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Civil Rights Clinic: Police Accountability
LAWS 90913
- 01
(1)
+, a, s, w
The Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project (PAP) is one of the nation’s leading law civil rights clinics focusing on issues of criminal justice. Through the lens of live-client work, students examine how and where litigation fits into broader efforts to improve police accountability and ultimately the criminal justice system.
Students provide legal services to indigent victims of police abuse in federal and state courts. They litigate civil rights cases at each level of the court system from trial through appeals. Some students also represent children and adults in related juvenile or criminal defense matters.
Students take primary responsibility for all aspects of the litigation, including client counseling, fact investigation, case strategy, witness interviews, legal research, pleadings and legal memoranda, discovery, depositions, motion practice, evidentiary hearings, trials, and appeals. A significant amount of legal writing is expected. Students work in teams on cases or projects, and meet with the instructor on at minimum a weekly basis.
Students also take primary responsibility for the Clinic’s policy and public education work. PAP teaches students to apply and critically examine legal theory in the context of representation of people in need. It teaches students to analyze how and why individual cases of abuse occur and to connect them to systemic problems, often leading to “public impact” litigation and other strategies for policy reform. Through our immersion in live client work, we engage fundamental issues of race, class, and gender, and their intersection with legal institutions. We instruct students in legal ethics and advocacy skills. And we seek to instill in them a public service ethos, as they begin their legal careers.
Students are required to complete, prior to their third year, Evidence, Criminal Procedure I, and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop. Constitutional Law III is also recommended.
Spring 2013
Craig B. Futterman
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Closing a Deal: Structuring and Documentation of a Secured Loan Transaction
LAWS 71403
- 01
(2)
m, s, x
This seminar will cover the structuring, documentation and closing of a secured loan transaction from the perspective of the secured lender. As counsel for the secured lender we will first consider the best structure for the proposed loans and how both the organization and working capital needs of the borrowers and the underwriting and regulatory constraints of the secured lender influence this structure. We will next assess commitment documentation and syndication. The majority of our time will then be spent analyzing transaction documentation, progressing from the organization of the closing checklist to the negotiation of the credit agreement and finally to the perfection of liens. In this seminar we will discuss not only why transactions and documentation are structured the way they are and the meanings of standard credit document provisions, but also the practical implications for any commercial finance associate living through the transaction.
Autumn 2012
Erin Casey
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Collective Bargaining in Sports and Entertainment
LAWS 63903
- 01
(2 to 3)
m, w, x
This seminar examines collective bargaining in the contexts of professional sports and entertainment. The Sherman Act and Clayton Act are studied in light of antitrust exemptions that apply to monopolistic employment arrangements such as the reserve system (its opposite is called free agency), the draft and exclusive rights for a player, eligibility restrictions for star amateurs, and other anticompetitive practices in music, theater, movie, TV, and sports settings. The seminar explores how unions have evolved as potent employee responses to highly restrictive employment practices. The seminar readings examine powerful weapons under the National Labor Relations Act that unions may use to counteract employer cartels in theater, movies, baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and related industries. These weapons include full and partial and intermittent strikes, as well as strike threats. The seminar examines how these bargaining tactics enable rank-and-file employees, and star performers, to share in the wealth that they generate in combination with capital investments made by employers.
The seminar emphasizes writing. Students are assigned weekly question sets, and are expected to submit a seminar paper based on the cumulation of these exercises. Students wishing to take the class for three credits must complete an additional short research paper (10-12 pages). Attendance is required; and unexcused absences may result in a course grade deduction.
Autumn 2012
Michael LeRoy
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Commercial Real Estate Transactions
LAWS 44801
- 01
(3)
+, s, x
This course will address fundamental legal and business aspects of acquisition and disposition of income producing real property. The materials and class discussion will focus on investment and tax considerations, capital structure, transaction due diligence, typical contract issues and closing matters.
Introductory Income Taxation is a recommended prerequisite.
The grade will be determined by an in-class examination.
Winter 2013
James Rosenbloom
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Commercial Transactions - Negotiation, Drafting, and Analysis
LAWS 48604
- 01
(3)
s, u, x
This simulation class provides intensive instruction in the negotiation, drafting, and analysis of complex commercial contracts. Students will develop the skills necessary to (i) translate a business deal into clear and concise contract terms, (ii) negotiate and draft various types of commercial contracts across multiple industries, and (iii) effectively and efficiently communicate complex commercial and contractual legal issues to clients.
