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First Readings

Spring 2012

This may not be an exclusive listing of all faculty members' first assignment and class meeting notices; some may post these notices directly on the bulletin board outside of Room 137 only. If you do not see a class that you are interested in listed below, it may be necessary to check the bulletin board for initial class assignments and meeting notices.

INDEX BY INSTRUCTOR

Adams
Judges, A Comparative Seminar (LAWS 540) Section 001
Problems in Professional Responsibility (LAWS 554) Section 001

Adelman
Evidence (LAWS 671) Section 003
Sentencing & Correctional Law (LAWS 758) Section 001

Alford & Leventis
Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing (LAWS 534) Section 007 & 008

Baker & Conroy
Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing (LAWS 534) Section 003 & 004

Bender
Media Law (LAWS 767) Section 001

Bockman
Advanced Legal Writing (LAWS 540) Section 001

Boyle
Corporate Tax (LAWS 636) Section 001
Wills, Trust & Estates (LAWS 641) Section 002

Brown
Constitutional Law (LAWS 523) Section 001
Women and the Law (LAWS 803) Section 001

Burkhard
Property (LAWS 509) Section 001

Cherry
Interviewing, Counseling & Negotiation (LAWS 771) Section 001
Non-Profit Organizations (LAWS 717) Section 001

Crocker
Constitutional Law (LAWS 523) Section 003
Law & Literature (LAWS 775) Section 001

Dalzell & Gissendanner
Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing (LAWS 534) Section 009 & 010

Duncan
Bankruptcy (LAWS 644) Section 001

Eichhorn
Civil Procedure (LAWS 544) Section 003

Flanagan
Civil Procedure (LAWS 544) Section 001
Evidence (LAWS 671) Section 001

Hamilton
Criminal Procedure (LAWS 547) Section 001

Handel
Income Taxation (LAWS 633) Section 001

Hellwig
Income Taxation (LAWS 633) Section 002
Partnership and LLC Taxation (LAWS 637) Section 001

Holley-Walker
Civil Procedure (LAWS 544) Section 002

Hubbard
Jurisprudence (LAWS 768B) Section 001
Land Use Planning (LAWS 651) Section 001

James
Property (LAWS 509) Section 003

Kozlarek
Legal Drafting (LAWS 538) Section 001

Kuo
Criminal Procedure (LAWS 547) Section 002
Law & Social Justice (LAWS 851) Section 001

Lacy
Payment Systems (LAWS 657) Section 001
Secured Transactions (LAWS 615) Section 001

LeClair
Children & the Courts (LAWS 831) Section 001

Linnan
Corporate Finance (LAWS 602) Section 001
International Business Transactions (LAWS 614) Section 001

Luthy & Melton
Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing (LAWS 534) Section 011 & 012

Means
Liberty Seminar (LAWS 668) Section 001

Medlin
Fiduciary Administration (LAWS 647) Section 001
Wills, Trusts and Estates (LAWS 641) Section 001

Merkel
Comparative Law (LAWS 780) Section 001
International Criminal Law (LAWS 817) Section 001

Milligan & Richardson
Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing (LAWS 534) Section 005 & 006

Montgomery
Law Practice & Professionalism (LAWS 560) Section 001

Nelson
Consumer Law (LAWS 618) Section 001

Patterson
Constitutional Law (LAWS 523) Section 004
Legislation (LAWS 729A) Section 001

Powell
Constitutional Law (LAWS 523) Section 002
Current Topics/Professional Responsibility Seminar (LAWS 832) Section 001

Seiner
Employment Discrimination (LAWS 624) Section 001
Individual Employment Law (LAWS 630) Section 001

Shedd
Fourth Circuit Practice (LAWS 687) Section 001

Stomski
Real Estate Transactions II (LAWS 653) Sect 002

Stravitz
Civil Procedure II (LAWS 546) Section 001
Religious Legal Systems (LAWS 820) Section 001

