Description
In this final information and data literacy assignment, you will persuade a non-technical audience, a jury, that the statistical analysis that you have done provides adequate evidence on the case they must determine. You must explain to a jury (from the general population) the case, how probability and statistics can inform it and what you found by doing your analysis. You must use present this in a way and using language they will understand. Part of this will be explaining why this approach can be used with confidence for addressing this question.
You will also demonstrate your ability to edit a professional document to assure it is clear, complete, and concise, following the direction provided in the Legal Memorandum Guide download. Proofread and edit your pre-writing document for grammar and spelling PRIOR TO TURNING IT IN (you may use an external grammar tool to help with this. The Legal Memorandum Template downloads provided to make formatting the document easier.
Problem Description
A series of seemingly related recent automobile failures have resulted in a class-action lawsuit (Links to an external site.), Saraki v. Real Car Parts Corporation being filed. The ‘class’ in this case is claiming that Real Car Parts manufactured a part that does not comply with mandated performance standards in place to assure the safe operation of vehicles. The class was established as this part has been used by many manufactures in many models of vehicles for a decade, and therefore, involves hundreds of thousands of vehicles. They are claiming the failure of this part has led to serious engine failures resulting in needed vehicle repair or replacement, for which Real Car Parts should be financially responsible.
The part in question is a shaft with a copper-lead bearing surface that is manufactured for use in fuel pumps. The use of copper lead as a bearing surface was considered a revolution in the performance capability of this part when it was introduced. However, after a decade in operation, the ability of this design to meet performance standards established for the safe operation of vehicles is being questioned. The established standards require these parts may not wear more than 3.5 microns over a useful life of 250,000 miles of vehicle operation with the fuel pump using this shaft. This standard has been established, as wear of the shaft bearing surface exceeding this amount can result in catastrophic fuel pump failure in extreme weather conditions.
Due to the significance of this litigation, the Judge involved with the case, The Honorable Fairuza Habibi, has brought you in as an expert witness, independent of either side of the litigation, to provide the jury with the clarity that can be brought to the question by an engineering review. At your request, she is providing you with data from a random sampling of 45 shafts of this design from a recent manufacturing run, which have been put through a test simulating 250,000 miles of wear. She is requiring that you complete your work with a high level of confidence, therefore you have suggested using a confidence interval of .01. You are to provide the jury with which side of the litigation you would support and why in a written document that makes the determination clear and believable to them. The document you are to provide is to follow the court’s template and their Legal memorandum guide. You will also copy the document to Milton Jackson, Clerk of the Courts, Julius Gubenko, Plaintiffs’ Counsel, and Calvin Tjader Defendant’s Counsel.
The result of this test was: Data from Sample Testing .
Assignment Completion
This assignment will be completed as a (modified version) of a legal memorandum as documented by CUNY School of Law. (You should not reference their document, as the information you need to address is covered here.) Each element of the document has an attached section that describes the purpose of the section, how to think or structure it for this assignment, and what I will be looking for when grading it. You may also reference or download this information as one document in the Legal Memorandum Guide download. The appearance of the document must match that of the attached exemplar downloadfor which you may use the attached template. downloadThis document will emulate a professional document and as such will be completed in full sentences and paragraphs.
Memorandum Header
Question Presented
Brief Answer
Facts
Discussion
Conclusion
Appendix
Assignment Grading (This information is an overview see the specific sections for more detail )
- Clarity, conciseness, and accuracy – While clarity and conciseness are a concern for the entire document, the memorandum subject line (RE), the question presented, and the brief answer will be closely evaluated on the accuracy of your statements, and the clarity and conciseness of your document elements.
- Address your audience – Your document must be worded in a way where your audience will understand, believe, and be persuaded by what you say. Each of the elements must be worded in a way that is complete and coherent to an outside reader who is likely not an engineer or statistician. While the appendix is for reading by an audience that is statistics literate, it must also be complete, showing how you set up and solved the problem along with what you found and what it means to the case. (Finding someone like that to review your document and tell you where they are not following your writing can help you with editing. An outside reader may review your document for problem areas but MAY NOT do your writing for you.)
- Completeness – All the elements shown in the Legal Memorandum guide must be included in the correct sequence and format. Assignments determined to be significantly incomplete by the instructor will receive a zero
- Professional appearance – As is expected with professional documents, this document will be typewritten in its entirety. Any elements not typewritten, including the appendix will receive a zero. (if you do not know how to insert your formulas, do a search for written or video instructions.
- Proofread, revise, and edit – Be sure that your work is coherent and grammatically correct before turning it in. Tools to assist you with this, such a Grammarly, are available online, use them. A resource that can complement this is to read your work out loud to yourself. You may also read it to someone who is not familiar with statistics to see if they understand it. If your work has multiple errors you will be penalized. If the work is extremely difficult to follow, you may receive no credit.
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