My poli sci prof said 'just read the dissent first' and it saved my grade

Last semester at UT Austin our class was fighting over a free speech case about a student group getting de-recognized. I was totally lost in the majority opinion until my professor pulled me aside and said 'start with the dissent, it tells you the real story.' I tried it on the next case and suddenly everything clicked. Has anyone else gotten that kind of advice that just cut through the noise?

2 comments

2 Comments

roberts.leo9d ago

That professor gave you a golden tip, didn't they? Dissents are where the justices actually stop being polite and start getting real about what the law should be. So did you find that reading the dissent first changed how you approached the majority opinion, like you were looking for the weak spots they were trying to cover up?

the_parker9d ago

Used to skip dissents entirely. Now they're honestly my favorite part.