-
Court Reform in the Juvenile Justice System
LAWS 60103
- 01
(1)
+, a, m, r, w
The social scientific literature suggests that adults’ experience in court has important effects on their attitudes about legal institutions and their obligation to obey the law. But little attention has been paid to the developmental effects of adolescents’ experience in juvenile court, despite the fact that young people’s very presence in juvenile court suggests that they are at special risk of developing anti-social attitudes about the law and legal institutions. The aim of this seminar is to study young people’s experience in juvenile court, and to propose a set of procedural reforms designed to enhance the opportunities for positive legal socialization afforded in juvenile court proceedings.
The seminar will span the entire year, meeting roughly three times per quarter, to allow time for ongoing research, collaboration, and writing. Seminar participants will read and discuss leading works on juvenile justice reform, discuss relevant issues with experts in the field, observe juvenile justice proceedings, and collaborate in the development of reforms.
Written work will include shorter “response” papers and one longer paper, which can qualify for substantial writing credit.
Participation is limited to 10 students, and year-long participation is required.
Winter 2013
Emily Buss
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Court Reform in the Juvenile Justice System
LAWS 60103
- 01
(1)
+, a, m, r, w
The social scientific literature suggests that adults’ experience in court has important effects on their attitudes about legal institutions and their obligation to obey the law. But little attention has been paid to the developmental effects of adolescents’ experience in juvenile court, despite the fact that young people’s very presence in juvenile court suggests that they are at special risk of developing anti-social attitudes about the law and legal institutions. The aim of this seminar is to study young people’s experience in juvenile court, and to propose a set of procedural reforms designed to enhance the opportunities for positive legal socialization afforded in juvenile court proceedings.
The seminar will span the entire year, meeting roughly three times per quarter, to allow time for ongoing research, collaboration, and writing. Seminar participants will read and discuss leading works on juvenile justice reform, discuss relevant issues with experts in the field, observe juvenile justice proceedings, and collaborate in the development of reforms.
Written work will include shorter “response” papers and one longer paper, which can qualify for substantial writing credit.
Participation is limited to 10 students, and year-long participation is required.
Spring 2013
Emily Buss
-
Court Reform in the Juvenile Justice System
LAWS 60103
- 01
(1)
a, m, r, w, x
The social scientific literature suggests that adults’ experience in court has important effects on their attitudes about legal institutions and their obligation to obey the law. But little attention has been paid to the developmental effects of adolescents’ experience in juvenile court, despite the fact that young people’s very presence in juvenile court suggests that they are at special risk of developing anti-social attitudes about the law and legal institutions. The aim of this seminar is to study young people’s experience in juvenile court, and to propose a set of procedural reforms designed to enhance the opportunities for positive legal socialization afforded in juvenile court proceedings.
The seminar will span the entire year, meeting roughly three times per quarter, to allow time for ongoing research, collaboration, and writing. Seminar participants will read and discuss leading works on juvenile justice reform, discuss relevant issues with experts in the field, observe juvenile justice proceedings, and collaborate in the development of reforms.
Written work will include shorter “response” papers and one longer paper, which can qualify for substantial writing credit.
Participation is limited to 10 students, and year-long participation is required.
Autumn 2012
Emily Buss
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Current Controversies in Corporate and Securities Law
LAWS 52202
- 01
(3)
m, w, x
This seminar deals with the most important developments in U.S. (and to some extent global) corporate and securities practice during the preceding year. The seminar and discussions provide analysis of the legal, political, and economic implications of these Developments.
Each student submits one paper and gives an oral presentation and analysis of another student's paper.
Winter 2013
Richard Shepro
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Divorce Practice and Procedure
LAWS 93202
- 01
(3)
+, s, u, w, x
This class provides an exposure to the dynamic process of representing clients in a dissolution of marriage case. The class will familiarize you with the complexities that arise when a family is divided and wife and the parties are dissolving their marriage. Topics are covered in the sequence of an evolving case from the perspective of a practicing lawyer and include: determination of jurisdiction; interstate and international parental kidnapping; domestic violence and property injunctions; temporary and permanent child custody and visitation; temporary and permanent maintenance for spouse and support for children; awards of attorneys fees and costs; exploration of property rights and factors for determining a division; the valuation issues when dividing certain types of property; pre- and post-marital agreements; pretrial discovery; common evidentiary issues; federal tax aspects of marital dissolution and effects of bankruptcy.
Forty percent of the student's grade is based on class participation, and sixty percent on the drafting of legal memoranda.
Writing for this class may be used as partial fulfillment of the JD writing requirement (WP).
