TORTS
Catalog Course Description: The law of torts concerns the principles governing redress of injuries resulting from intentional and unintentional wrongs against persons or their property. Particular attention is given to the relative functions of judge and jury in determining liability and damages and to the interplay between standards of liability and problems of proofs. The course also concerns an examination of affirmative defenses based upon the conduct of the plaintiff, with particular regard to situations in which the plaintiff might have consented to the alleged wrong. In the second semester the study of the law of torts examines modern trends in the allocation of liability. Emphasis is given to consideration of judicial administration, insurability, and possible alternative systems of compensation.
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Drawing of Implication Tree for Consent (Battery COA)
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
Catalog Course Description: This seminar focuses on the effective presentation and critique of scientific information in the context of legal decision-making. The seminar examines generic strategy and tactics for presenting scientific evidence in civil litigation, administrative proceedings, and criminal proceedings, as well as the evidentiary and procedural problems peculiar to each of these areas. Current scientific issues involving health, safety, and environmental problems are discussed. No prior background in science is necessary. There is no examination, but students are required to write an analytical paper examining the use of scientific information in a current problem area of their choice (e.g., Agent Orange, DES, Dalkon Shield, asbestos, radon).
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
Catalog Course Description: This course provides a study of the processes of decision-making by administrative agencies and their control by legislators and courts. It centers on the tension between the need for delegation of power to agencies sufficient to ensure effective government and the need to limit that power and protect private parties from governmental oppression. The course focuses particularly on administrative procedure and deals with the concept of administrative discretion and the constitutional, statutory and common-law doctrines that control discretion in administrative decision-making. Also considered are issues that bear upon the fairness of governmental action, e.g., right to notice and hearing, confrontation of witnesses, and ex parte communications.
EUROPEAN UNION LAW
Catalog Course Description: This course examines the legal and institutional framework of the European Union. The evolution of the EU is set in a historical framework by examining the particular challenges faced by Europe on the road to economic, social and political integration. The course also includes a strong comparative theme, contrasting the EU to other international organizations as well as to such federal structures as the United States. Specific topics considered include the operation of EU decision-making and judicial powers; implementation of the free movement of goods, workers, services, and capital among Member States; and recent controversies surrounding health and safety regulation (e.g., the "Mad Cow" or BSE cases), the Precautionary Principle, and immigration policy.
SELECTED PROBLEMS IN EUROPEAN UNION LAW
(Sorrento, Summer 2007)
Catalog Course Description: This course explores the allocation of responsibility for protecting public health and safety between the institutions of the European Union and the Member States. It does so by discussing several critical cases of the European Court of Justice that involve the Precautionary Principle, including cases about BSE (“Mad Cow disease”), genetically modified organisms, and food safety.
ADVANCED PROBLEMS IN TORT LITIGATION
Catalog Course Description: This course explores tort issues at an advanced level. The course uses a case-study approach, and examines procedural, evidentiary, and substantive legal problems as they arise in complex cases of current interest. Possible substantive areas include: mass injury due to toxic exposure, civil rights violations and constitutional torts under 42 U.S.C. ยง 1983, personal injury under the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victim Protection Act, and defamation or invasion of privacy. Possible process issues include: problems involving class actions, choice of law, and federal preemption; problems involving admissibility, legal sufficiency, and probative value of evidence; and problems peculiar to suits against governmental entities.
Abstract for the Course as offered in Spring 2005
PRODUCTS LIABILITY
Catalog Course Description: This course examines the law of products liability within the United States, with particular attention to theories and concepts rooted in negligence, breach of warranty, and strict liability in tort. It surveys current doctrines and practice and explores how the law has evolved in response to changes in technology, information, and public expectations. The procedural and evidentiary aspects of product litigation are emphasized by working through problems based on actual cases.
Credit cannot be received for this course if 3 credits are received for the course in Product Regulation and Liability in the United States and the European Union.
PRODUCT REGULATION AND LIABILITY
IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN UNION
Catalog Course Description: This course undertakes a comparative examination of product regulation and liability within the United States and the European Union. The course develops a unifying perspective on laws designed to affect the quantity, quality, cost and price of products, including duties, charges and taxes on imported products; economic regulation, including antitrust considerations; business competition and unfair trade practices; health and safety regulation; liability for injuries caused by products; and consumer protection and social policy. It also examines the interactions among legislative, administrative, and judicial actions within the two markets as well as the relationships between treaties (including free trade agreements), federal or union laws, and the laws of member states.
When this course is offered for 3 credits, it includes an extensive treatment of the common law of products liability within the United States. If 3 credits are received for this course, credit cannot be received for the course in Products Liability.
HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATION
Catalog Course Description: This course provides a survey of the basic problems in administrative law, but does so by focusing almost exclusively on administrative agencies that regulate public health and safety. Procedural problems under the Administrative Procedure Act are addressed, as well as substantive and evidentiary questions posed by health and safety regulation. In addition, by studying several agencies in detail, the course presents a comparative study of administrative structures. Agencies studied in the course typically include the Food and Drug Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
RESUME PUBLICATIONS MAJOR PRESENTATIONS LEGAL REASONING PROJECT
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