WELCOME TO CIVIL
PROCEDURE!
Prof. Susanna Frederick Fischer
Columbus School of Law
The Catholic University of America
fischer@law.edu
Class 1: 8/21/01
THE STUDY OF LAW
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There was a man in our town
and he was wondrous wise:
he jumped into a BRAMBLE BUSH
and scratched out both his eyes-and when he saw that he was blind,
with all his might and main
he jumped into another one
and scratched them in again
- Karl Llewellyn, The Bramble Bush
(1960)
CUA: A COMMUNITY OF
SCHOLARS
 Friendship
 Food
 Faculty
PLAN FOR TODAY’S CLASS
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Learn what is Civil Procedure, what you’ll
study, and why it’s an important and
interesting course
Learn the course goals and objectives
Learn the course policies and procedures
Learn about the course web page at
http://www.law.edu/faculty/fischer
Learn 5 significant civil procedure
concepts by considering a hypothetical
What’s Civil Procedure?
 CIVIL
(not criminal)
 PROCEDURE (not
substantive)
Definition of Procedure (from
Merriam-Webster online)
1(a) a particular way of
accomplishing something or of
acting (b) a step in a procedure
 2 (a) a series of steps followed in a
regular definite order <legal
procedure>
 3 (a) a traditional or established way
of doing things
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Why is Procedure Important
in Law?
Why is Procedure Important
in Law?
 The
purpose of civil
procedure is to promote the
JUST, EFFICIENT, and
ECONOMICAL resolution of
CIVIL DISPUTES
 Rule 1 of the Fed. R. Civ. P.
What Kinds of Procedures Do Courts
and Other Dispute Resolution Bodies
Need?
What Kinds of Procedures Do Courts
and Other Dispute Resolution Bodies
Need? These include:
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Rules for jurisdiction (over defendant, over
subject matter)
Rules for how disputes enter the court system
Rules for how what’s in actually in dispute is
determined (pleading)
Rules for how disputes progress through the
court (or tribunal) system
Rules for pretrial fact investigation (discovery)
Rules for how disputes are terminated (jury
verdict? judge’s order? before trial? after trial?)
How Will We Learn Civil
Procedure?
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Using sample case files (in CB) as study tools,
we’ll follow the path of a federal civil action from
its beginning through trial, verdict, and
enforcement of judgment
We’ll read important Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure and important statutory provisions
We’ll read important court decisions
(interpretation of rules/court-made doctrine)
We’ll apply rules and cases to hypothetical
practice problems, like those in Glannon
What topics will we study?
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1. Introductory unit
2. Pleading
3. Joinder
4. Discovery
5. Juries and trials
6. Bypassing the jury: other types of
adjudication
7. Preclusion
8. Jurisdiction and venue
Why is Civil Procedure
Important and Interesting?
You can’t understand substantive
law without understanding
procedure.
 Civil Procedure is an introduction to
the legal system and profession
 Civil Procedure introduces many
important legal skills
 Civil Procedure involves values
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Course Objectives/Goals
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Learn important civil procedure concepts
Learn the procedural steps of a civil
action in federal district court
Develop effective learning techniques,
including briefing cases and
understanding rules
Develop exam-taking and oral
presentation skills
HAVE FUN WHILE LEARNING!
Course Policies and Procedures
(See Course Outline)
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Course Materials
Attendance/Tardiness
Class Participation/On Call
Preparing for Class
Finding Me/Office Hours (T 5-6 pm)
Exam/Grading
Practice Midterm
Written assignments
Course Web Pages
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Hosted (in part) by Lexis
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URL is:
http://www.law.edu/faculty/fischer
[scroll down to Civil Procedure Fall
2001]
Civil Procedure Concepts
A hypothetical from a real case
 Vosberg v. Putney, 50 NW 403 (Wis.
1891)
 What does the citation tell us about
the court?
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VOSBERG HYPOTHETICAL
Assume that you’ve just passed the
bar exam and you’re sitting in your
law office
 Mr and Mrs Vosberg, the parents of
a junior high school student,
Andrew, need your legal assistance.
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The Vosberg’s Story
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“Our son Andrew was in class at
school, sitting at his desk and
minding his own business. Another
student, George Putney, was sitting
across the aisle from Andrew.
George was gangly with long legs
and pointy feet. George stretched
those long legs and in doing so,
kicked Andrew in the right shin.”
