ELEMENTS B/D: Prof. Fajer
Please Select Seats
Only in the First Four Rows
MUSIC: Emile Giles, Piano
Beethoven, Piano Sonatas 21, 23, 26
Composed: 1803, 1805, 1810
Recorded: 1986
ELEMENTS B/D CLASS #1
1.Why Elements?
2. Why Animals/Pierson?
3. Logistics
4. 1L Issues: Confusion
5. Begin Pierson & DQs 1.01 & 1.02
ELEMENTS B/D CLASS #1
1. Why Elements?
2.Why Animals/Pierson?
3. Logistics
4. 1L Issues: Confusion
5. Begin Pierson & DQs 1.01 & 1.02
William Shakespeare
The Merchant of Venice
Act V Scene 1
Launcelot Gobbo (enters):
Sola, sola.
William Shakespeare
The Merchant of Venice
Act V Scene 1
Launcelot Gobbo (enters):
Sola, sola!
ELEMENTS B/D CLASS #1
1. Why Elements?
2. Why Animals/Pierson?
3.Logistics
4. 1L Issues: Confusion
5. Begin Pierson & DQs 1.01 & 1.02
ELEMENTS B/D CLASS #1
Logistics
Forms to Circulate
• Seating Charts
• Acting as Attendance Sheets Today
• Preferred First Names (Note §B Issue)
• Lunches
• Contact Info & Pseudonyms
ELEMENTS B/D CLASS #1
Logistics
Dean’s Fellows:
Trey Dahl &
Joey Kaye
ELEMENTS B/D CLASS #1
Logistics
Operation of the Class
• Class time as rehearsal/workshop
ELEMENTS B/D CLASS #1
Logistics
Operation of the Class
• Class time as rehearsal/workshop
• Mechanics in Info Memo #1; Note Especially:
– Courtesy
– Discussion Questions (DQs)
– Panel System
ELEMENTS B/D CLASS #1
Three Common 1L Issues
Class #1: Confusion
Class #2: Control
Class #3: Competition v. Cooperation
ELEMENTS B/D: CONFUSION
ELEMENTS B/D: CONFUSION
SOME REASONS FOR CONFUSION:
• Reality TV Analogy: Missing the Key
ELEMENTS B/D : CONFUSION
SOME REASONS FOR CONFUSION:
• Reality TV Analogy: Missing the Key
• Metal Shop Analogy: Identifying the “Machines”
ELEMENTS B/D : CONFUSION
SOME REASONS FOR CONFUSION:
• Reality TV Analogy: Missing the Key
• Metal Shop Analogy: Identifying the “Machines”
• Different Backgrounds
– Hard Qs & Easy Qs
– Old Techniques May Not Work
ELEMENTS B/D : CONFUSION
Helpful to Think of as Immersion in New
Language/Culture
• Don’t expect to get everything quickly
• Read slowly & carefully & then reread
• Thinking about Fall Break
ELEMENTS B/D : CONFUSION
BE PATIENT WITH
OTHER STUDENTS
ELEMENTS B/D : CONFUSION
& ESPECIALLY
BE PATIENT
WITH YOURSELF!!
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ELEMENTS B/D CLASS #1
1. Why Elements?
2. Why Animals/Pierson?
3. Logistics
4. 1L Issues: Control
5. Begin Pierson & DQs 1.01 & 1.02
– Start Movie
Pierson v. Post
CASES IN CONTEXT
• History of the Underlying Dispute (DQ1.01)
• How Legal System Has Handled Similar Disputes
(DQ1.02)
• How Society Has Handled Similar Disputes Outside
the Legal System (DQ1.03) (Class #2)
• Overall Social/Historical Context (1805) (Class #2)
Pierson v. Post: Who is Who?
Pierson v. Post: Who is Who?
