Jonathan Masur : Courses and Seminars
Behavioral Law and Economics: Selected Topics
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.
Spring 2012
Jonathan Masur
Criminal Law
LAWS 30311
This course, offered over two sequential quarters, addresses the doctrines of criminal liability and the moral and social problems of crime. The definitions of crimes and defenses are considered in light of the purposes of punishment and the role of the criminal justice system, including police and correctional agencies.
The student's grade is based on class participation and a single final examination.
Autumn 2011
Jonathan Masur
Greenberg Seminar: Crime and Politics in Charm City: A Portrait of the Urban Drug War
LAWS 95902
We will explore these works on crime, politics, and policing in the City of Baltimore: David Simon, "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets," Davis Simon & Ed Burns, "The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner City Neighborhood," Peter Moskos, "Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore's Eastern District," and all of "The Wire." We will focus particularly on the drug war - the economics and violence of the trade; the culture of the police bureaucracy; alternative law enforcement strategies such as informants and wiretapping; the politics of race, crime rates, and legalization; and the effects of addiction. But these works also examine, within Baltimore, the effects of declining blue collar jobs and weakening labor unions; the effects of race, incumbency, and corruption on local politics; the challenges and failures of urban education and child welfare agencies; and the role of the city newspaper in self-governance.
Preference is given to 3L students.
Graded Pass/Fail.
Autumn meetings will be 10/19 and 11/9.
Autumn 2011
Jonathan Masur, Richard H. McAdams
Greenberg Seminar: Wine and the Law
LAWS 95902
This seminar will consider the law and politics of wine production and regulation in the US and elsewhere. There will be an empirical research component.
Graded Pass/Fail.
Autumn meeting will be 10/18 and 11/7.
Autumn 2011
Tom Ginsburg, 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.
Spring 2012
Jonathan Masur
Workshop: Public Law and Legal Theory
LAWS 63402
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, with an emphasis on criminal law, legal history, and politics. 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 2012
Bernard E. Harcourt, R. H. Helmholz, Alison LaCroix, Jonathan Masur, Richard H. McAdams
Workshop: Public Law and Legal Theory
LAWS 63402
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, with an emphasis on criminal law, legal history, and politics. 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 2012
Bernard E. Harcourt, R. H. Helmholz, Alison LaCroix, Jonathan Masur, Richard H. McAdams
Workshop: Public Law and Legal Theory
LAWS 63402
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, with an emphasis on criminal law, legal history, and politics. 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 2011
Bernard E. Harcourt, R. H. Helmholz, Alison LaCroix, Jonathan Masur, Richard H. McAdams