Completion of a basic Family Law class is recommended but not required.
Autumn 2012
Donald Schiller, Erika N. Chen-Walsh
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Electronic Commerce Law
LAWS 61802
- 01
(3)
m, w, x
This seminar focuses on both the technology involved in electronic commerce and the law surrounding the emerging field. Electronic commerce is growing at an exponential rate. As more of our daily commercial lives are lived through use of computers, decisions must be made: will existing law treat e-commerce no differently than any other kind of commerce, or must new laws emerge to take into account some of the radical new transactions and complications? The seminar will begin with an overview of the history and infrastructure of the Internet, setting the groundwork and providing students with a working knowledge of the terminology and technology they will likely encounter working in this legal field. Additional background discussion will involve the concept of regulation of the Internet, global vs. national perspectives on the law of the Internet, and conceptions of sovereignty. Topics will be dictated by the needs of the moment, but will potentially include electronic contracts, digital signatures, the application of traditional UCC doctrines such as the mailbox rule and the statute of frauds to e-commerce, Internet sales of highly regulated goods (such as alcohol, firearms, pharmaceuticals), the domain name system and its relation to trademark law, trade-related issues such as consumer fraud/protection and product disparagement, sales taxation, Internet and business method patents, digital cash/smart cards, digital checks, electronic securities law, Internet gambling, commercial privacy, and e-commerce in gray and black markets. Time permitting, we may also explore the relationship of international law to e-commerce, the effect of e-commerce concepts on commercial litigation, and export control laws involving cryptography.
Enrollment is capped at 20.
Topics not covered in the seminar will be suitable for papers.
Students may either write a substantial paper or write a shorter research paper and make a presentation to the class at the end of the quarter.
Winter 2013
Marsha Ferziger Nagorsky
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Employment Discrimination Clinic
LAWS 67113
- 01
(1)
+, a, s, w, x
Randall D. Schmidt and his students operate the Clinic's Employment Law Clinic. The Clinic focuses primarily on pre-trial litigation and handles a number of individual cases and class actions. In individual cases, the Clinic represents clients in cases before the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Illinois Human Rights Commission and seeks to obtain relief for clients from race, sex, national origin, and handicap discrimination in the work place. In the class actions, the Clinic represents groups of employees in employment and civil rights actions in federal court. Additionally, in its individual cases and law reform/impact cases, the Clinic seeks to improve the procedures and remedies available to victims of employment discrimination so that employees have a fair opportunity to present their claims in a reasonably expeditious way. To accomplish this goal, the Clinic is active in the legislative arena and participates with other civil rights groups in efforts to amend and improve state and federal laws.
It is suggested, but not required, that all students in the Employment Law Clinic take the Employment Discrimination Law seminar.
Third-year Students are strongly encouraged to take, prior to their third year, Pretrial Advocacy and either the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop or Trial Advocacy.
Enrollment in the Employment Law Clinic Project is limited and preference will be given to students who take Pretrial Advocacy and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop.
The student's grade is based on class participation.
Academic credit varies and will be awarded according to the Law School's general criteria for clinical courses as described in the Law School Announcements and by the approval of the clinical faculty.
Evidence is a prerequisite for 3Ls in the clinic.
Pretrial Advocacy and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop (or an equivalent trial practice course) are highly recommended for 3Ls in the clinic.
Newly enrolling 3Ls need instructor consent.
Winter 2013
Randall D. Schmidt
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Employment Discrimination Clinic
LAWS 67113
- 01
(1)
+, a, s, w, x
Randall D. Schmidt and his students operate the Clinic's Employment Law Clinic. The Clinic focuses primarily on pre-trial litigation and handles a number of individual cases and class actions. In individual cases, the Clinic represents clients in cases before the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Illinois Human Rights Commission and seeks to obtain relief for clients from race, sex, national origin, and handicap discrimination in the work place. In the class actions, the Clinic represents groups of employees in employment and civil rights actions in federal court. Additionally, in its individual cases and law reform/impact cases, the Clinic seeks to improve the procedures and remedies available to victims of employment discrimination so that employees have a fair opportunity to present their claims in a reasonably expeditious way. To accomplish this goal, the Clinic is active in the legislative arena and participates with other civil rights groups in efforts to amend and improve state and federal laws.
It is suggested, but not required, that all students in the Employment Law Clinic take the Employment Discrimination Law seminar.
Third-year students are strongly encouraged to take either the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop or another trial advocacy course.
Enrollment in the Employment Law Clinic Project is limited and preference will be given to students who take Pretrial Advocacy and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop.
