The Honor Code: Plagiarism

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary The Honor Code: Plagiarism Presentation to LLM Students http://wmpeople.wm.edu/lawhonor ...
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Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

The Honor Code: Plagiarism

Presentation to LLM Students

http://wmpeople.wm.edu/lawhonor

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

What you should get out of this presentation 1.  What plagiarism is and is not under The Honor Code 2.  Tips for preventing plagiarism in your work 3.  Consequences of plagiarism and Honor Council Procedures 4.  Confidence

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

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Plagiarism will destroy our law school’s reputation and YOUR reputation

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Plagiarism is easy to avoid, and easy to catch

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Ignorance of the Honor Code is not an excuse

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Plagiarism is Honor Code Definition: l 

Plagiarism occurs when a student, with intent to deceive or with reckless disregard for proper scholarly procedures, presents any information, ideas, or phrasing of another as if they were his or her own and does not give appropriate credit to the original source.

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

The Mens Rea of Plagiarism

There’s no such thing as “accidental plagiarism” under the Honor Code

1.  Intent to Deceive – 

E.g. – I want you to think I wrote this, even though I know it’s not my work.

2.  Reckless Disregard for Proper Scholarly Procedure – 

What is a “Reckless Disregard?” “when a significant amount of improperly attributed material is presented as if it were the student’s own work.”

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What is “Proper Scholarly Procedure?” “Proper scholarly procedures require that all quoted material be identified by quotation marks, or indentation on the page, and the source of information and ideas, if from another, must be identified and be attributed to that source. “

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Following Proper Scholarly Procedures l 

Remember – plagiarism is not simply failing to follow “scholarly procedure” – it’s when doing so falsely attributes work that is not yours, as your own

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The Honor Council is required to use the Code’s definition of proper scholarly procedures – which is basic and simple. Meeting the Code’s requirements does not mean you satisfy your assignment’s requirements – know both

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Determining Intent l 

How does the Council determine whether a student acted with “Intent to Deceive” or “Reckless Disregard?”

The Honor Code says: l 

“While any amount of improperly unattributed material may be sufficient to find plagiarism, a student may be presumed to have acted with intent to deceive or with reckless disregard for proper scholarly procedures when a significant amount of improperly attributed material is presented as if it were the student’s own work.”

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Determining Intent l  l 

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Determining what constitutes a “significant amount” is a case-by-case basis made by the Council Thus, whether a submission rises to “plagiarism” often depends on how much material is falsely attributed to the student “Reckless Disregard” is much more than an honest mistake – we are all human, mistakes will be made We are looking for a “significant amount” which could not be the result of an honest mistake

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Plagiarism isn’t l 

Quoted text, with proper citation – 

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“The Yankees rule.” Will Versfelt, Best Lecture Ever, 319 HONOR COUNCIL 25, 36 (2011).

Paraphrased text, with proper citation – 

The Yankees boast a tradition of dominance. Will Versfelt, Best Lecture Ever, 319 HONOR COUNCIL 25, 36 (2011).

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Plagiarism isn’t l 

Unoriginal argument, with proper citation – 

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Borrowed citation, with proper citation – 

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Versfelt argues that the fact that the Yankees generate obscene revenues is no reason to hate. Will Versfelt, Best Lecture Ever, 319 HONOR COUNCIL 25, 36 (2011).

One scholar noted “At least we can all agree to despise the Red Sox.” Will Versfelt, Best Lecture Ever, 319 HONOR COUNCIL 25, 36 (2011) (quoting Andrew Gordon, Second Best Lecture Ever, 317 HONOR COUNCIL 42, 56 (2009).

Proper citation is the key

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Examples Correct William and Mary Law School is the oldest law school in the United States. George Wythe, Welcome to William & Mary, 1 WM. & MARY L. REV. 10, 11 (2011). Many great American leaders attended the school, providing the foundation for its rich history and heritage. Id.

Incorrect William and Mary Law is the oldest law school in the U.S., and many great American leaders attended the school. This provided the basis for a rich history and heritage. It is no wonder the school receives so many applicants every year. George Wythe, Welcome to William & Mary, 1 WM. & MARY L. REV. 10, 11 (2011).

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Examples Correct

Incorrect

The Virginia Governor stated, “William and Mary Law School is an outstanding law school and a wonderful contribution to higher education in the state.” George Wythe, Welcome to William & Mary, 1 WM. & MARY L. REV. 10, 11 (2011). He also noted the “rich history and heritage of the school and its alumni.” Id.

Even politicians know about the school. The Virginia Governor said that William and Mary Law is a great school and a fantastic contribution to higher education in the state. He also mentioned the rich heritage and history of the school, and its alumni. The school also has a high quality faculty. George Wythe, Welcome to William & Mary, 1 WM. & MARY L. REV. 10, 11 (2011).

