The American Legal System 4219-SF104-OG

The course is a general overview of the principal features of the American law and the operation of the legal system in the United States. The focus will be placed on the characterization of Anglo-Saxon common law tradition, the examination of main areas of American substantive and procedural law, as well as the analysis of international aspects of American law in relation to processes of globalization and US involvement in foreign politics and foreign military actions. The role of law is central to the American political life. This course seeks to introduce the student to the tradition of Anglo-American law, so students have a better understanding of the foundation upon which American politics rests.

Type of course

general courses

Mode

Classroom

Prerequisites (description)

No prerequisites.

Course coordinators

Clifford Bates Jr

Learning outcomes

Upon completing this course, the bachelor level student should be able to:

Knowledge:

• Explain the origin of English common law and its significance to America’s past and current legal system.

• Comprehend the nature and significance of Magna Carta, Britain’s unwritten constitution, the United States Constitution, its Bill of Rights and other Amendments, together with some different state constitutions.

• Understand the role of an independent judiciary in England and America, and notice the difference between the two systems today: England’s judiciary undoubtedly is the best in the world, but America’s can be corrupt.

Skills:

• Discuss intelligently the management of appellate cases as they converge to flexibly change precedent (doctrine of Stare Decisis) across time.

• Describe basic principles and terminology related to Administrative, Constitutional, Commercial and Contractual, Criminal, Domestic Relations, Environmental, Property (including Intellectual Property), and Tort law as the same have evolved historically from English common law, accommodating technological innovation.

• Respect British and American concerns for the rights of individuals, important to 21st Century global conflicts.

• Understand the pressure the American legal system faces as the character of American society changes.

Competences:

• Being able to understand and analyze cases and reasoning behind actions take from US Law and Civil Procedure.

• Abiliity to comprehend and apply the principles and norms of US law to various situations in American culture and society

• Ability to explain and elaborate on the various characteristic of the US Legal System and the impact that it has on American Politics, Society, Economy, and Culture.

Assessment criteria

Quizes. (30% of overall grade) They are to be given in the start of a class—dealing with the material of the previous week(s).

Take Home Assignments Writing Assignments. (35% each). There will be two assignments in the semester. Each take home assignment will consist in a set of questions where students are expected to answer 2 of the questions asked. Each answer for each Take Home assignment will be 1000-1500 words for each of the answers answered

The teacher reserves the right to modify the student's final grade by 10% based upon the strength and value of the student’s class participation throughout the semester.

5! above 96% of average of students Take Home assignments and Quizes
5 between 90-96%
4+ between 85-89%
4 between 80-84%
3+ between 70-79%
3 between 60-69%
2 below 60%

Bibliography

Required Reading
Buckland, William Warwick, and Arnold Duncan McNair Baron McNair. Roman Law and Common Law: A Comparison in Outline. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965).
“THE COMMON LAW AND CIVIL LAW TRADITIONS” Handout From UC Berkley Course Handout.
Edlin, Douglas E. Judges and Unjust Laws: Common Law Constitutionalism and the Foundations of Judicial Review. (Ann Arbor, Mich: University of Michigan Press, 2008).
Slocum, Robin Wellford. “Introduction to the American Legal System” from Legal Reasoning, Writing, and Other Lawyering Skills (New York: LexisNexis, 2012), pgs 15-33
Jonakait, Randolph N. The American jury system. (New Haven, Ct:Yale University Press, 2003).
Kraśnicka, Izabela. Introduction to the American legal system. (Białystok: Temida 2 Press, 2008).
Kempin, Frederick. Historical introduction to Anglo-American law in a nutshell. (St. Paul, Mn: West Publishing, 1973).
Recommend Reading:
Bork, Robert H. A Country I Do Not Recognize: The Legal Assault on American Values. (Standford, CA: Hoover Press, 2013).
Schweber, Howard. Creation of American Common Law (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004).

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 4219-SF104-OG in USOSweb