Andrew’s injuries (according
to the Vosbergs)
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Immediately after the accident, Andrew
felt EXCRUCIATING pain in his shin and
right leg, and started to scream in pain.
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Andrew has been treated by several
doctors. For reasons not entirely clear,
the injury caused a full-blown medical
disaster. Andrew can’t use, and is likely
to remain unable to use, his right leg.
Comments by George’s
Parents to the Vosbergs
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Mrs Putney: “George never meant to
hurt Andrew. Any harm to Andrew was
an accident.”
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Mr Putney: “Andrew’s making it all up.
He wasn’t hurt at all. Why don’t you just
get lost, Buck-o. Tell Andrew to stop his
pathetic whimpering sniveling drivel and
go back to school!”
Assume the following:
1. There is no such thing as a court
system
 2. The Vosbergs did not take kindly
to Mr. Putney’s remarks and want to
do something about it.
 WHAT CAN THE VOSBERGS DO?
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WHAT CAN THE VOSBERGS
DO?
Resort to violence?
 Give up in despair?
 Try to get a friend to mediate?
 Persuade the school administration
to expel or suspend George?
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Fortunately, we have a
court system!
The court system is one of our
branches of government (the judicial
branch)
 This course relates to procedures in
the court system, specifically the
CIVIL SYSTEM
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The Rules of Procedure
For a court system, these rules
govern how disputes enter and
progress through the court system.
 DO PROCEDURAL RULES TELL US
WHO WILL WIN THE DISPUTE
BETWEEN THE VOSBERGS AND THE
PUTNEYS?
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Significant Concept: Difference
between Procedural/Substantive
Law
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Do procedural rules tell us who will win
the Vosberg-Putney dispute?
No – SUBSTANTIVE LAW (e.g. tort) tells
us who wins (liability) and what the
winner gets (remedies)
Procedure can’t exist independently of
substantive law
Line between procedure and substance is
fuzzy
Significant Concept: Difference
Between Civil/Criminal Cases
If Andrew’s case was classified as
criminal, who would be the moving
party?
 What would be the main objective of
the criminal action?
 What if Andrew’s case is classified as
civil?
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Why Might the Vosbergs
Want to Bring a Civil Case?
Why Might the Vosbergs
Want to Bring a Civil Case?
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$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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Criminal law will not compensate the
Vosbergs, but would only punish
George
Concept: Remedies
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What civil remedies would the
plaintiffs seek in Vosberg?
Common Civil Remedies
Damages (financial compensation)
 Injunction (order to do or stop doing
something)
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Summary: Difference Between
Civil and Criminal Cases
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Criminal cases are brought by the gov’t
representing society
Criminal cases result in punishment (e.g.,
fine or imprisonment)
Civil cases can be between private parties
and/or the government
Civil remedies include financial
compensation (damages) or orders to do
or stop doing something (injunctions) and
sometimes punishment (punitive
damages)
Significant Concept: Parties
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In the Vosberg’s case, who is the
PLAINTIFF(S)?
The DEFENDANT(s)?
We will study JOINDER rules for adding
additional parties or claims to a civil
lawsuit
Which party pays ATTORNEY’S FEES?
What is a CONTINGENCY FEE?
Significant Concept:
Jurisdiction
Personal Jurisdiction
 Subject matter jurisdiction
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Subject Matter Jurisdiction
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Not every court can hear every type of
case
Federal district courts have limited
subject matter jurisdiction
Two important types – (1) diversity (2)
federal question jurisdiction
State courts- some have GENERAL
jurisdiction, some have LIMITED
jurisdiction (e.g. tax courts, housing
courts)
Personal Jurisdiction
The defendant must have sufficient
MINIMUM contacts with the state
where the court is located that it
would be FAIR to subject her to suit
there.
 DUE PROCESS: 14th Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution
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What did We Learn Today?
Why Civil Procedure is an important
and interesting subject
 Goals and objectives for this course
 Class policies and procedures
 The class web pages
 Several significant concepts in broad
outline (list on next slide)
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The significant concepts we
learned today
1. Difference between civil and
criminal actions
 2. Difference between procedural
and substantive law
 3. Remedies
 4. Parties
 5 Jurisdiction
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Make Sure You Have These
Handouts:
1. Course Outline
 2. List of Assignments
 3. Copy of these slides (can be
picked up after class)
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Have a nice evening!
See you Thursday
 We will cover
 1. Recommended Study Methods
 2. The Stages and Essential
Concepts of Civil Litigation
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