Assignments
and Student Writing:
"Letters
to Known Readers" Assignment
During
Spring Semester 2000, in my Law,
Literature and Film course, the films we screened (Twelve Angry
Men, Inherit the Wind, The Trial, Anatomy of Murder, M) and the legal
themes students wrote about, raised many questions about the criminal
process in our legal system. I invited a law school classmate, Attorney
Catherine Byrne, to speak to us about her experiences as a public defender
in Massachusetts, in both the trials and the appeal divisions.
After Cathy spoke to my students, I gave them this assignment:
Length: 200-300 words. Submit to Student Drop by 8:30 a.m. on 4/28/00
Write a letter to someone you know well who is NOT at Wellesley (one
of your parents, a sibling, a good friend, your SO) briefly describing
the content of Cathy Byrne's talk today, and then giving your own personal
response to what she had to say about her work as a public defense attorney.