Grades will be based upon substantial weekly written exercises and productive class participation.
Spring 2013
Seth McNary
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Comparative Constitutional Design
LAWS 50102
- 01
(3)
c/l, m, r, w, x
Recent constitutional reconstructions in Iraq and Afghanistan have called new attention to the problems of institutional design of political systems. In this seminar we will examine the design and implementation of national constitutions. In particular, we will address the following questions. What are the basic elements of constitutions? How do these elements differ across time, across region, and across regime type? What is the process by which states draft and implement constitutions? What models, theories, and writings have influenced the framers of constitutions?
In this seminar, we will review the historical roots of constitutions and investigate their provisions and formal characteristics. We will also discuss the circumstances surrounding the drafting of several exemplary or noteworthy constitutions, from various regions of the world. We will then examine particular features of institutional design in depth, and analyze the factors that make constitutions effective and enduring.
Autumn 2012
Tom Ginsburg
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Comparative Legal Institutions
LAWS 50101
- 01
(3)
e, r, x
This course is designed to examine a range of legal institutions from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective. It is not a traditional course in comparative law, in that it focuses not so much on particular rules of substantive law but on the structure of different legal systems and the consequences of those structural differences for law and society, especially for economic development. Readings will be drawn from legal and social science literature, including works from anthropology, economics, political science and sociology. The course will explicitly cover non-Western legal traditions to an extent not found in conventional comparative law courses. The course will conclude with reflections on what a comparative perspective tells us about American legal institutions.
Course grades will be given on the basis of a take-home written exam, with a small component for class participation. There is a paper option for 2L, 3L and LLMs, but it is limited for 1L students.
Spring 2013
Tom Ginsburg
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Competition Policy in the European Community
LAWS 75402
- 01
(2 to 3)
m, w, x
This seminar provides an introduction to the law and practice of competition policy of the European Union. It will focus particularly on the economic reasoning behind the design of EU competition law and its application to particular business practices. The seminar first focuses on the objectives of competition policy in the EC including its foundations in a particular economic approach to competition policy known as the ordo-liberal school. It will then cover the major areas of EC competition law including cartels and the exemptions for cooperative behavior; abuse of dominance including essential facilities, tying, bundled rebates, and exclusive dealing; and mergers. It will also examine State aid policy under the EC treaty including the rationale for prohibiting state subsidies of industry and the application of State aid by the European Commission and courts. The seminar will introduce students to the major EU cases, with a particular focus on recent Commission decisions and court judgments, and to efforts to introduce economic reasoning into EU competition law and to move from form-based to effects-based analyses.
Grade will be based on a final in-class examination and an optional paper (to receive 3 credits).
Spring 2013
David Evans
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Complex Litigation
LAWS 52412
- 01
(2)
m, s, x
An advanced civil procedure class, this seminar will introduce students to complex civil litigation, and the various ways available in the federal system to aggregate multi-party, multi-issue, and multi-forum disputes. The class will cover both the theory of the various laws and devices used in aggregation, and also the practical aspects of how those laws and theories succeed (or not) in achieving fair and efficient disposition of disputes. Topics covered will include the various mechanisms for aggregating parties, including joinder, intervention, interpleader, and class actions; relevant venue and consolidation considerations, including multi-district transfer and consolidation; federal jurisdiction and preclusion rules that affect aggregation; and relevant choice of law issues.
Grading will be based on an open-book take-home final examination, with some account taken of class participation.
Spring 2013
Brian Murray
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Complex Mental Health Litigation Clinic
LAWS 67014
- 01
(1)
+, a, s, w, x
The Complex Mental Health Litigation Clinic teaches litigation skills. Under the supervision of the clinical teacher, students engage in systemic litigation on behalf of indigent, mentally ill clients and not-for-profit mental health organizations under the auspices of the Law School’s Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic. Students may interview clients and witnesses; research and draft pleadings and legal memoranda, including briefs to reviewing courts; conduct formal and informal discovery; negotiate with opposing counsel and others; conduct evidentiary hearings and trials; and present oral argument in trial and appellate courts. Students who have completed sixty percent of the credits needed for graduation will be licensed to appear, under the supervision of the clinical teacher, in state and federal trial and appellate courts pursuant to court rules and practices. In addition to discrete advocacy skills such as cross-examination, discovery planning, and legislative drafting, the course aims to provide students with an understanding of the relationships between individual advocacy tasks and the ultimate goals of clients, and between advocacy on behalf of individual clients and advocacy for systemic change.