The student's grade is based on class participation.
Academic credit varies and will be awarded according to the Law School's general criteria for clinical courses as described in the Law School Announcements and by the approval of the clinical faculty.
Evidence is a prerequisite for 3Ls in the clinic.
Pretrial Advocacy and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop (or an equivalent trial practice course) are highly recommended for 3Ls in the clinic.
Newly enrolling 3Ls need instructor consent.
Spring 2013
Randall D. Schmidt
-
Employment Discrimination Clinic
LAWS 67113
- 01
(1)
+, a, s, w, x
Randall D. Schmidt and his students operate the Clinic's Employment Law Clinic. The Clinic focuses primarily on pre-trial litigation and handles a number of individual cases and class actions. In individual cases, the Clinic represents clients in cases before the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Illinois Human Rights Commission and seeks to obtain relief for clients from race, sex, national origin, and handicap discrimination in the work place. In the class actions, the Clinic represents groups of employees in employment and civil rights actions in federal court. Additionally, in its individual cases and law reform/impact cases, the Clinic seeks to improve the procedures and remedies available to victims of employment discrimination so that employees have a fair opportunity to present their claims in a reasonably expeditious way. To accomplish this goal, the Clinic is active in the legislative arena and participates with other civil rights groups in efforts to amend and improve state and federal laws.
It is suggested, but not required, that all students in the Employment Law Clinic take the Employment Discrimination Law seminar.
Third-year Students are strongly encouraged to take, prior to their third year, Pretrial Advocacy and either the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop or Trial Advocacy.
Enrollment in the Employment Law Clinic Project is limited and preference will be given to students who take Pretrial Advocacy and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop.
The student's grade is based on class participation.
Academic credit varies and will be awarded according to the Law School's general criteria for clinical courses as described in the Law School Announcements and by the approval of the clinical faculty.
Evidence is a prerequisite for 3L's in the clinic.
Pretrial Advocacy and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop (or an equivalent trial practice course) are highly recommended for 3L's in the clinic.
Newly enrolling 3Ls need instructor consent.
Autumn 2012
Randall D. Schmidt
-
Employment Discrimination Law
LAWS 43401
- 01
(2 to 3)
m, w, x
This seminar deals with the problem of discrimination in the American workplace and the federal and state statutes that have been enacted to prohibit it. Primary focus will be on the major federal equal employment opportunity statutes (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act), the types of claims that are brought under these laws (disparate treatment, disparate impact, mixed motives, and retaliation claims), and the varying burdens of proof/persuasion, procedural prerequisites, and remedies provided by these statutes, along with current proposals for legislative change.
Enrollment will be limited to 20 students.
The student's grade will be based on class participation and a final examination; students wishing to earn 3 credits for the class may write a 10-12+ page research paper in addition to the final exam.
Winter 2013
James Whitehead
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Federal Courts from the Judge’s Perspective
LAWS 51402
- 01
(2 to 3)
+, m, r, w, x
This seminar is designed to be an advanced look at current issues that arise in the federal courts of the United States, with particular emphasis on the courts of appeals. Topics will be chosen with an eye to both the frequency with which they come up and the difficulty of the issues even if they make only rare, but predictable, appearances. The topics may change from year to year, but they will normally include the following: defining the scope and limits of the judicial power; Article III limitations such as standing, mootness, ripeness, and political questions; congressional control of the federal courts; non-Article III tribunals; subject matter jurisdiction – actual, potential, and optimal; actions against governmental units and officials, as well as related immunity doctrines; habeas corpus; standards of review; institutional reform litigation; and judicial federalism, including anti-injunction legislation, abstention doctrines, and Erie.
Either the basic Federal Jurisdiction course (LAWS 41101), which may be taken prior to or concurrently with the seminar, or Instructor’s permission is required for admission to this seminar.
Students will have a choice of writing a paper or submitting a take-home examination.
Winter 2013
Diane P. Wood
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Federal Criminal Justice Clinic
LAWS 67513
- 01
(2)
+, a, s, w
The Federal Criminal Justice Clinic zealously represents indigent defendants charged with federal crimes while giving students a unique opportunity to practice in federal district court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The FCJC is the first legal clinic in the country to exclusively represent clients charged with federal felonies. The clinic’s cases fall into two categories. The first category consists of cases we enter at the time of the arrest, carry through the district court to trial or guilty plea and sentencing, and then carry through appeal and beyond. The second category consists of cases we become involved in at a later stage of the proceedings because they present a novel legal issue or an issue on which there is a circuit split. We raise the legal issue at the district court level, handle or assist in any appeals that arise on the issue, and, if necessary, litigate the issue all the way to the United States Supreme Court. FCJC students are generally assigned to cases in teams of two. Students interview clients and witnesses; meet regularly with clients at the federal jail; conduct and participate in bond hearings, preliminary hearings, arraignments, plea hearings, sentencing hearings, and trials; write and argue motions and briefs; negotiate with prosecutors and probation officers; and participate in investigations. The seminar component includes skills exercises, simulations, lectures, and discussions.
