LAWPT 219-7001
LEGAL TERMINOLOGY
Fall 2014
COURSE OUTLINE & SYLLABUS
Course Title:
Credit Hours:
Class Time/Location:
Legal Terminology
3
Monday, Wednesday 10-11:45a
Sam Glenn Complex rm. 222
Required materials:
Books:
Brown. G.W. , Legal Terminology (6th ed., 2013)
Garner, B.A., Black’s Law Dictionary, 2d Pocket Edition
Other:
lcmail address and password (for access to Blackboard)
Instructor:
Email:
Office/Phone:
Office Hours:
Joni Dickinson Mina, Ph.D.
jmina@lcsc.edu
223B Sam Glenn Complex/208.792.2809
Tuesdays, 4:00-5:00 p.m.; and Wednesdays, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
Teaching Assistant:
Email:
Nicole Farris
nefarris@lcsc.edu
Purpose and Description
Knowledge of legal terminology is one of the basic foundations for working as a legal
administrative assistant or paralegal in law, or in court reporting, criminal justice, and business and
insurance fields. This course introduces students to more than 1,300 legal terms that are found in the
areas of criminal, civil, property, estate, contract, and business law. The students who dedicate
themselves to study and hard work in this class will acquire the proficiency to understand the language
of the legal profession and to communicate effectively with employers and coworkers in their chosen
fields.
Methods of Instruction
This course is offered as a “hybrid,” which combines in-class and online (via Blackboard,
accessed through your Warrior Web account) work. In-class activities comprise lecture/discussion and
online activities include vocabulary exercises and quizzes. Out-of-class activities comprise completing
textbook exercises to hone your knowledge. We will be covering about three chapters per lecture, so be
prepared to do a lot of work in this class. Quizzes may only be taken in the classroom. Your chapter-
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end exercises and online activity will be monitored by the instructor to ensure your consistent
participation. Instruction on accessing Blackboard will be given the first week of class.
The course is divided into three phases to allow for limited self-pacing. Students may work as
slowly or as quickly as they like, so long as everyone has completed all exercises and quizzes by the end
of each phase (see the syllabus for actual dates). Individual instruction may be arranged for those who
have difficulty mastering the material or using Blackboard.
Evaluation and Grading
You may earn a total of 550 points in this class. Four criteria form the basis for evaluation of
your grade:
Online Exercises (OEs):
200 points
There are 40 online exercise modules (5 pts. each) that comprise the fill-in-the-blank
exercises “Using Legal Language” at the end of each chapter of the text. You must insert
the correct choice and ensure it is correctly spelled to receive credit.
Textbook Exercises:
100 points
In addition to the “Using Legal Language” exercises, the textbook contains other
exercises at the end of each chapter. You are to complete all of those exercises to
sharpen your knowledge of legal terminology and to get you comfortable with their
usage. Your progress on this work will be checked at each lab session.
Vocabulary Quizzes:
190 points
There are 19 quizzes (10 pt. each) that will follow the lectures on the text material (see
the syllabus). Each quiz comprises 10 T/F and 10 multiple choice questions drawn from
the chapters.
You may take chapter quizzes at any time after you complete the online exercises for
the chapters (within each phase). You may access the quiz ONLY once in Blackboard;
you will be blocked from accessing it once you have submitted your responses.
Attendance and Participation:
60 points
As mastery of legal terminology is a cornerstone of your professional development, it is
important that you make every effort to attend class. Roll will be taken, and your
completion of the chapter-end and online exercises and quizzes will also be monitored.
Blackboard will not accept any work or quizzes submitted later than the established phase end
dates. In other words, do not miss the phase end deadlines!
If you find that you are behind in work at midterms (about mid-October) and will be unable to
catch up before the end of the semester, I will encourage you to drop the course and pick it up the next
time it is offered.
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The grade distribution in this class is as follows:
500-550
450-499
400-449
350-399
349 and below
A
B
C
D
F
Study Hints
Students who have successfully completed this class have recommended the following study
hints:
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


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
Read each chapter carefully and completely before doing the online or chapter-end
exercises
Do ALL exercises in the text before going online to complete the Blackboard work
Don’t put off any work because catching up is difficult in this class
Use flash cards for the course
Study with a partner or a group of students
Use Black’s Law Dictionary or any other dictionary alongside the glossary in the text
to help you better understand the terms we are learning
Participate in class discussion—ask questions!
