Brian Leiter : Courses and Seminars
Evidence
LAWS 41601
An examination of the federal rules governing proof at trial. On many points, the rules of most states are the same or similar (New York and California have the most differences, though even they have significant overlap with the Federal Rules). There will be somewhat more lecture than in a typical course, in order to facilitate coverage of material. Even so, certain relatively minor or easy topics will not be covered (Burdens of Proof, Presumptions, Judicial Notice), and others will be covered only briefly (e.g., Privileges, Impeachment of Witnesses). Approximately two-thirds of the term will be devoted to the two central topics in the law of evidence: relevance and hearsay (including the hearsay exceptions).
Winter 2012
Brian Leiter
Jurisprudence I: Theories of Law and Adjudication
LAWS 47411
An examination of classic jurisprudential questions in and around the theory of adjudication: the theory of how judges actually do decide cases and how they ought to decide them. These questions include: Do legal rules really constrain judicial decision-making? What makes a rule (or norm) a rule of the legal system? Are principles of morality legally binding even when such principles have not been enacted into a law by a legislature? (Relatedly, are there objective principles of morality?) When no legal norm controls a case, how ought judges to decide that case? Can there be right answers to legal disputes, even when informed judges and lawyers disagree about the answer? Are there principles or methods of legal reasoning that constrain judicial decision-making, or is legal reasoning essentially indeterminate, such that a skillful judge can justify more than one outcome for any given dispute? Is judicial decision-making really distinct from political decision-making of the sort legislators engage in? Readings drawn exclusively from major twentieth-century schools of thought - especially American Legal Realism (e.g., Karl Llewellyn, Jerome Frank), Natural Law (e.g., Ronald Dworkin, John Finnis), and Legal Positivism (e.g., H.L.A. Hart, Joseph Raz) - supplemented by other pertinent readings (from Leslie Green, Richard Posner, and the instructor, among others). No familiarity with either jurisprudence or philosophy will be presupposed, though some readings will be philosophically demanding, and the course will sometimes venture into (and explain) cognate philosophical issues in philosophy of language and metaethics as they are relevant to the core jurisprudential questions.
Take-home essay exam.
Spring 2012
Brian Leiter
Topics in Moral, Political, and Legal Philosophy
LAWS 78603
The topic for Winter 2012 will be the "Objectivity of Ethics." We will read classic twentieth-century and contemporary authors on this issue, including G.E. Moore, A.J. Ayer, Charles Stevenson, J.L. Mackie, Gilbert Harman, John McDowell, and Peter Railton, among others. JD students have the option of doing extra work (for substantial writing credit) on Ronald Dworkin's account of the objectivity of ethics and its role in his jurisprudential theory. Students without a background in philosophy should consult the instructor before enrolling.
Philosophy Ph.D. students may take this seminar for an 'R' grade (please register under PHIL 51830).
Winter 2012
Brian Leiter, Michael Forster
