Introduction To The Study Of U S Law

This book is designed to introduce students to the highlights of the first-year curriculum at a U.S. law school. The first chapter provides an overview of the U.S. legal system. The seven chapters that follow focus on basic foundational subjects: constitutional law, civil procedure, contracts, torts, property, criminal procedure, and criminal law, each in a separate chapter. Although the first chapter consists entirely of articles and other commentary, the other seven chapters consist mainly of edited court decisions. All of the chapters contain notes and questions, highlighting important issues for discussion and providing citations to cases, articles, and other materials for more in-depth study. The book is intended for several types of students: First, it is designed for international students who are attending a U.S. law school to pursue an LL.M degree or an S.J.D. degree. This book gives such students the opportunity to take an intensive course on U.S. law, thus enabling them to learn the fundamental concepts before taking upper-division courses. Second, this book is designed for international students who want to learn about U.S. law but who are not planning to attend a U.S. law school. U.S. law professors can teach the course in foreign law schools using this text. Also, foreign professors who have been trained at a U.S. law school can teach U.S. law at their home institutions. Third, the book is designed for an undergraduate pre-law course at a U.S. college or university. Fourth, the book can be used at U.S. schools that train and certify paralegals. All four types of students share a common desire to learn the basics of U.S. law in one course. And all four types will benefit not only from the substantive materials but also from the experience of learning core subject areas.

This book offers an interdisciplinary experiential study of environmental law unlike the typical environmental law textbook. Ex-panding beyond case studies, statutes, and rules, this book provides a unique, process-oriented introduction to law and legal research and its use in environmental policy and decision-making.

Research and real-life examples that “lucidly connect some of the divisive social issues confronting us today to that thing we call ‘the law’” (Law and Politics Book Review). Law and society is a rapidly growing field that turns the conventional view of law as mythical abstraction on its head. Kitty Calavita brilliantly brings to life the ways in which law is found not only in statutes and courtrooms but in our institutions and interactions, while inviting readers into conversations that introduce the field’s dominant themes and most lively disagreements. Deftly interweaving scholarship with familiar examples, Calavita shows how scholars in the discipline are collectively engaged in a subversive exposé of law’s public mythology. While surveying prominent issues and distinctive approaches to both law as it is written and actual legal practices, as well as the law’s potential as a tool for social change, this volume provides a view of law that is more real but just as compelling as its mythic counterpart. With this second edition of Invitation to Law and Society, Calavita brings up to date what is arguably the leading introduction to this exciting, evolving field of inquiry and adds a new chapter on the growing law and cultural studies movement. “Entertaining and conversational.” —Law and Social Inquiry

"This book gives and introduction to the U.S. legal system for foreign lawyers. It covers a broad range of topics that will help foreign lawyers develop a baseline understanding of the legal system through chapters on: American legal history, the trial process, and an overview of the U.S government"--

The Law of the United States offers an introduction and overview of the American legal system. With an emphasis throughout on up-to-date case law and current literature, it is an ideal first point of entry for students and practitioners alike, and a starting point for further independent research. Professor Hay provides a concise and straightforward explanation of the law and legal vocabulary, as well as an introduction to the different types of law and legal techniques. He explains the role of Congress, the Executive and the Courts, and clarifies the mechanisms behind the branches of public and private law in the United States. He introduces the reader to the complexities of federal and state law, emphasizing that the many areas of public law and virtually all areas of private law are the separate law of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the (U.S.-dependent) Territories in which common language, legal tradition, and culture have served to bring about a basic legal unity. Several private law areas (contract law, torts, family law, succession) receive detailed treatment, as do criminal law and procedure. The book provides detailed references to legislation, case law, and the literature, up-to-date through early 2016. Four appendices present a detailed case study with commentary to aid the civil law reader in understanding of the case law system; the text of the U.S. Constitution (referred to in several contexts throughout the book); a geographic map of the U.S. federal court system; and information on the Legal Profession in the United States.

The book presents a general introduction to the study of law in the United States. The idea here is to provide-in casebook form-an introduction to American law and legal English for (1) international law students, both those who wish at some point to study or practice in the United States and those who wish to remain in their home countries; (2) English-speaking undergraduate students interested in studying the law and/or going to law school; and (3) anyone else interested in understanding and studying basic concepts in law.