Civil Procedure
This course covers the procedures courts use in deciding
lawsuits that do not involve criminal misconduct.
Much of it is concerned with the process of litigation
in trial courts, from the initial documents, called pleadings,
through the pretrial process, especially the process
of discovery, in which parties obtain information from
one another, to trial itself. Another important topic
concerns the jurisdictional rules that determine
in which court a lawsuit may be brought.
Contracts
This course is an examination of the legal obligations
that attach to promises made in a business contract or
otherwise, including the remedies that may be available
for promises that are not kept. The course examines the
legal requirements for enforceable contracts, including
consideration, consent, and conditions; and the
effect of fraud, mistake, unconscionability, and
impossibility.
Criminal Law
This course explores the basic principles of Anglo-American
criminal law, including the constituent elements of criminal
offenses, the necessary predicates for criminal liability,
the major concepts of justification and excuse, and the
conditions under which offenders can be liable for attempt.
Major emphasis is placed on the structure and interpretation
of modern penal codes.
Torts
The course in torts examines liability for civil wrongs
that do not arise out of contract. It explores three
standards of conduct: liability for intentional wrongdoing,
negligence, and liability without fault, or strict liability.
It also examines other issues associated with civil liability,
such as causation, damages, and defenses. Particular
areas of tort law such as battery, medical malpractice,
and products liability, as well as debates about tort
reform, are also part of the standard coverage of the
course.
Legal Writing (both semesters)
The basic skills course in the first-year curriculum,
the course covers fundamental legal research techniques
and two styles of legal writing. The fall semester focus
is on preparing objective office memoranda; and in the
spring semester students produce an appellate brief.
Students also present an appellate oral argument before
a panel of alumni, faculty, and upperclass students. |
Constitutional Law
This course is an introduction to the structure
of the U.S. Constitution and the rights and liberties
it defines. Judicial review, federalism, congressional
powers and limits, the commerce clause, and the 10th
Amendment are covered, as are the equal protection and
due process clauses.
Property
The course is a general introduction to property
concepts and different types of property interests, particularly
real property. The course surveys present and future
estates in land, ownership, and concurrent ownership.
Leasehold interests, gifts and bequests, covenants and
servitudes, conveyancing, various land use restrictions,
eminent domain, and intellectual and personal property
issues are also considered.
Legal Writing (both semesters)
The basic skills course in the first-year curriculum,
the course covers fundamental legal research techniques and
two styles of legal writing. The fall semester focus is on
preparing objective office memoranda; and in the spring
semester students produce an appellate brief. Students
also present an appellate oral argument before a panel of
alumni, faculty, and upperclass students.
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