PLSC 301: American Legal System
Eastern Michigan University Department of Political Science
Fall 2015
Section 4; CRN 11146
M/W 12:30-1:45pm
421 Pray-Harrold
Instructor:
Office:
E-mail:
Office Hours:
Matthew J. Zalewski, J.D. and Ph.D. Candidate (ABD)
602F Pray-Harrold / 734-487-3113
mzalews1@emich.edu [Please include “PLSC 301” in the subject line]
Mondays 1:45-3:00, and Wednesdays 10:30-12:00 (or by appointment)
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
This course provides a broad introduction to the American legal system and its place in
the American political system, with specific emphasis on civil law. While many
undergraduate courses and popular portrayals of American law highlight criminal law
or the boundaries of specific constitutional protections such as free speech or equal
protection, this course will emphasize the law governing relationships between private
individuals and also will examine the specific procedures that the government must
follow to properly exercise powers over private individuals within accepted
constitutional boundaries. Like all forms of law, the civil law system is intricately
connected to the broader American political and legal systems. Consequently, our
introduction to civil law will include an examination of foundations of the American legal
system, the role of the legislative and executive branches in crafting statutory law, and
the relationship of civil law to the criminal law system and the U.S. Constitution. Beyond
this foundation, we will examine specific areas of law including family law, tort law,
property law, and contract law. Additionally, we will examine some fundamental
procedures that apply to civil lawsuits, including administrative procedures that must be
followed in some circumstances before a civil dispute ever reaches a courtroom. Finally,
while we will see great consistency in many elements of the American legal system, we
will also see how changes in the legal, political, and policy climate have affected the
structure of the civil law system, the role of the government in civil law matters, and the
extent to which private individuals are empowered or constrained in pursuing civil
remedies when they experience some form of harm. Ultimately, by the end of this course
you will have a strong understanding of the role civil law plays in providing order to
relationships within our society, recognize how the civil law system may be relevant to
your own life, and also develop a solid foundation for further study of law-based topics
at the undergraduate or graduate levels.
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Learning Objectives: The primary goals for this course are as follows:
1) Develop a substantive understanding of the structure of the American civil law
system, specific areas of civil law, and the place of the civil law system within the
broader American legal system.
2) Apply core concepts of civil law to hypothetical problems and simulated realworld situations so as to recognize how civil law affects citizens’ personal and
professional lives, to predict legal/policy outcomes, and/or to consider
legal/policy solutions to problems.
3) Develop a framework for understanding the connectedness of the legal system to
the broader political system, and how actors within each system respond to each
other, with specific attention to strategic use of the legal system by political
actors and the consequences of political/legal reforms.
4) Develop research and writing skills through the pursuit of a legal/policy
question of specific interest to each student.
COURSE POLICIES AND RESOURCES
Communicating with the Instructor: Please feel welcome to visit my office hours with
any questions about the course, or arrange for an individual appointment. You are also
welcome to contact me via e-mail. You can expect an acknowledgement of your e-mail
within 24 hours on weekdays, or 48 hours on weekends. Communications should be
focused on course-related matters. Please note that university regulations require me to
only communicate with students about the course through their official “@emich.edu”
accounts. Therefore, please use your “@emich.edu” account when contacting me. I
reserve the right to respond, “it’s in the syllabus,” if you ask a question that is readily
answered by reading the syllabus. Additionally, please note that although I am a licensed
attorney, I cannot serve as your personal legal counsel, so I will not be able to engage
requests for legal advice or representation.
Course Canvas Page: This course has a supplemental Canvas page, which will be used
to store the syllabus, post supplemental readings, maintain an attendance roster, and post
grades. It is possible that we will also use it to turn in assignments. To access the page,
visit http://canvas.emich.edu. If you have any technical difficulties with Canvas, either
use the “Help” link on the Canvas user dashboard, or contact the 24/7 Canvas Helpdesk
at 844-326-6322.