Read the newspaper or watch the news on television—stay abreast of events that
concern the law
Students’ Responsibilities
See the handout titled “Statement of LCSC/Legal Support Program Students’ Responsibilities and
Expectations” that describes LCSC students’ general responsibilities and what you can expect from
classes taught by this instructor. Your failure to meet the requirements and/or expectations may result
in dismissal from this class or the program.
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LAWPT 219—LEGAL TERMINOLOGY
SYLLABUS
WEEK
DATE
CH.#
DESCRIPTION
PHASE I
1
8/25
8/27
2
3
4
5
6
Introductions; course overview; Blackboard instruction
1
9/1
1: Court Systems and Jurisdiction
NO CLASS—LABOR DAY HOLIDAY!
9/3
2
2: Criminal Trial Procedure
9/8
3
3: Civil Trial Procedure
9/10
4-5
4: Defensive Pleadings in Civil Trials
5: Methods of Discovery
9/15
LAB
Quizzes—ch. 1-5
Chapter Exercise Check
9/17
6-7
6: Pretrial Hearing & Jury Trial
7: Steps in a Trial
9/22
8-9
8: Legal Ethics
9: Constitutional Law
9/24
10-12
9/29
LAB
10: Crimes, Accomplices and Defenses
11: Crimes Against Property
12: Crimes Against the Person and Human Habitation
Quizzes—ch. 6-12
Chapter Exercise Check
END OF PHASE I—ALL ONLINE EXERCISES & QUIZZES MUST BE COMPLETED
BY 11:55 PM ON 9/29/2014
7
10/1
13-14
13: Homicide
14: Crimes Against Morality and Drug Use
10/6
37-38
37: Marriage, Divorce, and Dissolution of Marriage
38: Divorce Procedure
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WEEK
8
9
DATE
10/8
CH.#
15-17
11
12
15: Torts and Tortfeasors
16: Intentional Torts
17: Negligence and Product Liability
Quizzes—ch. 13-17, 37-38
Chapter Exercise Check
10/13
LAB
10/15
18-20
18: Formation of Contracts
19: Contract Requirements
20: Third Parties and Discharge of Contracts
10/20
21-23
21: Personal Property and Bailments
22: Intellectual Property
23: Law of Agency
10/22
10
DESCRIPTION
Catch up on lectures
10/27
LAB
Quizzes—ch. 18-23
Chapter Exercise Check
10/29
24-25
24: Wills, Testaments, and Advance Directives
25: Revocation, Lapses, and Ademption
11/3
26-28
26: Principal Clauses in a Will
27: Disinheritance and Intestacy
28: Personal Representative of the Estate
11/5
29-30
29: Settling an Estate
30: Trusts
11/10
LAB
Quizzes: ch. 24-30
Chapter Exercise Check
END OF PHASE II—ALL ONLINE EXERCISES & QUIZZES DUE BY 11:55 P.M. ON 11/10/2014
PHASE III
11/12
LAB
Quizzes
Chapter Exercise Check
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WEEK
13
DATE
11/17
CH.#
31-33
11/19
34-35
DESCRIPTION
31: Estates in Real Property
32: Multiple Ownership of Property
33: Acquiring Title to Real Property
34: Deeds
35: Mortgages
14
11/24-28
15
12/1
36
12/3
39-40
39: Business Organizations
40: The Law of Bankruptcy
12/8
LAB
Quizzes—ch. 31-36, 39-40
Chapter Exercise Check
12/10
LAB
Quizzes—ch. 31-35, 39-40
Chapter Exercise Check
Last day of class
16
NO CLASS—THANKSGIVING BREAK
36: Landlord and Tenant
END OF PHASE III—ALL ONLINE EXERCISES & QUIZZES MUST BE COMPLETED
BY 11:55 P.M. 12/10/2014
`
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