Jonathan Masur : Courses and Seminars
Workshop: Public Law and Legal Theory
LAWS 63402
The Public Law and Legal Theory Workshop, a new offering for 2009-10, brings together the former workshops on Law and Politics, Crime and Punishment, and Legal History. Working from a variety of methodological orientations, the workshop examines questions arising at the intersections of public law, legal theory, and interdisciplinary work in law and the social sciences. Sessions are devoted to the presentation and discussion of papers by faculty members from other institutions. Students must enroll for the entire year and will receive one pass/fail credit. Students are required to read the papers, attend the workshop, ask questions, and to submit one reaction paper per quarter on a paper of their choosing.
Autumn 2009
Jacob Gersen, Bernard E. Harcourt, Alison LaCroix, Jonathan Masur, Richard H. McAdams, David A. Strauss
Workshop: Public Law and Legal Theory
LAWS 63402
The Public Law and Legal Theory Workshop, a new offering for 2009-10, brings together the former workshops on Law and Politics, Crime and Punishment, and Legal History. Working from a variety of methodological orientations, the workshop examines questions arising at the intersections of public law, legal theory, and interdisciplinary work in law and the social sciences. Sessions are devoted to the presentation and discussion of papers by faculty members from other institutions. Students must enroll for the entire year and will receive one pass/fail credit. Students are required to read the papers, attend the workshop, ask questions, and to submit one reaction paper per quarter on a paper of their choosing.
Spring 2010
Jacob Gersen, Bernard E. Harcourt, Alison LaCroix, Jonathan Masur, Richard H. McAdams, David A. Strauss
Workshop: Public Law and Legal Theory
LAWS 63402
The Public Law and Legal Theory Workshop, a new offering for 2009-10, brings together the former workshops on Law and Politics, Crime and Punishment, and Legal History. Working from a variety of methodological orientations, the workshop examines questions arising at the intersections of public law, legal theory, and interdisciplinary work in law and the social sciences. Sessions are devoted to the presentation and discussion of papers by faculty members from other institutions. Students must enroll for the entire year and will receive one pass/fail credit. Students are required to read the papers, attend the workshop, ask questions, and to submit one reaction paper per quarter on a paper of their choosing.
Winter 2010
Jacob Gersen, Bernard E. Harcourt, Alison LaCroix, Jonathan Masur, Richard H. McAdams, David A. Strauss
Administrative Law
LAWS 46101
This course examines the structure of the administrative state, its relations to the other branches of government and private citizens, and the constitutional, statutory, and common law rules that govern the substance and procedure of administration action and inaction. The course focuses on some constitutional topics, including the non-delegation doctrine, presidential control over administrative agencies, and the delegation of adjudicative authority to non-Article III officers. Substantial attention is given to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and other statutory requirements for lawful agency action. Covered topics include the proper role of agencies in interpreting statutory and regulatory law; judicial review of agency decisions; public participation in agency rulemaking; and non-traditional approaches to regulation, including negotiation and privatization. A central theme of the course is how the law manages the tension between rule of law values (e.g., procedural regularity, accountability, and substantive limits on arbitrary action) and the desire for flexible, effective administrative governance. The student's grade is based on a final examination.
Winter 2010
Jonathan Masur
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
Jonathan Masur
Selected Topics in Behavioral Law and Economics
LAWS 51702
This seminar will explore a set of frontiers--issues at the intersection of law and human behavior, including people's conduct under risk and uncertainty; the commitment to fairness; differences between men and women; social influences and peer pressure; extremism; adaptation; happiness; discrimination; and judicial behavior. Some discussion will be devoted to the uses and limits of paternalism. Grades will be based class participation and a series of papers or a major paper. Writing for this seminar may be used as partial fulfillment of the JD writing requirement (SWP for JD '10; SRP or WP for JD '11 and JD '12).
Winter 2010
Jonathan Masur
Patent Law
LAWS 78001
This is a basic course in patent law, in which the class is introduced to the governing statutes, core concepts, and influential court decisions. Students without a technical background are nevertheless encouraged to enroll. Patent cases often involve complicated technologies, but the key to understanding the relevant legal issue almost never turns on an understanding of the patented technology itself. Student grades are based on an in-class final examination.
Autumn 2009
Jonathan Masur
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
Jonathan Masur
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
Jonathan Masur
Greenberg Seminar: Crime in the City of Big Shoulders
LAWS 95942
Chicago has a storied history of crimes both great and small, public and private. We will discuss historic and contemporary crime in the City of Chicago, ranging from famous murders nearly a century ago to modern issues of gangs and criminal justice. We will read: For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder that Shocked Chicago; Courtroom 302: A Year Behind the Scenes in an American Criminal Courthouse; and Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets; along with books on the Chicago mob and 19th century vice crimes (to be chosen later). We will meet on Oct. 21, Nov. 18, Jan. 13, Feb. 24, and April 21.
Autumn 2009
Jonathan Masur, Richard H. McAdams