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Electronics in Class: The use of cell phones is prohibited in class. Making/receiving
phone calls or texts will result in a 5-point participation reduction in your Attendance &
Participation grade for each instance. (Exceptions will be made if you have a legitimate
emergency situation that requires you to be “on-call.” Please inform me of this BEFORE
class begins.) Computers/tablets may be used for note-taking, digital textbook reading,
and other course-related purposes. If you use the computer for purposes unrelated to
class and it becomes a distraction to others in the class or to the professor, your
Attendance & Participation grade will be reduced by 10 points for each occurrence.
Late Work Policy: All assignments must be turned in at the beginning of class in paper
form (unless otherwise instructed) by the due date, and all exams must be taken at the
scheduled time. The only exceptions to this policy are for properly-documented
emergencies, medical conditions, religious observances, jury duty, military service, or
other circumstances recognized by the University.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: It is my goal that this class be an
accessible and welcoming experience for all students, including those with disabilities
that may affect their learning in this class. If you believe you may have trouble
participating or effectively demonstrating learning in this course, please meet with me
(with or without an accommodation letter from the Disability Resource Center) to discuss
reasonable options or adjustments. During our discussion, I may suggest the
possibility/necessity of your contacting the DRC (240 Student Center; (734) 487-2470;
swd_office@emich.edu) to talk about academic accommodations. You are welcome to
talk to me at any point in the semester about such issues, but it is best if we can talk at
least one week prior to the need for any modifications. EMU Board of Regents Policy 8.3
requires that anyone wishing accommodation for a disability first registers with the
Disabilities Resource Center (DRC) in 240 EMU Student Center, telephone: (734) 4872470. Students with disabilities are encouraged to register with the DRC promptly as you
will only be accommodated from the date you register. No retroactive accommodations
are possible.
Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism: Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this
course. Section V.A of the Eastern Michigan University Conduct Code and Judicial
Structure for Students and Student Organizations provides that “engaging in academic
dishonesty in any form with respect to examinations, course assignments, research
projects, grades, and/or academic records” is “subject to disciplinary action.” This
includes “cheating, falsification, and plagiarism.” The full policy is available at
http://www.emich.edu/policies/policy.php?id=124&term=student%20conduct. The
EMU library also offers a slideshow tutorial regarding plagiarism at
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http://www.emich.edu/library/help/plagiarism/. Examples of academic dishonesty
include, but are not limited to:
 Submitting a paper prepared by another person, in whole or in part, as your own.
 Submitting a paper for this course that is identical, or substantially similar, to one
you submitted in another course.
 Copying the work of another, or assisting a person in copying your work.
 Including direct quotations or paraphrases without citing the source. [Avoid
copying and pasting from electronic sources to prevent this from happening.]
 Failing to cite a source from which you obtained an argument, idea, theory,
hypothesis, data, statistical results, or any other material that you are using to
support positions taken in your own written work, but which you did not generate
based on your own analysis of the materials. [When in doubt, cite.]
 Reproducing lecture notes without properly citing the notes and instructor.
 Falsely citing a work as representing an argument that it does not.
 Falsifying data or results.
 Looking at another person’s exam or using an unauthorized “cheat sheet” or
electronic device during a test.
Written assignments in this class are subject to review by plagiarism-detecting software.
Penalties for academic dishonesty will range from the student being assigned a grade of
“0” for an individual assignment to a grade of “0” for the entire course. Incidents of
dishonesty may also be reported to the Department and/or University, which may result
in further disciplinary action as provided in the Student Conduct Code.
University Policies: For more information about University policies, please visit the
Student Handbook at: http://www.emich.edu/studenthandbook/.
Withdrawal Deadlines: The last day to withdraw from this class for a 100% refund is
Thursday, September 17th. The last day to withdraw with a “W” grade (no refund) is
Monday, November 16th.
