Legal Research, Writing and Civil Litigation

Syllabus and Course Guide

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS:

Each week (on Monday or Tuesday), an assignment will be posted to the course message board. Students are responsible to complete at least three of the posted assignments for the course. They will be graded, and they will count for 30% of the student’s grade for the course. If you complete more than three assignments, the best two of your assignment submissions will be graded. Assignments completed beyond the third one will also count as extra credit. Assignments can be submitted via e-mail or posted to the message board. Assignments must be submitted within seven days of the last day of the course for the student to receive credit for the assignment.

Each submitted assignment will be graded on the following scale:

3 – Excellent

2 – Good

1 – Accepted

0 – Not Acceptable (must re-submit)

In addition, feedback will be posted by the instructor for each assignment that has been submitted.  

GRADING:

Each student who completes the requisite assignments and exams will be given a letter grade upon completion of the course. The course will be graded on the following basis:

            Midterm Exam: 35%

            Final Exam: 35%

            Assignments: 30%

For more information on Grading, Exams and Assignments, please see the PTI Grading Policy.

Lecture and reading assignments schedule:

CLASS ONE

We will begin this course with a background discussion of the U.S. Legal system and the structure of our judiciary. We will look at the various sources of law that exist under the American system and analyze the differences between primary and secondary sources of law. Finally, we will discuss the concept of case law and discuss how to tell when it is appropriate to cite a particular case.

Reading:

Chapter 1: United States Legal System – Judicial Structure

A. Introduction to Separation of Powers

                        B. Federalism and the difference between Federal and State Judicial Systems

                        C. Sources of Law

                        D. Case Law

CLASS TWO

We will devote this class to legal research. We will discuss the different sources from which a person can access the complex body of information known as “the law.” We will work our way though the various sections of a law library and discuss how a researcher can take full advantage of the featured that a law library has to offer. We will also briefly discuss internet legal research through Lexis or Westlaw and other available databases.

Reading:

Chapter 2: Legal Research

A. Introduction to Legal Research

                        B. Legal Research Sources

CLASS THREE

 We will devote this class to legal writing. We will discuss how a memorandum of law should look and we will go through the “do”s and “don’t”s of legal writing. We will also go through the important steps of how to properly cite cases. Finally, we will discuss “Shepardizing” and the process by which you must make sure that cases that you rely on in support of legal arguments are still “good law.”

Reading:

Chapter 2: Legal Research

C. Legal Citation

                        D. Briefs, Legal Memoranda and Legal Writing

                        E. Cite Checking

CLASS FOUR

In this class, we will begin the Civil Litigation component of our course. We will start that study with a discussion of jurisdiction. That is, we will discuss when a court has the power and authority to decide a case. This includes a study of personal jurisdiction, which means that a court has power to determine the rights and liabilities of the parties before it, and a study of subject matter jurisdiction, which means the power to decide the case itself.

Reading:

Chapter 3: Jurisdiction

A. Introduction: Jurisdiction over the Parties or Things

                        B. Personal Jurisdiction

                        C. In rem and Quasi In rem jurisdiction

                        D. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

                        E. Subject Matter Jurisdiction- Supplemental Jurisdiction

CLASS FIVE

We will continue our study of Civil Litigation with a look at two more important aspects of the litigation process: the issues of venue and choice of law. First, we will focus on the appropriate venue, or physical site of the court, for each particular case. We will discuss where cases should be filed and when the cases can be moves because of convenience of the parties. Then, we will briefly touch on the issue of choice of law. Sometimes more than one set of laws appear to be applicable to a case and the judge has to make a determination as to whether to apply federal or state law or must determine which state supplies the laws that should govern a case. We will touch on the famous Erie doctrine in which the Supreme Court ruled that state law should be applied in federal court in some circumstances.

Reading:

Chapter 4: Venue, the Erie Doctrine and Choice of Law

A. Venue- Introduction

                        B. Venue- State actions

                        C. Venue- Federal actions

                        D. Venue- Forum non conveniens

                        E. Erie Doctrine and Choice of Law- Introduction

                        F. History of the Erie Doctrine

                        G. Choice of Law

Midterm Examination

CLASS SIX

 We will focus in this class on pre-trial practice; that is, the phase of the civil litigation that occurs prior to the start of the trial. We will start with the documents that open the civil action, the summons and complaint filed by the plaintiff and the defendant’s answer. We will also discuss, in detail, the discovery process, by which parties gain information that is necessary to conduct the trial.

Reading:

Chapter 5: Pre-Trial Practice

A. Introduction to Pre-Trial Practice

                        B. Summons, Complaint and Answer

                        C. Service of Process

                        D. Discovery and Rule 11

CLASS SEVEN

First, we will finish up our discussion of pre-trial practice by discussing various other issues relevant to this stage in the litigation. We will touch on the issues of pre-trial motions and joinder, which occurs when parties other than the plaintiff and defendant seek to join litigation that may affect their interests. We will briefly touch on the doctrine of res judicata which tries to prevent issues from being litigated more than once. Finally, we will begin our discussion of the trial itself. We will discuss jury selection and other events that happen early in a trial, such as opening statements.

Reading:

Chapter 5: Pre-Trial Practice

E. Pre-Trial Motions Practice

                        F. Adding Parties and Claims

                        G. Res Judicata and Collateral Estoppel

Chapter 6: Trial Practice

                        A. Introduction to Trial Practice

B. Basic Trial and Jury Selection

                        C. Opening Statements and Burden of Proof

CLASS SEVEN

This class will continue our discussion of trial practice. We will discuss how trials are run, what the various stages of a trial are and how evidence may and may not be presented. We will also focus on the different stages of the trial itself and on the motions that are appropriate for each phase of the trial.

Reading:

Chapter 6: Trial Practice

                        D. Plaintiff’s Case-in-chief

E. Defendant’s Case-in-chief

                        F. Close of evidence

CLASS EIGHT

In the final class, we will focus on appeals and post-trial procedure. We will examine the motions and should and must be made at the close of a trial after the jury has delivered its verdict. We will also discuss the appeals process by which a party who disagrees with the court’s rulings or the jury’s verdict can appeal the case to a higher court. Finally, we will close with a brief discussion of class action lawsuits; what their roles are, how they are organized and what prerequisites there are to their filing.

Reading:

Chapter 7: Post-Trial Practice, Appeals and Class Actions

                        A. Introduction to Post-Trial Practice

                        B. Post-Trial Motions

                        C. Enforcement of Judgments

                        D. Appeals

                        E. Class Action Lawsuits

Final Examination