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Why Some Students Plagiarize 1.  A desire to be accurate and not to misstate the law 2.  Not wanting to take the time, or not having the time, to analyze the law fully 3.  A false sense that the court expresses the law better than you can, so you should just use its words 4.  A false sense that the rule from a case is so technical that if you change anything you will get the law wrong

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OR You don’t understand, or choose to ignore, proper scholarly procedures Once again, ignorance of the Honor Code or proper scholarly procedures is not an excuse

Source: Matthew C. Mirow, Plagiarism: A Workshop for Law Students, LEXISNEXIS LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING COURSE KIT (1996).

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Preventing Plagiarism: General Tips For Writing 1.  Always cite; when in doubt, cite – 

When a statement does not have a cite, the reader assumes it is your original work!

2.  Cite to all of your sources starting in the first draft –  –  – 

Do not wait and fill in your cites later, you might forget Citing as you go saves time and ensures accuracy The Honor Code applies to all submissions - while a draft might have relaxed standards of scholarly procedure, the code always applies

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Preventing Plagiarism: General Tips For Writing 3.  Do not procrastinate – 

Rushing leads to citation errors, which can contribute to a “reckless disregard”

4.  Ask your professor –  – 

Your assignment may have specific policies about citation Your professor will help you cite correctly and properly

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Six Basic Rules of Citation (Your assignment may have more specific policies)

1.  Cite the source of any direct quotation, and indicate that the material is quoted by enclosing it in quotation marks or using block quote format 2.  Cite any sources from which language, facts, or ideas have been paraphrased or summarized 3.  Cite the source of an idea; in addition, cite the source of information that might be considered common knowledge in two situations: a) when you learned of the information from the source, or b) when the reader might find the information unfamiliar Source: Committee on Academic Integrity, Citing Responsibly: A Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL (2008-2009), available at http://www.law.gwu.edu/Academics/Documents/Academic%20Integrity/ 0809_citingresponsibly.pdf.

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Six Basic Rules of Citation (Your assignment may have more specific policies)

4.  Cite sources when they add relevant information to the topic or argument discussed in your work; sources that add relevant information should be cited after your original text using an appropriate signal, such as see generally, and a parenthetical describing the relevance of each source 5.  Cite sources for information taken from specialized materials, such as “lectures, recordings, films, interviews, letters, unpublished manuscripts, charts, [or] tables” 6.  Cite only the sources upon which you directly rely for authority; for example, if you take information from a law review article, you should cite the law review article – it would be impermissible to cite directly to the sources in the article’s footnotes, only sources you have read yourself should be directly cited

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

The Honor Code and Assignment Submissions l  l 

The Honor Code governs all submissions, including drafts – but context matters For example – if your assignment does not require citation for a certain draft, then it’s okay to follow your assignment – 

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We recommend citing on every draft, regardless of the requirements

Ignorance of your assignment’s expectations is not an excuse – 

Always ask your professor what the requirements are if in doubt

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Prevention is our Goal l 

We do not want to see accusations

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If you are trying to avoid plagiarism, you will avoid it

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When in doubt, ask your professors, ask us

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Plagiarism will catch up to you as an attorney

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

The Consequences of Plagiarism l 

The standard punishment for Plagiarism, as with all charges under the Honor Code, is separation from the College, including expulsion

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The Council has received at least one plagiarism accusation per year for the last few years

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Honor Council Procedures for Plagiarism l  l 

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An accusation of plagiarism proceeds like all other Honor Code accusations Your professor may make policies on reporting and detecting plagiarism, but all accusations proceed the same way once given to the Council Honor Code accusations are not optional – if a student is suspected of plagiarism, an accusation must be made

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Honor Council Procedures for Plagiarism Once the Honor Council receives the charge: 1.  The Chief Justice will determine whether the charge is trivial 2.  If the accusation is not deemed trivial, the Chief Justice appoints an Investigating Committee to investigate the charge 3.  The Investigating Committee submits a report to a Sufficient Evidence Panel 4.  The Sufficient Evidence Panel determines if the charge is sufficiently supported by the evidence 5.  If there is sufficient evidence, a hearing is held before a sixperson panel to determine guilt or innocence 6.  If the accused is found guilty, a sanction is issued by the panel

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

How the Council Investigates Plagiarism l  l 

The Investigating Committee will thoroughly analyze any suspected piece of writing. Some of our methods for analyzing the paper include: –  –  –  –  – 

“Google” sentences or parts of sentences in the paper Scrutinize the student’s cited sources and other sources for plagiarized material Search for sentences or parts of sentences in Westlaw / Lexis Access the student’s Westlaw / Lexis history, to investigate sources the student used Use plagiarism detection tools such as “SafeAssign”

Law School Honor Council – The College of William and Mary

Resources l 

Jimmy Dougherty, Chief Justice –  [email protected]

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James Evans, Deputy Chief Justice –  [email protected]

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Jordan Evans, CEC Chair –  [email protected]

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Will Versfelt, CEC Journal Liaison –  [email protected]

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