Virzi & Maxwell
Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing (LAWS 534) Section 001 & 002

Whitener
Real Estate Transactions II (LAWS 653) Section 001

Witherspoon
Trial Advocacy (LAWS 679) Section 003


Advanced Legal Writing (LAWS 540) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Bockman
Course Notes

Bankruptcy (LAWS 644) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Duncan
Textbooks: Bankruptcy Materials and Cases (3rd) Epstein, Markell, Nickles and Perris.
1/6 pages 1-6
1/9 pages 7-12
1/11 and 1/13 pages 426-449
Assignments are posted on TWEN (Westlaw). Assignments will be update during the semester.
There are both textbook and case assignments. Please be sure to consult both. The textbook assignments are rather short. The case reading is occasionally (but rarely) lengthy. You should pay more attention to cases set out in bold type and for the others only worry about the major holding.

Children & the Courts (LAWS 831) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): LeClair
Textbooks: Abrams & Ramsey, Children & the Law 4th Ed (2010)
Course Notes
Tuesday: Pgs 201-210, 210-222 & 227-234
Notes: Tues 3:10pm - 5:20pm Rm 230

Civil Procedure (LAWS 544) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Flanagan
Textbooks: Stephen C. Yeazell, Civil Procedure 7th Ed. and 2011 Rules Supplement
Jan. 9 Introduction & Pennoyer v. Neff 55-70
Jan. 10 Pennoyer v. Neff (cont.); Mechanics;and Int'l Shoe,McGee & Hansen 72-84
Jan. 11 World-Wide VW 96-105
Jan. 12 Asahi Metal Industry & Burger King 105-117

Civil Procedure (LAWS 544) Section 002
Instructor Name(s): Holley-Walker
Textbooks: Read the following material: Yeazell casebook, pp. 1-24; Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 1 and 2 (found in your Yeazell 2011 supplement)

Civil Procedure (LAWS 544) Section 003
Instructor Name(s): Eichhorn
Welcome back! I hope you had a good break.
Our required texts are as follows:
  1. R. Freer & W. Perdue, Civil Procedure: Cases, Materials and Questions (5th ed. 2008);
  2. Jack H. Friedenthal et al., 2011-12 Civil Procedure Supplement (2011); and
  3. Joseph Glannon, Civil Procedure: Examples & Explanations (6th ed. 2008).
For our first class, please read pages 1-14 in the Freer & Perdue text; pages 617-27 in the Glannon text; and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 1 and 2 in your supplement.
I look forward to working with you.

Civil Procedure II (LAWS 546) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Stravitz
Course Notes

Comparative Law (LAWS 780) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Merkel
Course Notes

Constitutional Law (LAWS 523) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Brown
Course Notes

Constitutional Law (LAWS 523) Section 002
Instructor Name(s): Powell
Monday: This is to advise that the first half of our initial class, Monday, January 9th, will be devoted to organizational matters. Thereafter, you should be prepared to begin a discussion of McCullough v. Maryland, pp. 1-11.
For those wishing to read ahead, we will skip the DC-gun control case, District of Columbia v. Heller, and instead take up discussions of Congressional Limits, pages 34-40, and Justifiability, beginning at page 40.

Constitutional Law (LAWS 523) Section 003
Instructor Name(s): Crocker
Monday: U.S. Constitution, Casebook pp. 1-15. Please also read pages 19-26.

Constitutional Law (LAWS 523) Section 004
Instructor Name(s): Patterson
Textbooks: Farber, Eskridge, & Frickey, Cases and Materials on Constitutional Law (4th ed. 2009)
Monday: pp. 1-32.

