Case #1, except that Lina called her mother after the football game to inform her mother of the plans to go to the pizza parlor. Since her mother’s reaction to Lina’s activities was positive, it’s clear that notification was the critical factor in both cases, and that Lina is not subject to an 11 pm curfew and is not forbidden to go to JJ’s pizza parlor. The students have just engaged in a simple synthesis of two cases and now should have a clearer understanding of the rule that the mother applied in both cases.

C. Case #3

A new rule has been added to the mix: Regardless whether Lina informs her mother of her activities, Lina must come home by midnight. So her mother does have a curfew, but it was not violated until this case.

In this case, Lina’s mother also explains her motivation for having rules: she wants to protect Lina’s health and safety. Understanding the policies behind the rules may help students to development arguments about how the rules should apply to future cases.

D. Case #4

In a surprising twist, Lina is not only permitted, but is required to stay out after midnight to attend a relative’s wedding. Students might reasonably conclude that the mother is carving out an exception to the curfew rule for important family events, perhaps limited to events at which the mother is present so that she can monitor Lina’s well-being late at night.

III. Outline, Essay Exam, and Sample Answer

A. Sample Outline of the Rules

Instructors might want to coach first semester law students on the mechanics of developing an outline from cases that they have synthesized, and then ask the students to spend a few minutes beginning their outline of the rules for Lina. For a discussion of outlining techniques, see Charles R. Calleros, LAW SCHOOL EXAMS: PREPARING AND WRITING TO WIN 55-66 (Aspen Publ. 2007), or Charles R. Calleros, LEGAL METHOD AND WRITING 125-46 (5th ed. Aspen Publ. 2006).

Prelaw students can skip this step, and can simply be provided with the sample outline to help them prepare their arguments in the essay examination.

2 Sample Outline of Rules Derived from the Four Cases:

I. Lina’s mother limits the evening social activities of her high-school-age daughter, Lina, to protect Lina from harm and to ensure that adequate time is reserved for sleep and maintaining good health. A. Lina must inform her mother of her plan for social activities, including using a phone to report new plans to move from one activity to another. 1. Example: In Case 1, Lina’s mother was unhappy when Lina went to a pizza parlor after the Friday night football game without informing her mother of the trip to the pizza parlor. 2. Example: In Case 2, Lina’s mother was content when Lina went to the Friday night football game and then to the pizza parlor after informing her mother of the post-football pizza plans. B. Lina must return home from evening social activities by midnight, unless the event is an important family gathering. 1. Example: In Case 2, Lina’s mother was content when Lina informed her mother of her plans and returned home shortly after 11 P.M. 2. Example: In Case 3, Lina informed her mother of her activities but was admonished when she entered the house after midnight. 3. Exception: In Case 4, Lina was permitted, and even required, to attend a relative’s wedding at which the family attended, where her mother participated and could monitor Lina’s activities.

Essay Question:

On Friday night, Lina went to the football game with a date, Pat, and then to JJ’s Pizza Parlor. Lina had earlier informed her mother of these plans. When Lina and Pat returned at 11:55 P.M., they parked in the driveway at Lina’s house, within view of Lina’s mother, who saw them through the living room window. While parked in the driveway, Lina and Pat talked and held hands for 20 minutes. After Pat kissed Lina goodbye and drove away, Lina entered her house at 12:15 A.M. On Saturday afternoon, Lina asked her mother whether Lina could go with friends to the high school basketball game, to watch Lina’s brother play in the first of more than two dozen games in the basketball season. This first game is being played in another city, so Lina will ride in the car of another family, which plans to go out for a snack after the game, and probably will not return Lina to her home until after midnight. Lina’s mother plans to attend some home games during the season, but she does not plan to attend this first “away” game. Fully discuss whether Lina’s action on Friday and request on Saturday are consistent with her mother’s rules regarding Lina’s social activities. For every issue that you identify, summarize the rule that helps to resolve that issue, apply the rule to the relevant facts, and reach a conclusion. Whenever possible, discuss both sides of the question. Support your arguments with specific facts, and with policy considerations when feasible.

3 Sample Answer {this is just an example and not the only reasonable analysis} To promote health and academic progress, Lina’s mother requires Lina to keep her mother informed of her plans for evening social activities, and her mother also requires Lina to return from social outings by midnight, with exceptions for important family events. Lina has kept her mother informed of her activities. However, Lina’s Friday night outing raises an issue about what acts satisfy the midnight curfew, and Lina’s request on Saturday raises an issue about a possible exception to the curfew.

1. Did Lina return “home” by midnight? Although Lina normally must return from social outings by midnight, it’s not clear how that rule applies to this case, because Lina returned to the driveway of her home by 11:55 P.M., within the curfew, but did not enter her home until 12:15 A.M., 15 minutes beyond the curfew. On these facts, Lina might have satisfied the curfew, because Lina has technically returned home before midnight by returning to the family property, albeit outside the house. One of the policy concerns underlying the curfew rule is Lina’s safe return at night. That policy is likely to be vindicated if Lina has safely returned to the general property by midnight and is appropriately socializing within her mother’s view. A focus on that policy, therefore, supports a liberal interpretation of the rule that would find no violation in this case. On the other hand, the policy of promoting health and adequate time for sleep is not advanced by Lina’s presence in the driveway, because Lina cannot prepare to sleep until she enters the house. If the curfew rule is accordingly interpreted to require Lina to enter the house before midnight, this case is not materially distinguishable from Case 3, in which Lina was admonished for returning home after midnight after football and pizza. I conclude that . . . . [either conclusion is fine]

2. Does the brother’s basketball game qualify as an exception to curfew rule? The curfew rule does not apply to important family events, such as the wedding of a relative. In this case, Lina wishes to watch Lina’s brother play in a basketball game, an event that arguably is a significant family event justifying an exception to the curfew rule. An exception might be appropriate, because Lina is obviously closely related to her brother, and the first game of the season likely is an important event for the brother and thus for Lina’s family. Moreover, particularly because Lina’s mother will not attend this game, Lina’s brother will not receive any family support unless Lina attends. On the other hand, the absence of Lina’s mother at the first game suggests that, unlike a relative’s wedding, the game is not a significant family event; it is one of more than two dozen in the season, which will include home games that are more convenient for the family to attend. Moreover, a family event justifies an exception to the curfew rule partly because the mother is present to monitor the activities of her children. Even if Lina’s brother strongly desires support from some family member at the first game of the season, Lina’s attending the game alone would not satisfy her mother’s desire to monitor her activities after midnight. This factor is mitigated, but perhaps not eliminated, by the fact that Lina would travel to the away game with another family. On balance, I conclude . . . . [either conclusion is fine]

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