See the general rules for all clinical courses for further details concerning enrollment, including the rules governing the award of credit.
The Complex Mental Health Litigation Clinic satisfies part of the writing requirement if substantial written work is completed.
Students will ordinarily be expected to enroll for all six quarters during their second and third years.
Students are required to enroll in both Evidence and Pre-Trial Advocacy during their 2L year.
The grade will be based entirely upon the student's performance representing clients in litigation.
Spring 2013
Mark J. Heyrman
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Complex Mental Health Litigation Clinic
LAWS 67014
- 01
(1)
+, a, s, w
The Complex Mental Health Litigation Clinic teaches litigation skills. Under the supervision of the clinical teacher, students engage in systemic litigation on behalf of indigent, mentally ill clients and not-for-profit mental health organizations under the auspices of the Law School’s Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic. Students may interview clients and witnesses; research and draft pleadings and legal memoranda, including briefs to reviewing courts; conduct formal and informal discovery; negotiate with opposing counsel and others; conduct evidentiary hearings and trials; and present oral argument in trial and appellate courts. Students who have completed sixty percent of the credits needed for graduation will be licensed to appear, under the supervision of the clinical teacher, in state and federal trial and appellate courts pursuant to court rules and practices. In addition to discrete advocacy skills such as cross-examination, discovery planning, and legislative drafting, the course aims to provide students with an understanding of the relationships between individual advocacy tasks and the ultimate goals of clients, and between advocacy on behalf of individual clients and advocacy for systemic change.
See the general rules for all clinical courses for further details concerning enrollment, including the rules governing the award of credit.
The Complex Mental Health Litigation Clinic satisfies part of the writing requirement if substantial written work is completed.
The grade will be based entirely upon the student's performance representing clients in litigation.
Students will ordinarily be expected to enroll for all six quarters during their second and third years.
Students are required to enroll in both Evidence and Pre-Trial Advocacy during their 2L year.
Winter 2013
Mark J. Heyrman
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Complex Mental Health Litigation Clinic
LAWS 67014
- 01
(1 to 2)
+, a, s, w, x
The Complex Mental Health Litigation Clinic teaches litigation skills. Under the supervision of the clinical teacher, students engage in systemic litigation on behalf of indigent, mentally ill clients and not-for-profit mental health organizations under the auspices of the Law School’s Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic. Students may interview clients and witnesses; research and draft pleadings and legal memoranda, including briefs to reviewing courts; conduct formal and informal discovery; negotiate with opposing counsel and others; conduct evidentiary hearings and trials; and present oral argument in trial and appellate courts. Students who have completed sixty percent of the credits needed for graduation will be licensed to appear, under the supervision of the clinical teacher, in state and federal trial and appellate courts pursuant to court rules and practices. In addition to discrete advocacy skills such as cross-examination, discovery planning, and legislative drafting, the course aims to provide students with an understanding of the relationships between individual advocacy tasks and the ultimate goals of clients, and between advocacy on behalf of individual clients and advocacy for systemic change.
See the general rules for all clinical courses for further details concerning enrollment, including the rules governing the award of credit.
The Complex Mental Health Litigation Clinic satisfies part of the writing requirement if substantial written work is completed.
Students will ordinarily be expected to enroll for all six quarters during their second and third years.
Students are required to enroll in both Evidence and Pre-Trial Advocacy during their 2L year.
The course includes a mandatory one-hour weekly classroom component during the Fall Quarter of the student’s 2L year for which one credit will be awarded.
The grade will be based entirely upon the student's performance representing clients in litigation.
Autumn 2012
Mark J. Heyrman
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Computer Crime
LAWS 68402
- 01
(2 to 3)
m, w, x
This seminar will explore the legal issues involved in the investigation and prosecution of computer crime. We will examine how computers and network technologies are challenging settled legal understandings of the Fourth Amendment, the First Amendment, and the laws of electronic surveillance. The first part of the seminar will address the prosecution of substantive computer crime, which falls into two general categories: computer misuse offenses and traditional crimes facilitated by computers. The second part of the seminar will cover computer crime procedure. We will evaluate the statutory and constitutional regimes that govern the investigation of computer crime, including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Wiretap Act, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Our primary source will be a casebook: ORIN KERR, COMPUTER CRIME LAW (2nd ed. 2009). In addition to the casebook, I will be providing supplemental materials as listed in the syllabus.