2d sentence of case (p.3): “The declaration
stated that Post … did ‘find and start … a fox,’
and whilst there hunting, chasing and pursuing
the same with his dogs and hounds, and when
in view thereof, Pierson, well knowing the fox
was so hunted and pursued, did, in the sight of
Post, … kill and carry it off.’
Pierson v. Post: Who is Who?
• Post did find and start the fox, hunted and
pursued it.
• Pierson, knowing the fox was hunted and
pursued, did kill and carry it off.
So Why Is Case Called
Pierson v. Post?
Pierson v. Post: Who is Who?
Why Is Case Called Pierson v. Post?
First Sentence (p.3): “This was an action of trespass on
the case commenced in a justice’s court by the present
defendant against the now plaintiff.”
Some appellate courts put the name of the party
appealing first. (e.g., here; US Supreme Ct.)
Pierson v. Post: Who is Who?
Why Is Case Called Pierson v. Post?
Some appellate courts put the name of the party appealing first.
Some appellate courts leave the name of the case
as originally filed (e.g., U.S. Courts of Appeal)
Pierson v. Post: Who is Who?
Why Is Case Called Pierson v. Post?
Some appellate courts put the name of the party
appealing first; some appellate courts leave the name of
the case as originally filed .
SO HAVE TO READ CAREFULLY!!
Pierson v. Post: DQ1.01
Fill in Sequence of Events
• Post (п) begins hunt; starts & chases fox
• П’s Lawyer files lawsuit
• N.Y. Supreme Court issues judgment for Pierson (∆)
Pierson v. Post: DQ1.01
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS (1)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Post (п) begins hunt; starts & chases fox on beach
Pierson(∆), aware of hunt, shoots & kills fox
Probably confrontation where п claims fox but ∆ takes it.
Maybe negotiation
Maybe discussions/social consequences that push п to act
П goes to lawyer
– Fact investigation
– Legal research
– Possibly negotiation
• П’s Lawyer files “Declaration” starting lawsuit
Pierson v. Post: DQ1.01
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS (2)
• ∆ gets lawyer (if not done before lawsuit filed)
– Fact investigation, legal research, possibly negotiation
• ∆’s lawyer files response [“Answer”] or motion to dismiss
– If motion filed, it was denied; answer then filed
• Further investigation/negotiation [Today: “Discovery”]
• [Maybe: Pre-Trial Motions]
• Jury trial won by П
• NY Supreme Court grants ∆’s motion for writ of certiorari
• Briefs filed by parties & probably oral arguments
• [Maybe additional negotiation]
• Court deliberates, then issues opinion and Judgment for ∆
Pierson v. Post: DQ1.01
Verdicts & Judgments
• Decision of a jury is called a “verdict”; ultimate
decision by a judge is called a “judgment”
• Judgment must be entered even after a verdict:
– Normally judge enters j-ment pursuant to verdict
– Occasionally, if judge has strong reason to disagree,
enters judgment essentially overturning verdict
(“Judgment notwithstanding the verdict.”)
Pierson v. Post: DQ1.01
1805 v. Today
• Today start civil lawsuit with “complaint” (not
“declaration”)
• Today can do court-supervised fact investigation
process after complaint filed (“Discovery”)
• In most jurisdictions, a losing ∆ would use “appeal”
to take case to next level, though in some situations,
writ of certiorari used.
Pierson v. Post: DQ1.02
PRECEDENT
• What types of authorities does the court rely
on as precedent? Why are these authorities
considered helpful?
Pierson v. Post: DQ1.02
PRECEDENT
• Majority Opinion relies on Treatises
– Books Written by Experts in Law
– Useful Because Smart People Looking at Same Problem
– Treatises here all by experts in “Civil Law”
• System based in Codes of Law & Statutes
– E.g., Roman Law (Justinian); Napoleonic Code
– Used Today in Continental Europe, Latin America, Louisiana
• Contrast “Common Law”:
– Judge-made law based in cases
– Used in systems developed from English Law (Most of U.S. & Canada,
British West Indies, etc.)