Courses
The courses below will satisfy the Upper-level Writing Requirement.
sort by course number642 - Animal Law (2 hours)
A survey of legal, ethical, and policy issues regarding non-human animals. Topics include anti-cruelty laws; medical and scientific research; liability for injuries to, or caused by, animals; hunting laws; and standing for animals. Students will write a paper in this course. Offered on a periodic basis.
541 - Business Drafting (2 hours)
This course focuses on legal drafting in the business setting. Students will be required to draft and evaluate typical documents including corporate documents, loan and purchase contracts, partnership agreements, and employment agreements. This course satisfies the Legal Research and Writing III requirement.
602 - Civil Law Tradition (2 hours)
This course traces the development of European civil law systems from their common source in Roman law and legal science to modern civil codes (in particular the Austrian, French, German, Swiss, and Dutch). The course will also examine the ongoing process of harmonization and unification of private law in the European Union.
643 - Civil Rights Remedies (2 hours)*
This course will examine how the judiciary should respond to race discrimination and the efficacy and competency of federal courts in redressing race discrimination. The class will take as a given that a legal violation has been proven; the question becomes how the courts should respond. Students will examine such issues as voting districts based on race; compelled integration of public housing; compensatory education programs in formerly segregated school systems; affirmative action programs; and the question of whether any judicially-imposed remedy is appropriate for race discrimination.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
590 - Comparative Constitutional Law (3 hours)
This course will explore questions central to public law issues in the United States and across the world. It will consider the purposes for which constitutions are established, and the processes of constitution-making and constitutional change.
583 - Comparative Law (2 hours)
This course introduces comparative methods of legal analysis, with a focus on the "civil law tradition" in Latin America. Study includes the development of the civil law tradition in Europe, the spread of that tradition to Latin America, and particular topics of Latin American law. Weekly graded papers; no final exam.
403 - Conflict of Laws (3 hours)
A study of the choice of law rules applicable where at least one of the operative facts in a case is connected with some state or country other than the one in which suit is brought.
500 - Criminal Procedure: Selected Topics (2 hours)*
A detailed study of one or more selected aspects of criminal procedure. The topics covered in recent years have included sentencing law, police accountability, and the jurisprudence of the death penalty.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
565 - Dispute Resolution (3 hours)
A study of traditional and alternative methods of resolving disputes; use of techniques such as arbitration and mediation will be studied. Negotiation theory and tactics will also be explored. Students who have taken Negotiation or Mediation in the past or who are currently enrolled in or who plan to take Negotiation or Mediation may not register for Dispute Resolution.
512 - Environmental Law (3 hours)
A selective survey of Federal approaches to public health and environmental regulation, including study of at least one of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.
572 - European Union Law (2 hours)
A survey of the significant laws and policies of the European Community, including the legal and institutional framework, the internal market, competition and environmental laws and an overview of external relations and commercial policy.
647 - Gender and the Law (2 hours)
This course will examine how the law affects women’s lives in a number of different contexts. The class will consider a number of different areas, including but not limited to employment, education, family responsibilities, violence against women, and other issues affecting women’s bodies, including pornography and prostitution. The class will also review a number of feminist legal theories and issues relating to the intersection of gender with race and class.
525 - Health Care Law and Policy (2 hours)
This course introduces students to the structure, financing and regulation of the health care system and proposals for its reform. Legal topics include Medicare, medical staff disputes, health care antitrust, HMOs and insurance regulation.
501 - International Law (3 hours)
An examination of the nature of international law, sources and evidence of international law and agreements, and international dispute resolution, including the use of force.
502 - Jurisprudence (3 hours)
Seminar discussion of some of the problems concerning the nature and sources of law, schools of jurisprudence, and the nature of judicial process with application to cases and other materials.