COURSE TEXTS
Required Text: Scheb, John M. II and Hemant Sharma. An Introduction to the American
Legal System. New York: Wolters Kluwer. You may choose either the 4th Edition (2015)
OR 3rd Edition (2012)
Supplemental Cases and Articles: Additional materials referenced in the schedule of
readings will be made available on the course Canvas page.
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COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
All assignments will be graded on 100-point scale. Each assignment’s point total will be
multiplied by the percentage identified below in calculating your final grade.
Assignment
Exam #1
Paper Topic
Exam #2
Paper
Final Exam
Attendance & Participation
Due Date
Wed, Oct. 7
Mon, Oct. 26
Wed, Nov. 4
Mon, Dec. 7
Wed, Dec. 16
Daily
Weight
20%
5%
20%
20%
25%
10%
100%
Grading Scale: The following scale will be used to assign final course grades:
A
AB+
B
BC+
94-100%
93-90%
89-87%
86-84%
83-80%
79-77%
C
CD+
D
DF
76-74%
73-70%
69-67%
66-67%
63-60%
0-59%
When considering “close cases” at the end of the semester (students who are within 1%
of the next highest final grade), I will consider demonstrated effort throughout the
semester, improvement throughout the semester, engagement in the course (as
demonstrated through attendance, attentiveness, and participation), communication
with the instructor, and responsiveness to instructor feedback.
Exams: Each exam will be administered in class, but may include an out-of-class short
essay component. The format of each exam will be determined closer to the exam date
and announced in class and via e-mail and Canvas at least two weeks in advance. Exams
will likely include an “objective” component (multiple choice, matching, and/or
true/false), and a “subjective” (short answer and/or essay). Exams #1 and #2 will solely
relate to Parts 1 and 2 of the course, respectively. The final exam will be primarily focused
on Part 3 material, but will include a component that will require you to recall some
knowledge that was covered on Exam #1 and/or #2. Exams will cover material from the
textbook, lectures, and supplemental material. I will schedule about a half-hour for
“review” during the lecture before each exam.
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Paper: You will write one paper that is due Monday, December 7, 2015. The paper must
be 6 double-spaced pages, typed in 12pt Times New Roman, Arial, or similar font, with
1” or 1.25” margins. I expect final papers to cite at least 5 sources (for example,
newspaper articles, professional publications, cases, and/or academic articles), and
include a bibliography. (We will have more thorough discussions about proper sources
and citations during the semester.)
Paper Topic: You will hand in a short (a few sentences to a paragraph) explanation
of your paper topic on Monday, October 26, 2015. You should choose a topic
related to material we are covering in this course that you would like to explore in
greater detail. It can be related to a substantive area of law that we cover in Parts
2 or 3 of the course, or relate to specific questions of litigation procedure or the
structure of the legal system that we cover in Part 1. You are welcome to also study
a piece of legislation or specific issue raised in our textbook. To narrow your focus,
your topic should be motivated by one of the following themes:
1) Access to Justice: Discuss how legal standards, statutory law, and/or
procedural requirements affect the ability of people who have experienced
some harm to obtain relief. Alternatively, discuss how those standards, law,
or procedures negatively affect people or entities that may be subject to
lawsuits.
2) Law and Policy: Choose an area of law or specific piece of legislation and
discuss how it has been dealt with in the political arena (i.e. U.S. Congress,
Presidency, state or local governments). How has policy shaped this area of
law? Why have policymakers paid attention to this area of law, and what affect
has it had on individuals’ abilities to pursue rights in this area of law?
3) Current Issues in Law: Choose an area of law that is currently under debate in
either the federal government or a state government and critically assess the
current state of policy with respect to that area of law. Why is this area of law
being debated? What are the key issues? Who is advocating reform? What
are the possible consequences of reform? Based on your research and your
understanding of the legal and political environments, what do you think will
be the outcome of the proposed reforms?