Consumer Law (LAWS 618) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Nelson
Thursday: Prob. & Mat. On Cons. Law: Pages 3-13; 25-31
Moseley v. All Things Possible, Inc., 2011 WL 6156992 (S.C., 2011)
Sarah Anjum, Students as Consumers: Finding and Applying a Workable Standard When Institutions Fail to Give the “Benefit of the Bargain”

Corporate Finance (LAWS 602) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Linnan
(see course page http://www.lfip.org/laws602s2012/index.htm for syllabus)
Day 1: Read (a) Klein, Coffee & Partnoy pp, 402-55 (chapter on financial markets), and (b) US-China Commission Hearings, August 11, 2005 especially testimony of Howard Chao on China and the Capital Markets at http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2005hearings/hr05_08_11.htm
Is Chao talking about the same thing as KC&P? How do you understand the differences?
Day 2: Read and ask yourself how to approach as drafting issue the redemption pricing clause problem at http://www.lfip.org/laws602s2012/RedemptionPricing.htm.

Corporate Tax (LAWS 636) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Boyle
Notes: Sign up for TWEN! Mandatory!!
Tentative Syllabus is posted on TWEN, please download.
We will cover Chapter 1 assignment in class on Monday & Tuesday.

Employment Discrimination (LAWS 624) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Seiner
Monday: The Problem of Employment Discrimination and Statutory Overview: pp. 2-20

Criminal Procedure (LAWS 547) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Hamilton
Casebook - Dressler & Thomas, Criminal Procedure: Investigating Crime (4th edition).
Register for course on TWEN.
Day one: Read Amendments IV, V, VI, and XIV; casebook pages 34-39 and 62-69.
Day two: Read casebook pages 70-83.

Criminal Procedure (LAWS 547) Section 002
Instructor Name(s): Kuo
Assignment 1. Incorporation, pp. 9-61.
Optional: Karl Llewellyn, Remarks on the Theory of Appellate Decision and the Rules or Canons About How Statutes Are to Be Construed, 3 Vanderbilt Law Review 395 (1950).
What differentiates the rights protected by due process from the rights not protected according to the cases cited in note 2, at page 37?
Make sure that you understand the different views of incorporation discussed in the various opinions in Duncan v. Louisiana.
Be prepared to discuss notes 1(B), pages 56, in light of the norms of the criminal justice system discussed in the text.

Current Topics/Professional Responsibility Seminar (LAWS 832) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Powell
Monday: Our first class, Monday, January 9th is organizational. It will focus on the procedures and format for the class. We will also begin the process of assigning the order in which you will make your presentations.
Your assignment is to identify two topics that, tentatively, you would like to explore. In standard memorandum format, you should summarize each topic separately, using no fewer than 100 words, but not exceeding 200 words (headings, captions, etc. not included). Both proposals may be presented in a single memorandum, but each must appear under it's own subheadings and each memo must be typed as a Word document -- meaning no Pdf files.
Substantively, your topic discussions should describe the central issue on which you would focus; provide a catchy shorthand title (e.g., "Madoff's Facilitators Should Be Disbarred"); and broadly identify the source of the ethical duty that you believe was breached or requires our attention (ABA Model Rules, The Restatement, state law, etc.).

Evidence (LAWS 671) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Flanagan
Textbooks: Merritt & Simmons, Learning Evidence (2d Ed.)
Berger, Mitchell & Clark Evidence, Skills Strategies and Assignments
Jan. 9 Introduction to Evidence Study Guide xxv-xxvii, 1-31
Jan. 10 Structure of Trial & Objections 32-54
Jan. 12 Relevance 55-68

Evidence (LAWS 671) Section 003
Instructor Name(s): Adelman
Course Notes

Fiduciary Administration (LAWS 647) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Medlin
Course materials: Medlin Supplement (available at the Course Materials section on TWEN)
The syllabus and attendance sheet are available at the Syllabus section on TWEN.
Please note that you WILL be allowed to use computers in the classroom. However, you will not be allowed to use computers while taking the exam, although you may use hard copies. Thus, at some point you will want to print out the course materials.
Please sign up for TWEN before the first class. We will discuss course coverage in the first class. There is no other assignment for the first class.

