Introduction to Law and Legal Reasoning Assignment
1. Define the following four sources of United States law. (Constitutional law; statutory law;
administrative law; and case law/common law)
2.
What is common law?
3. What are statutes of limitations?
4. What is stare decisis? What is a binding authority? What is positive about stare decisis?
Should a court always follow precedent? Why or why not?
5. What is a case of first impression? What factors does a judge use in reaching a decision in this
situation?
6. What are the four basic steps of legal reasoning? (IRAC)
7. Define the following schools of jurisprudential thought: (Natural Law; Positivist School;
Historical School; Legal Realism School; Sociological School)
8. Write a brief for the case Buck v. Bell. Look up how to brief a case in your workbook or look at
internet resources.
9. Read the story of compensation for victims of forced sterilization in North Carolina.
http://rt.com/usa/north-carolina-eugenics-program-932/
10. Using some of the course resources, make an argument for whether or not sterilization of
prisoners upon the advice of prison officials is constitutional.