Students enter the FCJC in their 3L year, must spend a full year in the FCJC, and must put a minimum of two credits towards the clinic per quarter (a ten-hour-per-week time commitment). The pre-requisites/co-requisites are Evidence and Criminal Procedure I; these courses may be taken at any time during 2L or 3L year. It is strongly recommended that students interested in joining the FCJC take Professor Siegler’s Federal Sentencing seminar during 2L year, and take the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop at the beginning of 3L year.
Spring 2013
Erica Zunkel, Alison Siegler
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Federal Criminal Justice Clinic
LAWS 67513
- 01
(2)
+, a, s, w, x
The Federal Criminal Justice Clinic zealously represents indigent defendants charged with federal crimes while giving students a unique opportunity to practice in federal district court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The FCJC is the first legal clinic in the country to exclusively represent clients charged with federal felonies. The clinic’s cases fall into two categories. The first category consists of cases we enter at the time of the arrest, carry through the district court to trial or guilty plea and sentencing, and then carry through appeal and beyond. The second category consists of cases we become involved in at a later stage of the proceedings because they present a novel legal issue or an issue on which there is a circuit split. We raise the legal issue at the district court level, handle or assist in any appeals that arise on the issue, and, if necessary, litigate the issue all the way to the United States Supreme Court. FCJC students are generally assigned to cases in teams of two. Students interview clients and witnesses; meet regularly with clients at the federal jail; conduct and participate in bond hearings, preliminary hearings, arraignments, plea hearings, sentencing hearings, and trials; write and argue motions and briefs; negotiate with prosecutors and probation officers; and participate in investigations. The seminar component includes skills exercises, simulations, lectures, and discussions.
Students enter the FCJC in their 3L year, must spend a full year in the FCJC, and must put a minimum of two credits towards the clinic per quarter (a ten-hour-per-week time commitment). The pre-requisites/co-requisites are Evidence and Criminal Procedure I; these courses may be taken at any time during 2L or 3L year. It is strongly recommended that students interested in joining the FCJC take Professor Siegler’s Federal Sentencing seminar during 2L year, and take the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop at the beginning of 3L year.
Autumn 2012
Erica Zunkel, Alison Siegler
-
Federal Criminal Justice Clinic
LAWS 67513
- 01
(2)
+, a, s, w
The Federal Criminal Justice Clinic zealously represents indigent defendants charged with federal crimes while giving students a unique opportunity to practice in federal district court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The FCJC is the first legal clinic in the country to exclusively represent clients charged with federal felonies. The clinic’s cases fall into two categories. The first category consists of cases we enter at the time of the arrest, carry through the district court to trial or guilty plea and sentencing, and then carry through appeal and beyond. The second category consists of cases we become involved in at a later stage of the proceedings because they present a novel legal issue or an issue on which there is a circuit split. We raise the legal issue at the district court level, handle or assist in any appeals that arise on the issue, and, if necessary, litigate the issue all the way to the United States Supreme Court. FCJC students are generally assigned to cases in teams of two. Students interview clients and witnesses; meet regularly with clients at the federal jail; conduct and participate in bond hearings, preliminary hearings, arraignments, plea hearings, sentencing hearings, and trials; write and argue motions and briefs; negotiate with prosecutors and probation officers; and participate in investigations. The seminar component includes skills exercises, simulations, lectures, and discussions.
Students enter the FCJC in their 3L year, must spend a full year in the FCJC, and must put a minimum of two credits towards the clinic per quarter (a ten-hour-per-week time commitment). The pre-requisites/co-requisites are Evidence and Criminal Procedure I; these courses may be taken at any time during 2L or 3L year. It is strongly recommended that students interested in joining the FCJC take Professor Siegler’s Federal Sentencing seminar during 2L year, and take the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop at the beginning of 3L year.
Winter 2013
Erica Zunkel, Alison Siegler
-
Federal Legislative Power
LAWS 66303
- 01
(2)
+, m, w, x
This seminar examines the legislative powers granted to Congress by the Constitution. Covered topics include well known legislative powers (commerce and spending), lesser known powers (such as copyright power and monetary powers), and quasi-legislative powers (such as the treaty power). The seminar will focus on how courts have defined these powers and how the powers interact with one another—especially how they interact with the Commerce Clause. We will also evaluate federal statutes each week, to see how they comport with precedent.
