COLUMBIA - AMSTERDAM - LEYDEN SUMMER 2003 PROGRAM IN AMERICAN LAW July 6 - August 2, 2003
To assure a shared basic knowledge, Introduction to US Civil Procedure, Statutes & Regulations, Contracts, and Constitutional Law are compulsory courses for all participants. In addition, each participant is required to enroll in at least three elective courses.
First week, July 7
Second week, July 14
Third Week, July 21
Fourth week, July 28
9:00-10:00am
Jane Spinak Family Law
Jane Spinak Family Law
10:15-11:15am
William Buzbee Statutes and Regulations
William Buzbee Statutes and Regulations
Penelope Andrews Torts (10-11am)
Penelope Andrews Torts (10-11am)
11:30-12:20pm
Barbara Black Contracts
Barbara Black Contracts
Kendall Thomas Constitutional Law (11:15-12:15pm)
Kendall Thomas Constitutional Law (11:15-12:15pm)
L U N C H
2:15-3:15pm
Ellen Chapnick Intro to US Civil Procedure
Ellen Chapnick Intro to US Civil Procedure
Christopher Gosnell Conflicts of Law (2:15-3:15pm)
Christopher Gosnell Conflicts of Law (2:15-3:15pm)
Constitutional Law- Professor Kendall Thomas This is the basic course in constitutional law, a foundation for more specialized courses on the Constitution and for public law courses generally. The course locates the Constitution in the life of the United States. It explores: the theory of the Constitution and its antecedents, judicial review, its justification and development, and its legal and political significance; the nature of our federeal system, the growth of national power and of limitations on state authority, and the abiding significance of the states; the separation of the powers and varieties of checks and balances in the U. S. government; and the theory and conttent of individual rights under the Constitution, the development of the principal rights during 200 years by Constitutional amendment and judicial interpretation, and the jurisprudence of the Judiciary in its role as the guardian of rights under the Constitutions and civil rights acts.
Contracts- Professor Barbara Black This is a basic introductory course in contract law. Topics include consideration and other bases for enforcing promises, the bargaining process including precontractual liability, the requirement of a writing (statute of frauds), policing the bargain for unfairness, remedies for breach of contract, performance and breach, and failure of basic assumptions (mistake, impracticability, frustration). These topics are explored in the context of construction contracts, contracts for the sale of goods, contracts for the sale of land, employment agreements, family agreements, and other significant types of agreements.
Introduction to U.S. Civil Procedure- Dean Ellen Chapnick This course provides and overview introduction of the private-law litigation system in the United States. Primary topics are: the structure and interrelation of U.S. state and federal courts, procedural mechanisms of litigation control, and the unique civil procedure associated with the distinctively American institution of the civil jury trial. Intensive attention will be paid to the analytical process of reading American case decisions.
American Tort Law in Comparative Perspective- Professor Penelope Andrews This course will address some of the basic doctrine and theories that comprise modern American tort law and practice. We will focus on intentional torts and negligence, looking at the development of the law in these areas. We will also briefly look at the conflict around the tort litigation explosion in the U.S.A. and examine the arguments surrounding the issue. We will conclude by looking at the approach in other jurisdictions, focusing on approaches from Australia, South Africa and Canada.
Conflicts in Law- Professor Christopher Gosnell
Current Issues in Family and Children's Law- Professor Jane Spinak This course will focus on at least four examples of current, pressing family and children's law issues. The course will incorporate legal, social work and public policy questions in an interactive, practice oriented approach. The course will include some of the following topics: the Supreme Court's most recent reaffirmance of the primacy of parental decision-making within the family unit; young people's freedom of expression rights in the context of attempts to limit children's internet access to materials considered "harmful to minors"; the impact, if any, of pornography and violence on the healthy development of children; substance abuse and the reproductive rights of women; the interaction between domestic violence and child maltreatment; historical and current efforts to reform courts that address family and children's cases; and the legal and social science understanding of "the best interest of the child."
Legal Research- Simon Canick One of the first challenges that students at United States law schools face is to become familiar with, and critical toward, an enormous range of resources that make up the complex universe of U.S. legal information. This course will introduce students-- and require them to use-- the most important of these resources, both primary materials like case law and statutes, and also secondary sources like digest and legal periodicals. We will also explore broad issues such as the relationship between common law systems like that of the U.S. and the information sources they generate. Using a blend of electronically published commercial, non-commercial and government resources, we will consider at some length questions of authority and currency raised by the adoption of digital legal information in the study and practice of law in the U.S. and elsewhere.
