Term Assignment

B Law 201 LEC B05 WINTER 2025

Assignment Purpose:

The purpose of this assignment is to take students outside of the classroom and consider the

practical aspects of the law. It is intended to bring to life many of the legal concepts I the course

by getting students to observe first-hand how the Canadian court system works.

Submission Details:

Due: Monday, March 3, 2025, no later than 5:00 pm MST

Submission: Via Eclass Portal

.pdf or .doc/.docx

12 point font

1 inch margins

Double-spaced

Citations: Footnotes, including websites visited

Include:

• The name of the case that you watched

• The link of the proceeding that you watched

Length: 3-4 pages

Court Watch (10% of total grade)

The materials in this course revolve around the rights and responsibilities in commercial

relationships. These rights and responsibilities would be valueless if society did not have an

enforcement mechanism when these relationships fall apart. Accordingly, your job is to observe

and discuss real courtroom and proceedings.

Guidelines

In the time before COVID, all students went to the courthouse. Obviously, circumstances have

changed. Accordingly, you may choose to visit your local courthouse in person, or observe a

proceeding of the Supreme Court of Canada online:

https://www.scc-csc.ca/case-dossier/info/webcasts-webdiffusions-eng.aspx

You are not limited to civil proceedings- you may watch a criminal case, or other government

cases.

• If you observe criminal proceedings, use the parties’ initials, rather than their full names

In your writing, you will want to discuss:

• Your overall impression of the courtroom and the conduct of the proceedings

• Your impression of the actual observed proceedings-including details of what happened

• If a decision has been issued, let us know and give us your impressions regarding the

analysis and result.

• Relate your observations back to the principles that have been discussed in the course. I

am particularly interested in your thoughts, opinions and insights.

Your Grade

• 50% of your grade will be based upon readability:

Proper grammar including sentences and paragraphs Proper

o o

spelling, no typos

• 50% of your grade will be based upon substance:

Do you demonstrate an understanding of what you observed?

o

Do you relate this back to the principles discussed in the class?

o

Did you present thoughtful commentary on the proceedings

o

observed?

Conclusion:

The Court Watch is intended to be a way to take the course out of the classroom and into the

real world to increase your depth of understanding of how the law really works.

Have fun!