Introduction to American Law

This course introduces U.S. law and the U.S. legal system to students who have received their previous education and training in another legal system. Through close reading and discussion of judicial opinions, statutes, administrative regulations, scholarly writing and other materials in constitutional law, private law (through property), and civil procedure and process, the course offers a selective field survey of the law school curriculum; special emphasis is placed on canonical cases and core concepts from the foundational first-year of U.S. law study. By the end of the course, students can expect to have become familiar with the key terms, interpretive methods, modes of argument and institutional arrangements that are distinctive to American law and legal culture, and that require particular attention by students trained abroad.