Fourth Circuit Practice (LAWS 687) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Shedd
Textbooks: The Little Book on Oral Argument by Alan Dworsky
Wednesday: Read the book. It will be discussed in class.
Notes: W 4:20 - 6:30 p.m. Rm 336

Income Taxation (LAWS 633) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Handel
Course Notes

Income Taxation (LAWS 633) Section 002
Instructor Name(s): Hellwig
Textbooks: Burke & Friel, Taxation of Individual Income (9th ed. LexisNexis 2010)
Tuesday: Introduction to Federal Income Tax System and Tax Procedure Text: pp. 4-8, 1079-84, 8-19
Notes: Syllabus.

Individual Employment Law (LAWS 630) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Seiner
Monday: Introduction: pp. 3-11

International Business Transactions (LAWS 614) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Linnan
(see course page http://www.lfip.org/laws614s2012/index.htm for syllabus)
Day 1: Read in Vagts, Dodge & Koh pp. 1-19;
Day 2: Read in Vagts, Dodge & Koh pp. 19-38;
Day 3: Read in Vagts, Dodge & Koh pp. 38-60; read also 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/arbitration/NYConvention.html)

International Criminal Law (LAWS 817) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Merkel
Textbooks: Mary Ellen O’Connell, , 2d. ed.
Monday: Read Chapter One
Classes 10:20 - 11:20 Rm 333, M T TH

Interviewing, Counseling & Negotiation (LAWS 771) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Cherry
Textbooks: Stefan H. Krieger and Richard K. Neumann, Jr., Essential Lawyering Skills 3rd. ed. (Aspen 2007)
Tuesday: Read Chapters 1-5
Notes: T 2:00 - 4:10pm Rm 334

Judges, A Comparative Seminar (LAWS 540) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Adams
Course Notes

Jurisprudence (LAWS 768B) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Hubbard
Course Notes

Land Use Planning (LAWS 651) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Hubbard
Course Notes

Law & Literature (LAWS 775) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Crocker
Please read the following article for class: James Boyd White, Law as Language: Reading Law and Reading Literature, 60 Tex. L. Rev. 415 (1982). The article is available at Hein Online.

Law & Social Justice (LAWS 851) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Kuo
Thursday: Please read Enrique’s Journey, by Sonia Nazario. This is our longest assignment, but it should be an easy and interesting read. Enjoy!

Law Practice & Professionalism (LAWS 560) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Montgomery
Textbooks: Foonberg, How to Start and Build a Law Practice, 5th ed.
Wednesday: Pages 3-44

Legal Drafting (LAWS 538) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Kozlarek
Textbooks: Thomas R. Haggard & George W. Kuney, Legal Drafting: Process, Techniques, and Exercises (2d ed. 2007)
Thursday: 12 Jan.: Read Chapters 1-3 & 6; Exercise 15 – turn in
Notes: Thursday, 4:20 p.m. until 6:30 p.m., LAWC 338
Syllabus

Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing (LAWS 534) Section 001 & 002
Instructor Name(s): Virzi & Maxwell
Our first class will meet on Monday, January 9, 2012.
Review Sloan, Basic Legal Research: Tools and Strategies, 4th Ed., ch. 11.
Read the attached Instructions and Joint Appendix, and to use the J.A. to answer the attached Thought Questions.

Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing (LAWS 534) Section 003 & 004
Instructor Name(s): Baker & Conroy
Our first class will meet on Monday, January 9, 2012.
  • Read N&S ch. 34.
  • Read the Instructions for Appellate Brief Assignment and the Joint Appendix, both of which are on TWEN (under Course Materials).
  • Read and draft answers to the Thought Questions, which are posted on TWEN (under Course Materials). Bring your answers to class.
  • Review Sloan ch. 11: Developing a Research Plan.

Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing (LAWS 534) Section 005 & 006
Instructor Name(s): Milligan & Richardson
Our first class will meet Tuesday, January 10
  • Read N&S ch. 34.
  • Read the one-page Instructions for Appellate Brief Assignment and the Joint Appendix, both of which are posted on TWEN under "Writing Assignments."
  • Read and draft answers to the five Thought Questions, which are posted on TWEN under "Writing Assignments." Bring your answers to class.
  • Review Sloan ch. 11: Developing a Research Plan.
  • Your Research Plan and Log Assignment is posted to TWEN under "Research Assignments." Your Research Plan for the Appellate Brief is due Friday, January 13th at 5:00 PM.

Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing (LAWS 534) Section 007 & 008
Instructor Name(s): Alford & Leventis
Tuesday: Our first class meeting will be Tuesday, January 10. The assignment for that day appears below:
  • • Read N&S ch. 34.
  • • Read the one-page Instructions for the Appellate Brief Assignment and the Joint Appendix, both of which are posted on TWEN.
  • • Read and draft answers to the five Thought Questions, also posted on TWEN. Bring your answers to class.
  • • Review Sloan ch. 11: Developing a Research Plan.
  • • You will receive your Research Plan and Log Assignments in class.

Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing (LAWS 534) Section 009 & 010
Instructor Name(s): Dalzell & Gissendanner
  • Read the one-page Instructions for the Appellate Brief Assignment and the Joint Appendix, both of which are on TWEN.
  • Read and draft answers to the five Thought Questions, which are posted on TWEN. Bring your answers to class.
  • Review Sloan ch. 11: Developing a Research Plan.
  • You will receive your Research Plan and Log Assignments in our first class.

Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing (LAWS 534) Section 011 & 012
Instructor Name(s): Luthy & Melton
Our first class will meet on Monday, January 9, 2012.
  • Read N&S ch. 34: Appellate Practice.
  • Read the Instructions for Appellate Brief Assignment and the Joint Appendix, both of which are on TWEN (under Course Materials, Spring Legal Writing).
  • Read and draft answers to the Thought Questions, which are also posted on TWEN (under Course Materials, Spring Legal Writing). Bring a hard copy of your answers to class.
  • Review Sloan ch. 11: Developing a Research Plan.

Legislation (LAWS 729A) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Patterson
Textbooks: Mikva & Lane, Legislative Process (3d ed. 2009)
Monday: pp. 1-29.

Liberty Seminar (LAWS 668) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Means
Monday: (1) Pericles, Funeral Oration (available at http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/funeral.html)
(2) Thoreau, On Civil Disobedience (available at http://thoreau.eserver.org/civil.html)

Media Law (LAWS 767) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Bender
Monday: The first day assignment for the Media Law course is to read the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and a law review article by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, “Or of the Press,” 26 Hastings Law Journal 631 (also available through HeinOnline)

Non-Profit Organizations (LAWS 717) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Cherry
Textbooks: Nicholas P. Cafardi and Jaclyn F. Cherry, Tax Exempt Organizations: Cases And Materials, 2nd ed. (LexisNexis 2008)
Monday: Read Chapter 1 General Overview, pp 1-85, paying attention to the notes and comments

Partnership and LLC Taxation (LAWS 637) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Hellwig
Tuesday: Overview of Subchapter K; Entity Determinations; Choice of Entity
Text: pp.2-4; 7-9; 19-28
Probs.: p. 16, prob. 1
Syllabus

Payment Systems (LAWS 657) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Lacy
Textbooks: William D. Warren & Steven D. Walt, Payments and Credits (8th ed. 2010)
Monday: pp. 1–10.

