Guidelines for Final Report

Format: 12 point font (Times Roman), one-inch margins (on top, bottom, left and right), double-spaced text, single-spaced footnotes. (Please use footnotes at bottom of page , not end notes.) Place your name on the first page and please place number on each page. Follow Blue Book for citations with text and in footnotes. There is no minimum number of footnotes or citations. Your writing should be of the same finished quality as would be expected of an appellate brief or law review note. Citations should be complete and correct. The grade may be reduced for persistent spelling errors, typographical errors, or other evidence of sloppiness. Attach your complete Activity Report showing all time expended on fieldwork up to the date of your report. (The Activity Report should not include time spent writing the fieldwork report or final report.)

Option One: Incorporate one or more documents that would implement proposal(s) for action as part of final report.
Under this option, you will submit as part of your final report one or more draft documents intended to implement your proposal(s) for action. Examples of such documents are:
-- A memo to the District Attorney proposing the creation of a data collection system regarding criminal cases handled under a fast track system
and explaining the value of creating such a system and conducting a cost-benefit analysis.
-- A complaint to the Judicial Qualifications Commission documenting persistent practices of a particular judge that violate the Code of Judicial Conduct.
-- A letter to the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council proposing that the Council monitor certain persistent practices of a municipal court in specified ways.
-- A web site that explains in language accessible to the public the law relating to a particular issue and then reports on the methods and findings of a court watching project designed to monitor compliance with these legal requirements.
-- A letter to a chief judge setting forth the applicable requirements under federal and Georgia law for providing interpretation services to criminal defendants and then proposing that the court adopt a specified set of court rules on this issue.

Option Two: Include in the text of the final report a detailed description of one or one more proposals for implementing changes that you recommend based on your fieldwork.

General Requirements for Either Option One or Two.
It is possible that most of these requirements may be met by the draft "action document" under Option One (e.g. the memo or letter might state relevant law and describe your fieldwork as a preamble to the proposal for action).
Introduction
-- describe your topic
Relevant Law -- describe the law relevant to your topic. This should include the legal context of your fieldwork (e.g. Hemanth's introduction to DeKalb Recorders Court or David Boy's background on the S.Ct. Rule on Interpreters) and a clear description of the relevant legal constraints and obligations on the court or other institution you are studying (e.g. right to counsel under Alabama v Shelton, requirement to establish probable cause under County of Riverside). This section is intended to show that you have met the requirement in the course description that you "demonstrate mastery of applicable substantive criminal law and procedure."
Fieldwork Methodology -- This can be a revision and expansion from your Fieldwork Report.
Fieldwork Findings -- Unlike most of the preliminary fieldwork reports, these findings must be sufficiently detailed and documented to support your reform proposal(s).
Proposal for Action -- Describe one or more proposals for action. Explain how the proposal(s) arise from and are justified by your fieldwork. To the extent possible, include how your proposal reflects feedback you have received from relevant individuals and agencies. You may also describe unsuccessul efforts to obtain such feedback.

Length:
Option One -- There is no specified minimum or maximum page length although I will expect the total submission to represent a work product equivalent to at least a 12 page (double-spaced) paper.
Option Two -- 12 pages minimum, no maximum.

Due: Email submission of final report by 5pm on Friday, December 2. Label your file as follows: FinalReport-[Surname].doc (e.g. FinalReport-Cunningham.doc). Please submit a second, paper copy to my mailbox by 5pm on Tuesday, December 6 with your complete Activity Report attached.

Rules for late submission of final report without good cause or PRIOR permission of instructor:
-- Reports received after 5pm on Dec 2 but before 5 pm on Dec 5 will have grade reduced by one letter grade equivalent (e.g. from B to C).
-- Reports received after 5pm on Dec 2 but before 5 pm on Dec 6 will have grade reduced by two letter grades equivalent (e.g. from B to D).
-- Reports received after 5pm on Dec 2 but before 5 pm on Dec 7 will have grade reduced by three letter grades equivalent (e.g. from B to F).
-- Reports received after 5pm on Dec 2 but before 5 pm on Dec 8 will have grade reduced by four letter grades equivalent (e.g. from A to F).
-- Failure to submit a report by 5pm on Dec 9 will result in failing grade for course.