LUND UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF LAW
Version of March 24, 2015
JUFN19 INTRODUCTION TO THE LEGAL SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES
SPRING 2015
COURSE OUTLINE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
Week 1
March 23-27
Class 1 (2 hours)
 Topics:
o Course overview and processes
o Introduction to the Socratic Method
o Conception of the lawyer in US legal education
o A first introduction to the US legal system: Constitutional structure, sources of
law, the judicial system
Readings:
No readings assigned
Class 2 (2 hours)
 Topics:
o Introduction to the common law and to common law legal reasoning
o Case law in relation to statutory law (legislation)
o The principle of stare decisis
o Stare decisis in the US federal and state judicial systems: who is bound by
the decisions of which courts?
o Ratio decidendi and obiter dicta
o Rogers v. Tennessee
o Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad
Readings:
1. Fletcher and Sheppard, pp. 5-10 (“Ten ‘Simple’ Facts About American Law”)
2. Fletcher and Sheppard, p. 79 (“Reading Cases”) – p. 81 (end at “Reasoning from
Statutes”)
3. Rogers v. Tennessee in Fletcher and Sheppard starting at p. 83 (paragraph
beginning “Virtually all of these arguments…) and ending at p. 102
4. Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad (distributed as a handout)
Note: in reading Rogers and Palsgraf, please pay attention in particular to four
things:
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1.
The facts of the case (What happened? When did this case take place, and in
what court? Who are the parties to the case? What was the outcome for the
parties?).
2. The legal issues involved (what are the questions of law that are in dispute?)
Note that the opinion and the dissent(s) may disagree on what the legal issues
are.
3. The holding (the legal rule that the opinion ultimately applies).
4. The rationale (the legal reasoning supporting the holding). Note that both the
opinion and the dissent(s) will offer rationales supporting their positions.
You may find it useful to glance through “How to write a case brief for law school:
Excerpt reproduced from Introduction to the Study of Law: Cases and Materials, Third
Edition (LexisNexis 2009) by Michael Makdisi & John Makdisi” available online at
http://www.lexisnexis.com/en-us/lawschool/pre-law/how-to-brief-a-case.page . Ignore
the part on highlighting.
Week 2
March 30-April 3
Class 3 (2 hours)
 Topics:
o Historical and legal background to the US Constitution
o Separation of powers
o Checks and balances
o Allocation of powers among the different branches of the federal government, and
between the federal government and the state governments
o The electoral/appointment process for each of the three branches of the national
government
o First discussion of judicial review
o Marbury v. Madison
o Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee
Readings:
1. The US Declaration of Independence (excerpt in Fletcher and Sheppard at p. 173)
2. The US Constitution (available at the start of the Casebook, in Chapter 5 of Fletcher
and Sheppard, or via an online search)
3. Casebook, pp. 25-48
Class 4 (2 hours)
o
o
o
o
Judicial Review, continued
The federal judicial system
“Cases and controversies” restriction
Jurisdiction of federal courts: Federal question jurisdiction and diversity
jurisdiction
o McCullough v. Maryland
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Readings:
1. Mark Tushnet, Weak Courts, Strong Rights: Judicial Review and Social Welfare
Rights in Comparative Constitutional Law, Princeton University Press 2008, pp.
18-33
2. Fletcher and Sheppard Chapter 6
Week 3
April 6-10
Class 5 (3 hours)
Judicial review, continued.
Federalism, continued
Whose law, whose procedure? When state courts deal with issues of federal law, and federal
courts deal with issues of state law, which set of laws (state or federal) do they apply, and
which set of procedural rules (state or federal)?
Readings:
Class 6 (2 hours)
The commerce clause
First introduction to substantive due process
Wickard v. Filburn
Readings:
Week 4
April 13-17
Class 7 (2 hours)
Substantive due process. Equal protection.
Readings:
Class 8 (3 hours)
Equal protection, continued.
Readings:
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Week 5
April 20-24
Class 9 (2 hours)
Equal protection, continued.
Readings:
Class 10 (3 hours)
Equal protection, continued
Readings:
Class 11 (2 hours)
Brief Introduction to criminal law in the US System
Search and Seizure
Readings:
Week 6
April 27-May 1
Class 12 (2 hours)
Considering Mens rea
Guest speaker (via remote technology) :
Professor Alec Walen, Rutgers University School of Law
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o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Different definitions, conceptualizations and levels of mens rea
The Model Penal Code’s approach to mens rea
California approach to mens rea
Criminal law in a federal system
Strict liability
Felony murder rule
Regina v. Cunningham
Commonwealth v. Welansky
Commonwealth v. Malone
Readings:
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Class 13 (2 hours)
Film and discussion : 12 Angry Men
Note : this class will likely start on the hour, rather than at 15 minutes past, to allow time for
discussion
Week 7
May 4-8
Class 14 (2 hours)
Criminal procedure
Guest speaker: Mr. Patrick McKinley
Patrick J. McKinley is the former Assistant District Attorney of Santa Barbara County,
California. He has tried over 300 criminal jury trials during his 39 years as a prosecutor.
Following his retirement he has been teaching American criminal law and procedure in
various law schools in Europe - mostly in Germany.
Readings:
Note: Mr. McKinley will also be speaking on the evening of Tuesday, May 5. This will be
open to all. Time and place to be announced.
Class 15 (2 hours)
Criminal procedure and discretion
Guest speaker: Mr. Patrick McKinley
Class 16 (2 hours)
Introduction to Contracts
Readings:
Week 8
May 11-15
Class 17 (2 hours)
Swedish and American contracts in legal and cultural perspectives
Guest speaker: Mr. Adam Green, Partner, Mannheimer Swartling
Readings:
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Class 18 (2 hours)
International Law in the US legal system
Guest speaker: Prof. John Cerone, Fulbright Distinguished Chair
Readings:
Week 9
May 18-22
Class 19 (2 hours)
Freedom of Expression
Guest speaker: Prof. Mark Gibney, Wallenburg Visiting Professor
Readings:
Class 20 (2 hours)
Freedom of Expression
Guest speaker: Prof. Mark Gibney, Wallenburg Visiting Professor
Readings:
Class 21 (2 hours)
Freedom of Expression
Guest speaker: Prof. Mark Gibney, Wallenburg Visiting Professor
Readings:
Class 22 (2 hours)
The Affordable Care Act (may be substituted by another recent major case)
Readings:
To be announced
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Week 10
May 25-29
Class 23 (2 hours)
Windsor and same-sex marriage (may be substituted by another recent major case)
Readings:
To be announced
Class 24 (2 hours)
Review session for final exam
Readings:
No readings assigned
Take-home exam distributed via the class website on Friday, May 29.
Exam due on Friday, June 6 at 6 pm. Submit via email to Hans Liepack, the course
administrator, at hans.liepack@jur.lu.se.
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