Introduction to American Law

August 16 - September 1

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 analysis of judicial opinions, statutes, administrative regulations, scholarly writing and other materials in constitutional law, private law (tort, contract, property), administrative law, criminal law, and civil and criminal procedure and process, the course offers a selective field survey of the law school curriculum; daily classroom discussion will also expose students to the "Socratic method," the foundational mode of instruction in the first-year of U.S. law study. A central theme of the course is the difference between the common law and civil law. So far as is practical, we will situate and analyze the U.S. materials within a comparative perspective. 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.