Aerial Surveillance
Final papers must be submitted on the last day of class by 11:59 pm via email as a word doc.Your paper must fulfill one of the following requirements:
- A research/position paper 20-25 pages double-spaced (12-font, Times New Roman, 1 inch margins), with footnotes (unless otherwise required for Writing Req.).
- A draft bill (double-spaced) with an accompanying research/position paper. Total text including the bill must be 20-25 pages, with at least 18 pages of research text (g., do not write a 15 page bill with 5 pages of research).
Ideally, a good paper is one that will make journal. Try to include 20+ sources in your paper, if possible. If your paper is going to exceed 25 pages, please let me know. I do not recommend more than 35 pages, however, as papers on one topic tend to lose focus beyond that length. You will informally present your paper on the last day of class for 5 minutes, followed by no more than 5 minutes of questions. Please do not stress about the presentation. My BIGGEST word of advice: have a narrow, refined topic, with specific supporting arguments. Do not use lots of big words and lengthy sentences to try to sound smart. Often times, the best writing is the kind that is simple and easy to follow. For example, do not write a sentence longer than three lines. If you are still struggling with topics or want to change one, here are some suggestions:
- Draft and explain a bill on proper legal guidelines of aerial surveillance (or alternately recommend improvements/changes to an aerial surveillance bill).
- Draft and explain a bill on privacy vs. cybersecurity threats (or alternately recommend improvements/changes to CISA).
- Explain the significance of the term “a significant purpose” vs. a “primary purpose” under FISA (referring to when feds can surveil a person for purposes of gathering foreign intelligence when they may also have other competing purposes in surveilling).
- Draft a consumer privacy bill of rights (different from the White House version)
- Explain the difficulties of the third-party doctrine/limits of ECPA in the digital era (lots of material here, so consider honing this even more)
- Research the laws on strip searching everyone upon being booked into jail. Consider improvements to the current state of the law.
- Privacy rights in genetics or in aborted fetuses as life-supporting technology develops and viability of a fetus may occur much earlier in pregnancy (e.g. should one be able to terminate life of a fetus if it can be aborted and kept alive easily?).
Anything from class topics will also be a great starting point. Do not hesitate to explore overlapping areas of law (if you are unsure about whether it’s privacy-related, check with me). Please note that although this course is focused on privacy law, I welcome you to present ideas that contravene my own. Feel free to make a case for more surveillance or even against expansive privacy rights, but be sure to explain and defend your position. For example, if you want to argue that FISA is an excellent tool to stop terrorists, explain why/how the government interest in national security trumps individual privacy rights. Tie your position back to the law.
