LGLS10A
INTRODUCTION TO LAW
Fall 2015
Mr. Breen
This course surveys the nature, process, and institutions of law. It explores the reasoning patterns of lawyers and judges;
the interplay of judicial cases and legislative policies; the impact of history and culture on resolving legal conflicts; and
the ideals of justice and responsibility in both domestic and international law.
This survey course will help students meet the following learning goals:
Knowledge: developing critical awareness of the gap between “real law” and popular stereotypes; distinguishing legal
perspectives from related concerns in other disciplines (political expediency, economic efficiency, moral perfection); clarifying
purposes for dividing legal power among courts, legislatures, and executive officials; relating international law to national and
state legal systems.
Skills: understanding and practicing modes of legal reasoning; finding authoritative sources for legal rules; increasing oral and
written facility in expressing arguments under legal constraints.
Justice: grasping the challenges of reaching justice through law; putting the range of justice goals in historical context; testing
your own justice commitments against current American and global problems.
Further goals and specific requirements for the course are spelled out in discussion sections.
Required texts (available at the Brandeis Bookstore):
Russell Banks, The Sweet Hereafter (Harper Collins, 1991)
David S. Tanenhaus, The Constitutional Rights of Children (Univ. of Kansas, 2011)
All additional readings are available electronically on the course Latte site.
Weekly schedule:
The class normally meets Mondays and Wednesdays at 9 a.m. for lectures in Olin-Sang 101.
The class will also meet on Thursday, Sept. 4th.
Discussion sections 1-5 meet Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in rooms to be announced (beginning September 10).
Discussion sections 6-10 meet Thursdays at 9 a.m. in rooms to be announced (beginning September 11).
For syllabus updates, class assignments and notices, and links to additional readings, consult Latte.
Lecture dates and weekly reading assignments:
August 27: Basic themes: justice and responsibility. The rule of law as a legal principle.
September 2: The rule of law as a legal principle
Readings (on LATTE): Totten v. United States (1875, U.S. Supreme Court)
Vu Doc Guong v. United States (1988, US Court of Appeals)
September 3:
The role of the judge in formulating legal rules.
LGLS10A, INTRODUCTION TO LAW, SPRING 2009
Thomas v. Winchester (1852)
(on LATTE)
September 9 The subtle evolution of legal rules
Loop v. Litchfield (1870)
Losee v. Clute (1873)
Devlin v. Smith (1882)
Torgeson v. Schultz (1908)
(all on LATTE)
September 10 Old rules in modern settings; voices of the community.
MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co. (1916)
(on Latte)
September 16: Voices of the Community
Engel, “The Oven Bird’s Song: Insiders, Outsiders, and Personal Injuries in an American
Community”
Restatement of Law (Torts) 2d, Section 402A
September 21:
Using civil litigation to address complex social problems
Young v. Bryco Arms (2004, Illinois Supreme Court)
(on Latte)
Exercise No. 1 due at the beginning of class on Monday, Sept. 21
September 22, 29 Legislation: the Clean Water Act
(Readings TBA)
October 5-7
Ethics and community values in the pursuit of justice
Banks, The Sweet Hereafter (read entire book by Oct. 7)
October 12-14 Statutes and Property Relations: what is “intellectual property?”
Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics (2013) (on Latte)
LGLS10A, INTRODUCTION TO LAW, SPRING 2009
October 19 Law and Innovation: the Story of Sony v. Universal Studios
October 21 Statutes in an evolving society: what to do about “fracking?”
Exercise #2 due at the beginning of class, Wednesday, October 21
October 26 The Constitutional Revolution in criminal law
Tanenhaus, The Constitutional Rights of Children pp. 3-49
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
Furman v. Georgia (1976)
(All on Latte)
October 26-28 What Process is “Due;” the Enduring Controversy over the Rights of Children
Tanenhaus, The Constitutional Rights of Children, pp. 49-128
Roper v. Simmons (2005)
Graham v. Florida (2010)
Miller v. Alabama (2012)
(All on Latte)
November 2 Fixing Errors in the Criminal Justice System
Garrett, “Judging Innocence” (2008) (on Latte)
November 4 Social norms in the jury box: of Dueling and Assisted Suicide
November 9-11 Personal privacy and national security: the national, and international, legal framework
Olmstead v. U.S. (1928)
Smith v. Maryland (1979)
U.S. v. Jones (2012)
Riley v. California (2014)
Exercise # 3 due at the beginning of class on Monday, Nov. 16
November 16-18 International Law: the Rule of Law on the World Stage
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (1978) (excerpts)
USA-Patriot Act (2001) (excerpts)
(both on LATTE)
LGLS10A, INTRODUCTION TO LAW, SPRING 2009
November 23 NSA Surveillance in Constitutional Context
Klayman v. Obama (2014) (on Latte)
November 25: No Class (Thanksgiving Holidays)
December 7: Contract Law: Public Limits on Private Bargains
Sherwood v. Walker (1887) (On Latte)
December 9: Final Thoughts on the Rule of Law
Exercise #4 Due at the Beginning of Class, Dec. 9
Final Examination: Date and Time TBA