RESEARCH METHODS IN LAW
FALL 2003
SYLLABUS
Professor Corcos
Week 1: August 18, 2003
Introduction to the course. Research skills survey. Survey of student interests. Review exercise. Electronic Reserves Information.
For next week read: Roberts, Legal Research Guide: Patterns and Practice: Chapter 1: Case law research, Chapter 3: Federal legislative research, and Chapter 6: State legislative research
For next week, read: Oates, The Legal Writing Handbook, chapter 1: An Overview of the United States Legal System, Chapter 2: An Introduction to Common and Enacted Law, and Chapter 3: Reading and Analyzing Statutes and Cases
Voice stress analysis story.
Week 2: August 25,2003. State and federal case law. In-class exercise: Voice stress analysis. Shepardizing and updating case law. Digests.
For next week: Read Oates, Chapter 15: The Judicial Branch, Chapter 17: Citators
For next week: Read Oates, Chapter 13: The Legislative Branch and Chapter 19: How to Approach a Legal Research Problem: Sample Research Plans
Week 3: September 1, 2003. Labor Day. No Class
Week 4: September 8, 2003. Begin federal and state statutory research. Annotated codes. Day care story and in-class exercise. Legislative history. Alternative medicine research intitiatives.
For next week read: Roberts, Chapter 8: Secondary source research; Oates, Chapter 16: Secondary Sources
Week 5: September 15, 2003 Law Office Management: Billing and Profit Issues: Guest Speaker, Mr. Thompson. Continue legislative research.
Week 6: September 22, 2003 Continue legislative research. Guest speaker (Tentative): Mr. Kevin Gray.
For September 29, 2003 Read Roberts, Chapter 4: Federal administrative research and Chapter 7: State administrative research, Oates: Chapter 14: The Executive Branch and Administrative Agencies
Week 7: September 29, 2003 Select a research topic. Law-related research sources, scientific and social science sources. In class exercise: Polygraph bibliography.
For next class: Read the scientific method and Prof. Watkins' handout. Please prepare at least 2 or 3 questions to ask Dr. Watkins.
Week 8: October 6, 2003 Reading Day. No Class.
Week 9: October 13, 2002 Guest speaker: Dr. Steven Watkins, Dept. of Chemistry.
Administrative law research. In class exercise: Federal Administrative Law Research. Begin state administrative law research.
For next week read Roberts, Chapter 2, U. S. constitutional research and Chapter 5, state constitutional research
Week 10: October 20, 2003 Written research memo on polygraph admissibility due. Guest speaker: Dr. David Young, Department of Physics, LSU A&M
Continue state administrative law research. Begin all-encompassing mega-exercise.
Week 11: October 27, 2003 Continue all-encompassing mega-exercise.
Week 12: November 3, 2003 Foreign and Comparative law research. In class exercise.
Week 13: November 10, 2003 International law research.
Week 14: November 17, 2003 International law research. Exercise. Written research memo on patent application appeal due. Handout.
Week 15: November 24, 2003 Research topic reports (5-7 minutes each).
December 12, 2003 4 p.m. Final research memos due. No exceptions.