THE LAW of 24 Exploring U.S
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GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER THE LAW OF 24 Exploring U.S. Counterterrorism Efforts and the Rule of Law WALTER GARY SHARP, SR. Adjunct Professor of Law SYLLABUS Spring Semester 2008 – LAWG/J-853-08 – Room H5021 THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 5:45 P.M. AND 7:45 P.M., ON TUESDAYS OF THE SPRING SEMESTER DURING THE 2008 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. The award winning Fox Television drama series 24* explores America’s fictional response to international terrorism through the eyes of Jack Bauer, a U.S. counter-terrorism agent. Oftentimes, without remorse or regard for the law, Agent Bauer is willing to do what has to be done when faced with the threat of kidnappings, assassinations, nuclear detonations, and bioterrorism on U.S. soil – despite traitors in his family, his unit, and the White House; partisan politics; sleeper cells; and hidden agendas. This course provides a detailed understanding of a very wide-range of U.S. domestic and international legal issues concerning counterterrorism in the context of the utilitarian and sometimes desperate responses to terrorism raised by the plot of 24. Course requirements include active classroom discussion and a paper of approximately 25 pages. [Two Semester Hours. Recommended: International Law] LECTURES AND CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS OCCUR IN REAL-TIME. COURSE MATERIALS: COUNTERTERRORISM LAW (© 2007 Aspen Publishers), Stephen Dycus, William C. Banks, and Peter Raven-Hansen. SECRETS OF 24 (© 2007 Squibnocket Partners LLC), Dan Burstein & Arne J. de Keijzer, Editors. Online supplemental materials identified in syllabus. * 24 is produced by FoxTM in association with Real Time Productions. FOX™ is a registered trademark of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, used under license by FOX. © 2001-2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. 1 THE LAW OF 24 Exploring U.S. Counterterrorism Efforts and the Rule of Law ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES – SPRING 2008 Although “The Law of 24” is named after the very popular television series “24”, this course is a serious examination of U.S. counterterrorism efforts and the rule of law. Students do not have to be a fan or regular viewer of the show “24” to enjoy or excel in the course. The intent is to draw from America’s fictional response to international terrorism presented in “24” as a series of hypotheticals for classroom discussion. Agent Jack Bauer’s utilitarian and sometimes desperate efforts to prevent terrorism on U.S. soil frequently cross conventional legal boundaries, but Jack Bauer’s heroic efforts – often at great personal sacrifice – highlight the extraordinary challenges facing democracies that must balance civil liberties during their struggle against terrorism. Always operating under the constant pressure of a ticking-bomb scenario, Jack Bauer is keenly aware of issues of morality and legality, but he always justifies his means for the greater good. The challenges presented in balancing U.S. civil liberties in times of crises, however, are not new to our great Nation. While under a declaration of martial law during the U.S. Civil War, Lamdin Milligan and four others were detained by the military and sentenced to hang by military court for charges including insurrection and conspiracy against the United States. In his argument before the court, the counsel for petitioner Milligan characterized the landmark 1866 U.S. Supreme Court habeas corpus case Ex parte Milligan as a “question of the rights of the citizen in time of war.” He condemned martial law as martial rule; i.e., no law at all, but he recognized utilitarian reasoning as a way to balance morality and legality in his eloquent discussion of the legal maxim “necessitas quod cogit defendit” [necessity justifies what it compels]. He warns, however, that “the person acting under the pressure of necessity, real or supposed, acts at his peril.” No legal maxim better describes Jack Bauer’s reasoning and no warning is more appropriate. “The Law of 24” is a two-credit course that requires active classroom participation, a five-minute presentation in class on the student’s paper topic, and a paper of approximately 25 pages. Students are expected to read or view and be prepared to discuss all required assignments, and regular attendance is considered a part of classroom participation. Students must abide by all Law Center policies. Without express permission from the professor otherwise, laptop computers may only be used in the classroom for purposes of taking notes. The students’ final grade will be based upon: Classroom participation: 30% Paper presentation: 10% Paper: 60% There are two required books for this class. The casebook is COUNTERTERRORISM