Problems in Professional Responsibility (LAWS 554) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Adams
Course Notes

Property (LAWS 509) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Burkhard
The following is the first assignment for Property. The page numbers refer to the text, Dukeminier, 7th edition.
#1 Acquiring Property & Adverse Possession -
  1. Acquiring Property
    Make a written list prior to class of at least five different ways you could acquire an interest in either “personal property” or “real property.” To say it slightly differently, list five ways through which you can claim ownership to property.
    After you have made your list, consider what matters might make it difficult for you to prove that you own the property you have claimed under each of the five acquisition methods. In other words, how difficult will it be to demonstrate that you have acquired property through each method, what problems might you encounter?
  2. Introductory matters to Adverse Possession
    (a) Read the text, pages 116-134
    (a) Explain in your own language the three theories on page 116-118
    (b) In 2012, is the doctrine of adverse possession a good thing or a bad thing?
  3. Van Valkenburgh v. Lutz. Please prepare a complete written “brief” for this case which should identify the critical facts, the issues in the case, the analysis and reasoning each judge used to determine who should win, and the conclusions and holdings of both judges. In doing your analysis you need to pay particular attention to the following matters. You are to bring your “brief” to class, either on paper or on your computer. You are permitted to use your computer during class.
    (a) There are two primary issues in this case, what are they?
    (b) In New York, what is the required mental element to have adverse possession? (The discussion on page 131-134 may help, however this is a very difficult question–it will require you to very carefully analyze the opinion..)
    (c) What is the role of the statute in footnote 16, pages 125-126?
    (d) How do the majority and dissent differ? Which was right.
    (e) If you apply the Ballentine theory on page 117, who should win this case?

Property (LAWS 509) Section 003
Instructor Name(s): James
Friday: For Friday, January 6th, please read the short essays in the "Property Theories" folder under the "Course Materials" tab on the Property TWEN site.
Questions for Class Discussion: Which theory of property do you prefer? Why?

Real Estate Transactions II (LAWS 653) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Whitener
Tuesday: Please read pages 3 – 37 in A practical Guide to Commercial Real Estate Transactions.

Real Estate Transactions II (LAWS 653) Sect 002
Instructor Name(s): Stomski
Real Estate Closings
Task Force Guidelines 1
Task Force Guidelines 2
Task Force Guidelines 3

Religious Legal Systems (LAWS 820) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Stravitz
Course Notes

Secured Transactions (LAWS 615) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Lacy
Textbooks: William D. Warren & Steven D. Walt, Secured Transactions in Personal Property (8th ed. 2010)
Monday: pp. 1–13.

Sentencing & Correctional Law (LAWS 758) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Adelman
Course Notes

Trial Advocacy (LAWS 679) Section 003
Instructor Name(s): Witherspoon
Textbooks: T. Mauet, Trial Techniques - problem assignments will be given each week from "Problem & Cases in Trial Advocacy" a.k.a. Nita and "Materials in Trial Advocacy" Mauet & Wolfson a.k.a. M&W
Thursday: Introductory Class: Read Ch I & II
Notes: Thurs 4:20 - 6:30pm Rm 239

Wills, Trusts and Estates (LAWS 641) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Medlin
Course materials: Dukeminier et al., Wills, Trusts, and Estates (8th ed.) (Text); Medlin Supplement (available at the Course Materials section on TWEN)
The syllabus and attendance sheet are available at the Syllabus section on TWEN.
Please note that you will not be allowed to use computers in the classroom. Consequently, you will need to print out the Supplement and bring it to class. Assignments are in the Supplement.
Assignment for first class: Read and prepare for discussion text pages xxxi- -- xxxiii
Assignment for second class: Read and prepare for discussion text pages 1-38.
Please sign up for TWEN before the first class.

Wills, Trust & Estates (LAWS 641) Section 002
Instructor Name(s): Boyle
Monday:
  1. Sign up for TWEN.
  2. Download the 3 course supplement materials posted on TWEN. You may not use my course supplement from my fall class. The materials are different
  3. No text assignment for Monday - for Wednesday, prepare the first unit of the syllabus.
See you Monday morning.

Women and the Law (LAWS 803) Section 001
Instructor Name(s): Brown
Course Notes