4) Litigation Case Study: Choose a specific civil trial of historical or current
newsworthy interest and discuss how it played out with reference to the legal
standards and procedures we have discussed in class. Analyze why the case
proceeded as it did, and critically assess the strategies and decisions in the case.
If you were an attorney or judge in the case, what might you have done
differently, and why? If you agree with how it proceeded, explain why the
outcome was correct using detailed examples from case law.
5) Other: You are welcome to propose other themes.
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Attendance and Participation:
Absences and Tardiness: Your attendance and active attention in this class is
expected professional behavior, and is required for you to succeed in this course.
I will take attendance each class and will note instances of tardiness.
Absences will affect your Attendance & Participation grade as follows:
First 2 absences: Automatically excused (no reason necessary). No point
deductions.
3rd absence: 5-point deduction*
Each absence after the 3rd: 10-point deduction*
*Absences after the first two may only be “excused” due to a properlydocumented emergency, medical condition, religious observance, military
or jury service, or similar reason recognized by the University.
Tardiness will affect your Attendance & Participation grade as follows:
First 2 late instances: No point deductions
Each additional late instance: 5-point deduction
Participation: I encourage you to ask questions and make comments during
lectures and class discussions. A portion of each lecture will also be dedicated to
evaluating hypothetical scenarios and discussing assigned readings. I expect
everybody to participate in discussions with some regularity, but the quality of
contributions is more important than quantity. I may choose to call on students at
random to discuss questions and hypothetical scenarios that I raise within the
lecture. I expect any student called upon to, at a minimum, demonstrate
engagement with the day’s lecture and reading assignment. Participation may
also be achieved through demonstrated attentiveness in class (i.e. alertness,
absence of distractions, note-taking). Attendance & Participation grades will be
reduced by 5-10 points per instance for failure to participate, being unprepared
when called upon to participate, leaving class early, regularly exiting and reentering the room during class, sleeping in class or otherwise being distracted, for
violations of the electronics policy described above, and/or causing disruption to
the class.
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SCHEDULE OF TOPICS, READINGS, AND ASSIGNMENTS


We will follow this schedule as closely as possible. Some topics may run shorter,
some longer, and some may be eliminated. Any changes affecting the reading
schedule will be announced in class, on e-mail, and via the Canvas course page at
least one class period in advance, while any changes to assignment or exam dates
will be announced at least one week in advance.
Specific page numbers for reading assignments in the Scheb & Scharma textbook
(“S&S”) are provided for two editions of the textbook using the format “(4th
pages/3d. pages),” referring to the Fourth and Third editions of the textbook,
respectively. Follow the citations for the textbook version that you are using.
DATE
TOPIC
READING ASSIGNMENT
Part 1:
Structure, Institutions, and Procedure of American Civil Law
W, Sept. 9
Syllabus Review & Course
Introduction
None
M, Sept. 14
Foundations of American Law
S&S, ch. 1 (all)
W, Sept. 16
Structure of the American
Legal System: Separation of
Powers; Federalism
S&S, ch. 3 (4th 75-91/3d. 74-88)
Printz v. U.S. , 521 U.S. 898 (1997)
M, Sept. 21
Structure: The Judicial Branch
S&S, ch. 2 (4th 33-53/3d. 31-51)
W, Sept. 23
Structure: Administrative
Agencies
S&S, ch. 2 (4th 53-65/3d. 51-62), AND
ch. 12 (4th 457-478/3d. 431-451)
Mistretta v. U.S., 488 U.S. 361 (1989)
M, Sept. 28
Civil Procedure: Lawsuit
Initiation; Pre-Trial Motions
S&S, ch. 2 (4th 65-68/3d. 62-65), AND
ch. 9 (4th 327-343/3d 311-327)
W, Sept. 30
Civil Procedure: Trial and
Evidence
S&S, ch. 9 (4th 343-355/3d. 327-338)
M, Oct. 5
Civil Procedure: Trial,
Evidence, and Appeal
Continue Sept. 28th and 30th reading.
