Details

This course will introduce LLM students to the history and principal characteristics of the American public and private law systems, and to the Socratic teaching method. It is a required course for LLM's, and lays the foundation for understanding other courses in American public and private law. Topics that will be covered include the relationship of American law to that of England, the legal and constitutional theories that justified the American Revolution and the framing of the federal constitution of 1789, the allocation of power between the state and federal government, and the nature of American jurisprudence. There will be only one text, which is required. Presser & Zainaldin, Law and Jurisprudence in American History (6th ed. 2006), which will be available for fall classes Evaluation: Final Examination Text: Presser & Zainaldin, Law and Jurisprudence in American History (7th ed. 2009). Prerequisites: None