[ Up ] [ Syllabus, Cardozo School of Law ] [ LSU Law Center Introduction to U.S.Law Syllabus ] [ Syllabus, University of Miami ] [ Southern Methodist University Syllabus ] [ Wake Forest Syllabus ] [ Syllabus, Wake Forest, Legal Research and Writing ] PERSPECTIVES OF THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM
Fall 2002
Professor Gail M. Daly, Southern Methodist University School of Law
16422. Class Time and Room: This class meets Fridays from 3:00 to 4:40 p.m., in Room 201 Florence Hall.
16423. Office Information: My office is Room 316 Underwood Law Library, in the administrative offices on the 3rd floor of the Library. My office telephone number is 214-768-1873, and my email address is gdaly@mail.smu.edu. I check my email regularly, so this is a particularly painless and efficient way to contact me.
16424. Office Hours: I am in my office every day. If you wish to make an appointment to see me, you may either contact me by phone or email, or stop by my office and schedule an appointment with my secretary. Much of the time, an appointment will not be necessary, and you can feel free to drop by anytime.
16425. Course Materials: The required books for this course are:
William Burnham, Introduction to the Law and Legal System of the United States, 3rd ed. (West Group 2002)
Morris L. Cohen & Kent C. Olson, Legal Research in a Nutshell, 7th ed. (West Group 2000)
16426. Grading: Your grade will be based 50% on assignments during the semester (a legal memorandum assignment will account for the largest percentage), and 50% on the final exam. Late assignments will have points deducted from their grade. I reserve the right to adjust grades upwards by up to five points based on class participation. Class participation includes attendance, preparation, and taking part in class discussion.
16427. Final Examination: Your final examination will be a take-home exam distributed on the 22nd of November (our next-to-last meeting) and due on December 4th (our final class).
16428. Classroom Etiquette: Students are expected to arrive on time for class, to remain throughout the class, and to leave only when class has ended. If an emergency, illness, or condition makes it impossible for you to meet these expectations, please let me know, either before class begins, or as soon as possible after it ends.
Before each class begins, please disconnect all audible signals on watches, clocks, computers, communications devices (including cellular telephones and beepers), or any other noise-making devices.
16429. Honor Code: You are subject to the Code of Professional Responsibility of the School of Law of Southern Methodist University. In this course, you should be particularly concerned with three aspects of the Code:
Plagiarism. In written work, you may not quote, paraphrase, or use the ideas of another without accurate attribution. A violation occurs whether the act is intentional, careless, or negligent.
Assignments. You are encouraged to discuss your assignments with other Perspectives students, unless otherwise instructed. As a rule of thumb, once you begin to write anything (notes, outlines, drafts, etc.), however, you must stop discussing the assignment and stop sharing any information. The work you submit must be entirely your own. This means, among other things, that you may not:
16527. Split up assignments so that any student does less than all of the assignment;
16528. Outline assignments together;
16529. Exchange drafts of assignments for any reason, including substantive or stylistic editing;
16530. Write any portion of another student= s assignments or allow any other person to write a portion of your assignment;
16531. Discuss your assignments with anyone but your fellow Perspectives students or me; or
16532. Trade disks.
Library. Observe both library regulations and common courtesy in the library and with library materials. Do not remove library materials from the section of the library in which they are shelved. Anyone found hiding books or removing pages from books will be immediately report to the Committee on Professional Responsibility for appropriate disciplinary action.
16507. Assignments: The Rules of Form for Assignments are attached, and apply to all assignments you are required to hand in.
16508. Class Preparation: A list of reading assignments for each class meeting is attached. These readings may be supplemented occasionally with additional reading materials that I will distribute in class.
PERSPECTIVES OF THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM
Rules of Form for Written Assignments
16592. The most important part of your assignments is content. You must also observe rules of form, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and citation form, however. Although I will not deduct points from your grade for mere spelling, grammar, punctuation, or citation errors, I will consider your overall citation form as a factor in your grades.
16593. Do not use a cover sheet, plastic cover, or folder on your assignments.
16594. Staple the pages together in the upper left-hand corner.
16595. Place your name and the assignment title on the upper right-hand corner of the first page of each assignment.
16596. All assignments must be legible and neat. All assignments must be typed, double-spaced, and have at least 1-inch margins on all sides. You must use a twelve (12) point font or larger.
16597. Citation form must comply with A Uniform System of Citation (The Bluebook).
PERSPECTIVES OF THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM
Reading Assignments and Class Schedule
Week 1 August 30 History and Governmental Structure
Read: Burnham, Chapter 1 (pp. 1-36) and pp. A15-A31 (U.S. Constitution)
Week 2 September 6 Legal Methodology/Constitutions and Statutes
Read: Burnham, Chapter 2 (pp. 37-79)
Nutshell, pp. 126-167
Week 3 September 13 The Judicial System/Case Law/Citators
Read: Burnham, Chapter 5 (pp. 167-195)
Nutshell, pp. 44-78 and pp. 114-125
Week 4 September 20 Civil Procedure/Adversary System
Guest lecturer: Professor Elizabeth Thornburg
Read: Burnham, Chapter 7 (pp. 225-264) and
Chapter 3 (pp. 80-125)
Week 5 September 27 LEXIS and WESTLAW training
Guest lecturers: Mr. Greg Ivy and Ms. Jeanette Alford
Reading to be announced
Week 6 October 4 Criminal Law
Guest lecturer: Professor Victoria Palacios
Read: Burnham, Chapter 14 (pp. 524-552)
Week 7 October 11 Constitutional Law
Guest lecturer: Dean John B. Attanasio
Read: Burnham, Chapter 9 (pp. 314-381)
Week 8 October 18 Legal Writing/Legal Memoranda
Reading to be announced
Week 9 October 25 Tort Law
Guest lecturer: Professor Joseph Norton
Read: Burnham, Chapter 11 (pp. 418-453)
Week 10 November 1 Antitrust Law
Guest lecturer: Professor Paul Rogers
Reading to be announced
Week 11 November 8 International Law
Guest lecturer: Professor Ndiva Kofele-Kale
Read: Burnham, Chapter 17 (pp. 648-700)
Week 12 November 15 Outlining Courses and Writing Exams
Guest lecturer: Professor Michael Colatrella
Reading to be announced
Week 13 November 22 Federal Income Tax Law/Income Tax Research
Guest lecturers: Professor Henry Lischer and Mr. Kurt Adamson
Read: Burnham, Chapter 16 (pp. 608-647)
Take-home exam distributed
Week 14 December 4 Review
Take-home exam due