COMM 1117 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: United States Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, Stock Issues
2 May 2018
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Steps for preparing your case
1. Identify the decision contexts [RSP 89]. Who will decide, what will be decided, and why?
a. Ex. Paul Butler is interested in organizing people to oppose US Attorney General Jeff
“essios’ efforts to step up arrests ad prosecutions for drug crimes
2. Locate starting points [RSP 90]. What action, value, or belief is asked for in this debate?
a. Ex. The audience is asked to believe that the use of criminal justice to harass minority
communities about minor crimes actually increase the harms of crime and discrimination
3. State possible issues [RSP 90-91]. Issues ost likel to e etral to utlers ase &
proposition:) the decision
a. Does aggressive police activity against small crimes decrease or increase bigger crimes
and discrimination?
b. Does or doest diertig drug addits fro priso ad releasig oiolet offeders
early decrease crime in minority communities?
4. Outline your arguments and possible rebuttals [RSP 91-92].
a. State the claims you intend to support with arguments and the possible refutations that
might detract from them. Cast a wide net.
b. See RSP 91-92 for an illustration using a proposition about a 3-year undergraduate
degree program standard for US colleges and universities.
How do you choose an order for your case?
1. Fact, value, or policy propositions? Some orders work better or worse for some kinds of
proposition.
a. You will notice that stock issues analysis ends with factual claims; problem solution with
policy claims; and criteria with value claims. Which order is most persuasive for your major
claim?
2. Miiize our urdes ad aiize our oppoets urdes ia priiple. What order
ill ost ifluee our audiees judgeet?
a. Which claims are easiest for you to prove and which claims are hardest for your opponents
to refute? Put them first or last in the case order.
Some ways to organize a case
Stock issues analysis: assumes that decision-makers adhere to a policy on the basis of three
considerations: need for a change, practicality, and desirability. A method for understanding the issues
in a policy claim. [RSP 98]
1. Need for a change (inherency)
a. Why do we need to take the action in the proposition to solve a problem or achieve a
benefit?
b. E. PAUL BUTLE‘: I thik of the sste eig roke i three areas. Oe has to do ith
mass incarceration. We lock up more people than any country in the history of the
world. The area that's gotten the most attention recently is policing, the idea that
especially in communities of color, the police are more violent, they're more likely to
arrest African-Americans and Latinos when they don't arrest white people. And the
third area where the system needs major reform has to do with the way that we treat
people ho are iarerated.
i. Butlers eed for hage is i red
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Document Summary
Who will decide, what will be decided, and why: ex. Paul butler is interested in organizing people to oppose us attorney general jeff. Essio(cid:374)s" efforts to step up arrests a(cid:374)d prosecutions for drug crimes: locate starting points [rsp 90]. What action, value, or belief is asked for in this debate: ex. The audience is asked to believe that the use of criminal justice to harass minority communities about minor crimes actually increase the harms of crime and discrimination: state possible issues [rsp 90-91]. Cast a wide net: see rsp 91-92 for an illustration using a proposition about a 3-year undergraduate degree program standard for us colleges and universities. Some orders work better or worse for some kinds of proposition: you will notice that stock issues analysis ends with factual claims; problem solution with policy claims; and criteria with value claims. Which order is most persuasive for your major claim: mi(cid:374)i(cid:373)ize (cid:455)our (cid:271)urde(cid:374)s a(cid:374)d (cid:373)a(cid:454)i(cid:373)ize (cid:455)our oppo(cid:374)e(cid:374)ts(cid:859) (cid:271)urde(cid:374)s (cid:894)(cid:373)i(cid:374)(cid:373)a(cid:454) pri(cid:374)(cid:272)iple(cid:895).