LAW, published in May 2007 by Professors Stephen Dycus, William C. Banks, and Peter Raven-Hansen. This is an excellent text that comprehensively covers the course material and will serve you in the future as an invaluable reference. For this course, a perfect companion piece to this casebook is SECRETS OF 24, published in December 2007 by The New York Times best-selling authors Dan Burstein and Arne J. de Keijzer. This text is an unauthorized guide, as described on the book’s website www.SecretsOf24.com, to “the political, moral, and philosophical issues underlying the hit television series, drawing on fascinating ideas and arguments from leading political figures, cultural commentators, celebrities, and experts in fields ranging from technology to theology.” Additional online materials to read or view are identified in the syllabus and may also be provided by email ahead of each class. Detailed episode guides for “24” are available online at http://www.fox.com/24/episodes, and a selected bibliography for optional reading is provided at the end of the syllabus. Some of the reading assignments or Georgetown University Law Center The Law of 24 Syllabus, Spring 2008 © Walter Gary Sharp, Sr. 2007-2008 2 materials in the bibliography may be politicized, partisan, or judgmental in nature. Their assignment is not intended to be an endorsement of any one viewpoint or legal opinion. Rather, they are assigned to give the student a situational awareness and factual context that will hopefully make our objective and bipartisan classroom discussion more lively and meaningful. Paper topics must be within the scope of the course. Students must submit by email to the professor for approval a one-paragraph description of their paper topic no later than Tuesday, February 26. Papers must be analytical in nature and not simply a compilation of research applicable to a given topic; i.e., students must present a thesis and support a stated position. Papers must be double-spaced and prepared in Times New Roman 12 point font with one-inch margins, and must be organized as follows: cover page, one-paragraph statement of thesis, table of contents, text of the paper, and bibliography of sources referenced. The paper must be approximately 25 pages (approximately 7,000 words), excluding the word count of footnotes or endnotes, cover pages, bibliographies, etc. Students must include this word count on the cover page of their paper. Papers should be of publishable quality and conform to the 18th edition of THE BLUEBOOK. No interim outlines or drafts are required, but students should feel free to discuss their papers with the professor at anytime. Final papers must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar by close of business on the due dates indicated below and not to the professor. The syllabus is broken down for a reading assignment for each hour of class. Important dates for spring 2008 include: Tuesday, January 15 First day of class Tuesday, February 5 No class, travel of professor Tuesday, February 19 No class, faculty retreat Tuesday, February 26 Paper topic due to professor Tuesday, March 4 No class, spring break Tuesday, March 11 No class, travel of professor Tuesday, April 22 Last scheduled class Monday, April 28 Possible make-up class Monday, April 28 May graduates’ papers due to the Office of the Registrar Tuesday, May 13 All other papers due to the Office of the Registrar Please note the Tuesday evenings set by the school that have no class scheduled. We will not have class on two additional evenings due to my travel schedule. To make up these two nights and hopefully avoid a Saturday or a makeup class, I have proposed that four of our classes spread throughout the semester run for three hours from 5:45 p.m. to 8:50 p.m., as annotated in the following course schedule. We will discuss whether this proposal will work on the first night of class, and will adjust accordingly. As an adjunct professor, I do not keep regular office hours at the Law Center – but I am available for consultation or questions at anytime by phone or email, and as necessary, we can set up a meeting. It is also important to note that although I am a U.S. Government employee, I am teaching this class in my personal capacity and all opinions, conclusions, and recommendations that may be expressed or implied during this class are solely those of the professor and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Defense or any governmental agency or civilian institution. Please feel free to contact me by email at [email protected] or call me on my cell phone at (703) 604-4600. If you need to send me a fax, my personal fax number is (772) 619- 0970. Georgetown University Law Center The Law of 24 Syllabus, Spring 2008 © Walter Gary Sharp, Sr. 2007-2008 3 THE LAW OF 24 Exploring U.S. Counterterrorism Efforts and the Rule of Law COURSE SCHEDULE – SPRING 2008 HOUR