LAW 621 - American Legal System I

Unit(s): 2

This course begins with an overview of the U.S. Constitution, the structure of the federal government, and federal and state judicial systems. Special emphasis is given to the relation between state and federal courts and the selection and function of American judges and juries. Selected judicial interpretations of constitutional law and contract law are discussed. The course includes legal research and writing components including classes introducing the students to Westlaw/Lexis; locating federal statutes; locating federal cases, and locating law review articles which are all discussed in class. Students are given an overview of each of these components and do exercises which are discussed in subsequent classes. Classes are punctuated with visits to the California Supreme Court and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Afterwards, students write papers comparing one aspect of law in their country with U.S. law.

Restriction: Course Student Attribute Restricted to Law Int’l Exchange Visitor, Law LLM, Law LLM (Full-Time), and Law LLM (Part-Time); College restricted to School of Law; Degree restricted to Master of Laws
School of Law