Saul Levmore : Courses and Seminars
Independent Research
LAWS 49901
Second- and third-year students may earn course credit by independent research under the supervision of a member of the faculty. Such projects are arranged by consultation between the student and the particular member of the faculty in whose field the proposed topic falls.
Autumn 2009
Saul Levmore
Torts
LAWS 30611
The focus of this course, offered over two sequential quarters, is on the Anglo-American system (mainly judge-created) of liability for personal injury to person or property. Special stress is laid on the legal doctrines governing accidental injury, such as negligence and strict liability, assumption of risk, and the duty requirement. The rules for determining damages in personal-injury cases are discussed. Alternative theories of tort liability, e.g., moral and economic, are compared. The student's grade is based on a single final examination.
Spring 2010
Saul Levmore
Independent Research
LAWS 49901
Second- and third-year students may earn course credit by independent research under the supervision of a member of the faculty. Such projects are arranged by consultation between the student and the particular member of the faculty in whose field the proposed topic falls.
Winter 2010
Saul Levmore
Independent Research
LAWS 49901
Second- and third-year students may earn course credit by independent research under the supervision of a member of the faculty. Such projects are arranged by consultation between the student and the particular member of the faculty in whose field the proposed topic falls.
Spring 2010
Saul Levmore
Public Choice
LAWS 69001
This course focuses on the relationship between modern perspectives on voting and interest groups on the one hand and legislation and judicial interventions on the other. Public choice is essentially the science of collective decision-making, and it comes with several well developed tools of analysis. With these tools, and that perspective, we revisit the interactions between legislatures and judges, democracy's attempt to solve certain problems, and the roles played by a variety of legal doctrines and constitutional institutions (from takings law to line-item vetoes and to the meaning of precedents). As the course proceeds, we explore specific topics in law, such as the possibility of judicial vote-trading, the role of referenda in some jurisdictions but not others, and the role of precedent itself. Grades will be based on an examination, but students can choose to generate half their grade with a short paper related to a topic encountered in class.
Winter 2010
Saul Levmore
Greenberg Seminar: What can We Learn from the Peace Corps and Teach for America?
LAWS 95932
This seminar will read and discuss several books written by participants in the Peace Corps and, more recently, in Teach for America. What can we learn from these autobiographical and journalistic reports that might help us with development policy abroad or education policy closer to home? What can we learn about individuals and their capacity for change through a structured, short-term experience? This Greenberg Seminar will meet on five Thursday evenings at 730 pm, in the course of the Fall and Winter terms. Dates to hold on to include: October 15, 29 and November 12, 19. We will use three of these dates and then two Thursdays in the Winter. Preference is given to 3Ls but some preference will also be given to a (very) few students who have participated in the Peace Corps or in TFA. If you have such experience, please send a note to Professor Roin as well as to the Registrar; it will not make your registration automatic but it will improve your chances.
Autumn 2009
Saul Levmore, Julie Roin