Constitutional Law I: Government Structure is a prerequisite.
Grades will be based on a series of short papers.
Winter 2013
Joshua Rabinovitz
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Federal Sentencing: Balancing Judicial and Prosecutorial Discretion
LAWS 47602
- 01
(3)
m, r, w, x
The Supreme Court has dramatically changed the federal sentencing landscape in recent years, making federal sentencing the least settled and most dynamic area of federal criminal jurisprudence. This seminar examines the recent federal sentencing revolution in the context of the history of federal sentencing. We study the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and recent Supreme Court cases that struggle to define the Guidelines’ proper role in sentencing. A central focus of the seminar is the ongoing struggle to balance judicial discretion and prosecutorial discretion, and the fundamental tension this creates between the executive branch and the judiciary. The seminar also focuses on the debate over sentencing disparities. Reading materials are varied and include Supreme Court and lower court cases, the United States Sentencing Guidelines, law review articles, Sentencing Commission studies and reports, and Department of Justice internal directives. Various guest speakers will visit class, including a federal district court judge and an Assistant United States Attorney.
Each student is expected to research and write a 20-25 page paper in response to a specific assignment.
Students will be graded based on their written submissions and class participation. Second-year students interested in participating in the Federal Criminal Justice Clinic during their 3L year are encouraged to enroll in this seminar, although it is not a prerequisite or corequisite for the clinic.
Winter 2013
Alison Siegler
-
Global Inequality
LAWS 92403
- 01
(3)
c/l, m, r, w, x
Global income and wealth are highly concentrated. The richest 2% of the population own about half of the global assets. Per capita income in the United States is around $47,000 and in Europe it is around $30,500, while in India it is $3,400 and in Congo, it is $329. There are equally unsettling inequalities in longevity, health, and education.
In this class, we ask what duties nations and individuals have to address these inequalities and what are the best strategies for doing so. What role must each country play in helping itself? What is the role of international agreements and agencies, of NGOs, and of corporations in addressing global poverty? How do we weigh policies that emphasize growth against policies that emphasize within-country equality, health, or education?
In seeking answers to these questions, the class will combine readings on the law and economics of global development with readings on the philosophy of global justice. A particular focus will be on the role that legal institutions, both domestic and international, play in discharging these duties. For, example, we might focus on how a nation with natural resources can design legal institutions to ensure they are exploited for the benefit of the citizens of the country.
Students will be assessed via a substantial research paper and class participation.
Non-law students are welcome but need permission of the instructors, since space is limited.
Winter 2013
Martha Nussbaum, David A. Weisbach
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Health Care Policy
LAWS 68504
- 01
(3)
c/l, m, r, w, x
This seminar will review basic health care economics and policy. We will discuss the regulation of providers (doctors, hospitals, drug companies) and insurance markets (government insurance through Medicaid and Medicare, state and federal regulation of insurance). Much of the seminar will focus on provisions in the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In the process we will discuss challenges that health care markets face, including physician-induced supply and moral hazard and adverse-selection in insurance markets. We will also discuss efforts to control costs and the impact of rising health care costs on the federal budget.
Students will be assessed via a substantial research paper and class participation.
Autumn 2012
Anup Malani
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Higher Education and The Law
LAWS 52102
- 01
(3)
m, w, x
The university has long maintained that its history and role as a creator of knowledge and refuge for society's critics require that the government and the courts extend a special respect to the academy's need to govern itself. This seminar discusses how the courts have dealt with this argument in areas such as academic freedom; student admissions and discipline; faculty tenure, dismissal, and unionization; and teaching and research restrictions. Discussions focus on the competing interests of society and the university and the role of the courts in balancing these interests.
The student's grade is based on class participation and a major or substantial paper.
Winter 2013
Arthur Sussman
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History of Civil Liberties in the United States
LAWS 70707
- 01
(2 to 3)
m, r, w, x
This seminar examines changing understandings of civil liberties in American legal history. It emphasizes legal and ideological contests over the meaning of free speech, religious freedom, and reproductive rights during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Readings explore the intersection between legal struggles and broader developments in social, cultural, and political history, with a particular focus on the labor, civil rights, and feminist movements.
Grading will be based on class participation and a series of short response papers.
Students can also elect to write a longer paper that satisfies the SRP requirement for an additional credit.
Autumn 2012
Laura Weinrib