Students are required to participate in class sessions, prepare discussion papers, and write a paper on an approved topic. Students may opt to write a major research paper for three credits.
Winter 2013
William Ridgway
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Constitutional Decisionmaking
LAWS 50202
- 01
(3)
+, m, r, s, w
Students enrolled in this seminar work as courts consisting of five Justices each. During each of the first eight weeks of the quarter, the courts are assigned several hypothetical cases raising issues under either the Equal Protection Clause or the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech and press. Each court must select in advance whether it will focus on equal protection or the First Amendment. All cases must be decided with opinions (concurring and dissenting opinions are, of course, permitted). The decisions may be premised on the legislative history of the amendment (materials on that history will be provided) and on any doctrines or precedents created by the Justices themselves. The Justices may not rely, however, on any actual decisions of the United States Supreme Court. The seminar is designed to give students some insight into the problems a justice confronts in collaborating with colleagues, interpreting an ambiguous constitutional provision, and then living with the doctrines and precedents he or she creates.
Constitutional Law is not a prerequisite for participation in this seminar. Enrollment will be limited to three courts.
Since the members of each court must work together closely under rigid time constraints, it is preferable for students to form their own complete courts.
Students will complete a series of short research papers.
Winter 2013
Geoffrey R. Stone
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Constitutional Law I: Governmental Structure
LAWS 40101
- 01
(3)
x
This course analyzes the structure of American government, as defined through the text of the Constitution and its interpretation. The major subjects covered are the allocation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches; the function of judicial review; and the role of the states and the federal government in the federal structure.
The student's grade is based on class participation and a final examination.
Winter 2013
Aziz Huq
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Constitutional Law I: Governmental Structure
LAWS 40101
- 01
(3)
x
This course analyzes the structure of American government, as defined through the text of the Constitution and its interpretation. The major subjects covered are the allocation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches; the function of judicial review; and the role of the states and the federal government in the federal structure.
The student's grade is based on class participation and a final examination.
Autumn 2012
Justin Driver
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Constitutional Law II: Freedom of Speech
LAWS 40201
- 01
(3)
x
A study of the doctrine and theory of the constitutional law of freedom of speech. The subjects for discussion include advocacy of unlawful conduct, defamation, invasion of privacy, commercial speech, obscenity and pornography, offensive speech, symbolic expression, restrictions on the speech of government employees, restrictions on speech in schools and colleges, the relevance of free speech principles to museums and libraries, protest in public places, regulation of campaign expenditures and communications, freedom of the press as a distinct principle, and regulation of the electronic media.
Students who have completed Constitutional Law IV are ineligible to enroll in this course.
The student's grade is based on a final examination and class participation.
Winter 2013
Geoffrey R. Stone
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Constitutional Law III: Equal Protection and Substantive Due Process
LAWS 40301
- 01
(3)
x
This course considers the history, theory, and contemporary law of the post-Civil War Amendments to the Constitution, particularly the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The central subjects are the constitutional law governing discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and other characteristics, and the recognition of individual rights not explicitly enumerated in the Constitution. Throughout, students consider certain foundational questions, including the role of courts in a democracy and the question of how the Constitution should be interpreted.
The student's grade is based on a final examination.
Autumn 2012
David A. Strauss
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Constitutional Law III: Equal Protection and Substantive Due Process
LAWS 40301
- 01
(3)
This course considers the history, theory, and contemporary law of the post-Civil War Amendments to the Constitution, particularly the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The central subjects are the constitutional law governing discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and other characteristics, and the recognition of individual rights not explicitly enumerated in the Constitution. Throughout, students consider certain foundational questions, including the role of courts in a democracy and the question of how the Constitution should be interpreted.
The student's grade is based on a final examination.
Spring 2013
Gerald Rosenberg
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Constitutional Law V: Freedom of Religion
LAWS 40501
- 01
(3)
+, w
This course explores religious freedom in America, integrating First Amendment doctrine and broader philosophical antecedents.
It is recommended that students first take Constitutional Law I.
Students who have completed Constitutional Law IV are ineligible to enroll in this course.
Grading will be based on a scholarly paper or a final examination, with class participation taken into account.
Autumn 2012
Jeremy Mallory
