Atlanta
Bar Association Summer Intern Program
Terrence
Croft Essay - Due July 1, 2015
This
year’s Terrence Croft Essay is on the United States Supreme Court’s recent
decision in Elonis v. United States No. 13-983. You may review the majority, concurring and
dissenting opinions on the Intern Blog.www.abaship.blogspot.com. The opinion may also be viewed at the United
States Supreme Court’s website by clicking on “Opinions.” (www.supremecourtus.gov) You can also read the transcript of the Oral
Argument by clicking on “Oral Argument” and going to “Argument
Transcripts.”
In Elonis,
the United States Supreme Court by a decision of 8-1 reversed the conviction of
Anthony Elonis who was convicted under a federal law that makes it a crime to
communicate "any threat to injure the person or another." Elonis had posted threatening rap lyrics on
Facebook regarding his wife.
After
setting forth succinctly the key facts, your essay should detail the United
States Supreme Court’s holding in Elonis, with particular emphasis on
the reasons (bases) for the Court's
decision. Do you agree with the
decision? Why or why not? Please review and discuss the concurring and
dissenting opinion of Justice Alito and the dissenting opinion of Justice
Thomas.
Your essay must be at least 700 words
typed and double-spaced.
Your essay is
due July 1, 2015, at our weekly mandatory Intern Meeting.
**Mariana will
assign you an Essay number as we will do blind grading. Your name should not appear on your
essay.**
Further Notes:
When studying Elonis v. United States, you may find it useful to look at some secondary sources to deepen your understanding of the case. If so, I am posting some such resources on this page. One of the best ways to further understand the case is to listen to the oral argument of the case in the Supreme Court. For a link to the audio of the oral argument, click HERE.
You could also look at the briefs filed by the parties if you wanted.
For a link to the brief of the petitioner, click HERE.
For a link to the Government's brief, click HERE.
Other links of interest on Elonis appear below:
For the New York Times article, click HERE.
For the National Public Radio coverage, click HERE.