W, Oct. 7
EXAM #1
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Part 2:
The Civil Law of Private Life: Belongings, Real Estate, and Family
M, Oct. 12
Property Law: Real Estate:
Title and mortgages
S&S, ch. 6 (4th 220-231/3d. 210-221)
W, Oct. 14
Property Law: Real Estate –
Possessory interests; landlordtenant law
MI Legislature, Tenants and Landlords:
A Practical Guide
M, Oct. 19
Property Law: Government
regulation of private property
S&S, ch. 6 (4th 231-236/3d. 221-226)
Kelo v. New London, 545 US 469 (2005)
Sharpe and Haider-Markel, “At the
Invitation of the Court,´ Publius 38(3)
W, Oct. 21
Property Law: Personal
Property; Estates and Trusts
S&S, ch. 6 (4th 213-220/3d. 205-210)
AND (4th 236-241/3d. 227-231)
M, Oct. 26
PAPER TOPIC DUE
Family Law: Marriage,
Relationships, and Divorce
S&S, ch. 8 (4th 281-298/3d. 270-285)
Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 US __ (2015)
W, Oct. 28
Family Law: Children
S&S, ch. 8 (4th 298-316/3d. 285-302)
Troxel v. Granville, 530 US 57 (2000)
M, Nov. 2
Family Law: Medical Care and
Elder Care
S&S, ch. 8 (4th 316-318/3d. 302-304)
Cruzan v. Director, 497 US 201 (1990)
WA v. Glucksburg, 521 US 702 (1997)
Vacco v. Quill, 521 US 117 (1997)
W, Nov. 4
EXAM #2
Part 3:
The Civil Law of Interpersonal and Business Relationships
M, Nov. 9
Torts: Negligence
S&S, ch. 5 (4th 177-183/3d. 170-175)
Breunig v. American Family Insurance,
173 NW2d 619 (Wis. 1970)
Palsgraf v. Long Island RR, 248 NY 339
(1928)
W, Nov. 11
Torts: Negligence, con’t;
Intentional Torts
S&S, ch. 5 (4th 183-190/3d. 175-182)
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M, Nov. 16
Torts: Intentional Torts and
Other Torts; Governmental
Liability and Immunity
S&S, ch. 5 (4th 190-209/3d. 183-200)
Hart and Montgomery v. Danak et. al.,
MI COA Docket No. 280975 (2010)
W, Nov. 18
Torts: Governmental Liability,
con’t; Policy Issues in Tort
Law
Provost, “An Integrated Model of U.S.
State Attorney General Behavior in
Multi-State Litigation.” State Politics
and Policy Quarterly 10(1): 1-24.
M, Nov. 23
Employment Discrimination
and Harassment
S&S, ch. 11 (4th 428-444/3d. 407-422)
Fuhr v. School District of Hazel Park, 131
F. Supp. 2d 947 (E.D. Mich. 2001)
Galeski v. City of Dearborn, 435 Fed.
Appx. 461 (6th Cir. 2011)
W, Nov. 25
NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING BREAK
M, Nov. 30
Contract Law:
Formation of a Contract
S&S, ch. 7 (4th 247-265/3d. 236-253)
W, Dec. 2
Contract Law:
Formation, con’t; Performance
and Breach
Continue Nov 30th reading/work on
papers
M, Dec. 7
PAPER DUE
Contract Law, con’t.
Continue Nov. 30th reading/work on
papers
W, Dec. 9
Corporate Law: Corporate
Forms and Corporate Rights
S&S, ch. 7 (4th 265-276/3d. 253-263)
AND ch. 11 (4th 416-423/3d. 396-403);
Ciepley, “Neither Persons nor
Associations.” Journal of Law and
Courts 1(2): 221-245.
M, Dec. 14
Corporate Law, con’t;
Course Conclusion;
Continue Dec. 9th reading
W, Dec. 16
FINAL EXAM, 11:30 A.M – 1:00 P.M.
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