655 - Law and Terrorism (2 hours)*
This seminar examines the complex array of legal and policy issues generated by the phenomenon of terrorism, with an emphasis on post-9/11 developments. Topics likely to be addressed include: the scope of federal criminal laws relating to terrorism (and constitutional concerns raised by some such laws); the nature of the FBI’s investigative authorities (and constitutional concerns that they raise); the regulation of intelligence-gathering and other activities conducted by other government agencies; the use of military force in connection with counterterrorism policy (including the full array of constitutional, international, and statutory issues raised by Guantanamo, military detentions, targeted killings, and war crime trials); and issues associated with interrogation.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
589 - Law and Valuation (2 hours)
This course considers the interplay of the law and modern valuation techniques. We look at modern valuation theory and methods, and their application in particular legal valuation contexts such as bankruptcy, equitable distribution, medical malpractice litigation, government takings and corporate buyouts. Students will present a group project and write a short paper on a topic of their choice. Offered on a periodic basis.
519 - Law, Literature, and Culture (3 hours)*
The course asks students to reflect on justice by examining ethical and moral issues faced by lawyers in literature and film. Study of classic works in law and literature curriculum as well as of less often studied works and several films will give students new tools of analysis and moral perspective. These tools will be brought to bear on the study of some legal opinions that will be read as narratives in a specific context.
* This course may be offered for 2 hours during some years.
535 - Legal History- American (3 hours)*
A study of how the law has reflected and shaped American culture. The course includes English origins of ideas of individual rights and limited government, controversies that shaped the American Revolution, the development of torts in the 19th century, and how the controversy over slavery shaped the Fourteenth Amendment.
* This course may be offered for 2 hours during some years.
566 - National Security Law (2 hours)
A study of separation of powers; the legislative process; military jurisdiction; and civil court review of military actions.
581 - Native American Law (2 hours)*
This course deals with legal protections for tribal sovereignty, the enforcement of the trust responsibility, the protection of land and natural resources, federal recognition, gaming and financing of tribal projects. This field of law supports a vibrant legal practice for attorneys in a complex regulatory environment.
* This course may be offered for 3 hours during some years.
530 - Natural Resources (2 hours)
A study of the ownership, development, and use of natural resources as oil, gas, coal, water, and timber and an exploration of the tension between development and conservation. Coverage may include the management of resources on federal public lands, including hardrock mining, the leasing system for energy fuels, and protection of recreational and wilderness values. Offered on a periodic basis.
545 - Patent Law (2 hours)
A study of patentability, rights of a patentee, problems of enforcement, antitrust constraints, the licensing of patents and procedures.
570 - Pre-Trial Practice and Procedure (3 hours)*
An exploration of the procedural requirements involved in getting a civil case to trial. Frequent drafting assignments involving pleadings, discovery, and pre-trial motions required.
* Spring 2008 only (570-2)
578 - Race and the Law (2 hours)
This seminar will examine the relationship between race and law in America. It will explore the role that the law has played throughout American history in areas such as slavery, the administration of justice, public accommodations, voting rights, the Civil Rights movement, and interracial marriage. Prerequisites: Constitutional Law I and Constitutional Law II .
651 - Sexuality, Religion and the Law (2 hours)
This course explores a wide variety of issues related to sexual identity and sexual orientation. With the law as the starting point, the overarching questions that define the place of the gay individual in American society will be examined. We will consider, among other topics, the regulation of sexuality, sexual orientation, gender roles, the workplace, the intersection of law and religion, same-sex relationships, and gay parenting. Much of the legal doctrine considered in this course will be constitutional in nature, including studies of the right to privacy, the First Amendment, and equal protection.
510 - State and Local Government (2 hours)
A study of the nature and organization of municipal corporations, state legislative control of local government units, municipal police power, tort and contractual liability, constitutional and statutory limitations on taxation, borrowing, and the expenditure of funds.
557 - Taxation: Corporate Reorganizations (2 hours)
A study of tax-free corporate acquisitions and divisions, including transfer of loss carryovers and other tax attributes. Offered on a periodic basis.
Prerequisite: Taxation: Corporations and Shareholders.
542 - Taxation: International Tax (3 hours)
A study of United States taxation of United States citizens and corporations earning income abroad and United States taxation of foreign corporations and citizens earning income in the United States. Prerequisite: Taxation: Federal Income Taxation.
544 - Taxation: Policy (2 hours)
A study of the social and economic consequences of current and proposed tax legislation. Prerequisite: Taxation: Federal Income Taxation.
