First-Year

This course seeks to provide students with an introduction to the creation, interpretation and application of statutes and regulations, and the central role that they play in modern American governance.

Introduction of persuasive writing techniques; building on analytical skills developed in first semester, with increased emphasis on organizing arguments to a trial or appellate court; introduction to standards of review and other aspects of appellate practice; instruction in on-line research and additional primary and secondary sources. The major project of the semester is the production of an appellate brief and presentation of oral argument to members of the local bar.

Development of skills in analysis, writing and research in the context of writing primarily interoffice or predictive memoranda; introduction to the legal research process and to selected primary and secondary sources; emphasis on plain English. Students build from early exercises applying a rule to a short set of facts to synthesizing and applying complex rules to more extensive fact patterns.

An examination of substantive requirements of criminal law offenses and defenses, the social and political forces influencing the content of the criminal law, and the constitutional limits and requirements informing its content and application.

A study of the extent to which various property rights come or fail to be recognized. The course includes both private sector and governmental arrangements and influences on the definition of property rights. Particular topics include the law of finders, landlord and tenant, concurrent ownership, licenses, easements, profits, restrictive covenants, an introduction of zoning and growth control and constitutional "takings" analysis.

The study of civil wrongs for which the common law provides a remedy in the form of an action for damages. Topics include how accident losses are distributed; the role of trial judge, jury, and appellate judiciary; the language of negligence; and intentional wrongs.

An introduction to the basic foundations of enforceability of contractual arrangements: formation, performance, breach and damages, rights of third parties, conditions, Statute of Frauds, and assignments. Inquiry is made into the historical developments of contract law and nineteenth-century notions of the doctrine of consideration in light of developing twentieth-century concepts and alterations. Economic aspects of the subject are considered along with modern statutory developments, including the Uniform Commercial Code.

A study of general principles of constitutional law under the United States Constitution. Also reviewed are the judicial function in constitutional cases, the federal system, the powers of the national government, and the powers reserved to the states.

An introduction to the principles of adjudication of the formalities of litigation in federal courts. Allocation of judicial business between state and federal judiciaries and the civil rights of defendants to be immune from inconvenient civil litigation are examined along with other aspects for jurisdiction. Phases of litigation - pleadings, complaint, discovery, answer and reply, motions for judgment on the pleadings, and summary judgment - are reviewed in depth.