SAMPLE ASSIGNMENTS FOR TERRORISM AND LAW
Please hit your browser's "REFRESH" button each time you visit this page to be certain you are viewing the most current version of this page.

ASSIGNMENT GROUP "A" (Demonstration of Reading, Writing, Understanding, and ability to Think Critically)
    1. Use the Link below to the Webpage Evaluation Form ("Report Card" assignments) -- http://www.apsu.edu/oconnort/webpageevaluation.htm to turn in weekly reports on assigned lecture notes.

    2. Read and turn in a report on Jeffrey Norwitz' article Combatting Terrorism: With a Helmet or Badge?  In your report, assess the problems of treating terrorism as a crime with traditional law enforcement and courtroom procedures.

    3. Turn in a rank order of the top Printed Resources you found helpful in the course (Printed Resources are located at the bottom of each lecture note, so be sure you are including ALL the lecture notes).

    4. Turn in a rank order list of the Top Internet Resources you found helpful in this course (Internet Resources are located at the bottom of each lecture note, so be sure you are including ALL the lecture notes).

ASSIGNMENT GROUP "B" (Essay Questions -  check with instructor to see if assigned)
    1. Analyze the breadth of conspiracy law in relation to anti-terrorism laws being used by police and prosecutors around the nations (in New York and California, especially) to crackdown on gang activity and gang-style loitering.  Use the Internet to find some current or more recent cases, like Gallo v. Acuna or City of New York v. Lenny Andrews aka Bloody Pimp.

    2. Using legal concepts such as "abandonment" and "withdrawal," describe what a successful legal defense might mainly consist of for a Islamic jihadist defendant who claims they tried very hard, in many ways, to get out of being involved with some terrorist cell they were swept up in.  Be sure to make up enough descriptive elements to get you started on what a bona fide and successful legal defense of this kind would look like under U.S. law.

    3. Imagine you live in an apartment building where one of the apartments is occupied by a young man who appears to be of Middle Eastern descent.  You notice that other young men often visit him and that they come and go at odd hours of the night.  One day, while talking to him, you hear him say "You know, the U.S. deserved what happened to it on September 11 because of its imperialist actions across the world and for supporting the oppression of the Palestinian people."  You feel it is your duty to report him to the local police, and they appear interested in your report. A couple of days later, you see him taken away in handcuffs, and you never see him again.  Several days later, his apartment appears vacant, but you do not know for sure or what happened to his belongings.  Should you investigate further, into either his belongings or whatever happened to him? And, how do you feel about what you did?

    4. Prepare a civil action lawsuit against one of the world's leading state sponsors of terrorism. Use President Bush's "axis of evil" indicators, if you must, or choose a country of your own choice that you think has been clearly implicated in terrorism.  Write both the Facts section which contains your abridged description of what the country did, and write the Pleadings section which describes how much compensation ought to be appropriate, including pain and suffering.  Be sure to demonstrate an understanding of the principles of complicity and liability in your writing.

    5.  Describe your opinion about the role of government secrets disclosed or undisclosed or redacted at terrorism trials.  Do you think there is a way secrecy can be compatible with civil liberties in this context?  How does a defendant's right to a "best defense" coincide with the government's right to "national security?" And, should known terrorists go free to preserve national security secrets from being disclosed in court?

    6. Clarify the Court's legal reasoning in either or both of the HLP (Humanitarian Law Project) cases as to whether "innocent" or mindless charitable contributions to a terrorist organization should make a person liable to arrest under material support doctrines.  What are the roles of free speech and the right to free association is this? 

ASSIGNMENT GROUP "C" (Scenarios and Role Playing - check with instructor to see if assigned)
    1.  Break up into groups of two or three where one party is an FBI investigator and the other party is a Arab-American being interviewed in the aftermath of a terrorist attack by suspected Arab Americans.  Practice cultural sensitivity while attempting to obtain a good intelligence or investigative source.

    2. Conduct a mock trial of Adam Gadahn, aka Adam Yahiye Gadahn aka Azzam the American.

    3. Pretend you are legislators debating the sunset provisions of the Patriot Act. Learn which provisions are subject to sunset (despite having been extended), and argue them out, conducting a vote at the end.

Last updated: Nov 02, 2006
Not an official webpage of APSU, copyright restrictions apply, see Megalinks in Criminal Justice
O'Connor, T.  (Date of Last Update at bottom of page). In Part of web cited (Windows name for file at top of browser), MegaLinks in Criminal Justice. Retrieved from http://www.apsu.edu/oconnort/rest of URL accessed on today's date.