LAW 6002 - Law and Legal Method

Credit Hours: 3

A review of the American legal system, including the courts and the legislatures, role and functions of its personnel, form and substance of law from a procedural and substantive perspective, and primary and secondary sources of the law. Students will be exposed to federalism, the function of law making, and dispute resolution in the judicial system. The course also surveys the processes of the judicial, legislative, and executive branches and the role of administrative agencies. Another facet of the course is dedicated to the mastery of legal method and the research tools essential to that success including: judicial reports, including federal and state court reports and citation forms; case finding aids, including federal, state and Supreme Court digests and encyclopedias; citators such as Shepard’s Citations; digests; annotated law reports; legal periodicals, including periodical indexes and research procedure; the nature, function and characteristics of treatises; research procedures; state and federal administrative law; federal, state and local court rules; miscellaneous research aids and non-legal research aids. The student will also be exposed to the various types of law including crimes, civil actions, contract and business actions as well as other typologies of law. Course participants will have ample opportunity to hone and develop critical legal skills by argument, advocacy, interpretation and preparation of legal documents.