First Reading Assignments

1. U.S. Constitution.  The Constitution is reprinted in the Casebook and is available in myriad other places.  It’s an incredibly short document.  And you need to read it in its entirety.  I’m serious.  Really, really, really serious.  Read it.  All of it.  Carefully.  It is the Constitution. This is not an assignment to gloss. For the first class session, please also read Madison’s 1786 Memorandum (follows syllabus below beginning within this document).  Finally, read CB pages 1-20 (Marbury v. Madison; excerpts from Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee & Cohens v. Virginia).

Madison’s Memorandum – Supplemental Reading for Class 1

[The following memo was prepared in the spring of 1786 by James Madison, many months before he knew there would be a convention at Philadelphia, and is commonly thought to reflect his views on the appropriate structure of a new national government. It is framed as a series of critiques of the Articles of Confederation system. I have edited for length, but have not changed Madison’s grammar, style, etc.].

1. Failure of the States to comply with the Constitutional requisitions.

This evil has been so fully experienced both during the war and since the peace, results so naturally from the number and independent authority of the States and has been so uniformly exemplified in every similar Confederacy, that it may be considered as not less radically and permanently inherent in, than it is fatal to the object of, the present System.

2. Encroachments by the States on the federal authority.

Examples of this are numerous and repetitions may be foreseen in almost every case where any favorite object of a State shall present a temptation. Among these examples are the wars and Treaties of Georgia with the Indians--The unlicensed compacts between Virginia and Maryland, and between Pena. & N. Jersey--the troops raised and to be kept up by Massts.

3. Violations of the law of nations and of treaties.

From the number of Legislatures, the sphere of life from which most of their members are taken, and the circumstances under which their legislative business is carried on, irregularities of this kind must frequently happen. Accordingly not a year has passed without instances of them in some one or other of the States. The Treaty of peace--the treaty with France--the treaty with Holland have each been violated. The causes of these irregularities must necessarily produce frequent violations of the law of nations in other respects.
As yet foreign powers have not been rigorous in animadverting on us. This moderation however cannot be mistaken for a permanent partiality to our faults, or a permanent security agst. those disputes with other nations, which being among the greatest of public calamities, it ought to be least in the power of any part of the Community to bring on the whole.

4. Trespasses of the States on the rights of each other.

These are alarming symptoms, and may be daily apprehended as we are admonished by daily experience. See the law of Virginia restricting foreign vessels to certain ports--of Maryland in favor of vessels belonging to her own citizens--of N. York in favor of the same.
Paper money, instalments of debts, occlusion of Courts, making property a legal tender, may likewise be deemed aggressions on the rights of other States. As the Citizens of every State aggregately taken stand more or less in the relation of Creditors or debtors, to the Citizens of every other States, Acts of the debtor State in favor of debtors, affect the Creditor State, in the same manner, as they do its own citizens who are relatively creditors towards other citizens. This remark may be extended to foreign nations. If the exclusive regulation of the value and alloy of coin was properly delegated to the federal authority, the policy of it equally requires a controul on the States in the cases above mentioned. It must have been meant 1. to preserve uniformity in the circulating medium throughout the nation. 2. to prevent those frauds on the citizens of other States, and the subjects of foreign powers, which might disturb the tranquility at home, or involve the Union in foreign contests.
The practice of many States in restricting the commercial intercourse with other States, and putting their productions and manufactures on the same footing with those of foreign nations, though not contrary to the federal articles, is certainly adverse to the spirit of the Union, and tends to beget retaliating regulations, not less expensive & vexatious in themselves, than they are destructive of the general harmony.

5. want of concert in matters where common interest requires it.

This defect is strongly illustrated in the state of our commercial affairs. How much has the national dignity, interest, and revenue suffered from this cause? Instances of inferior moment are the want of uniformity in the laws concerning naturalization & literary property; of provision for national seminaries, for grants of incorporation for national purposes, for canals and other works of general utility, wch. may at present be defeated by the perverseness of particular States whose concurrence is necessary.

6. want of guaranty to the States of their Constitutions & laws against internal violence.

The confederation is silent on this point and therefore by the second article the hands of the federal authority are tied. According to Republican Theory, Right and power being both vested in the majority, are held to be synonimous. According to fact and experience a minority may in an appeal to force, be an overmatch for the majority. 1. If the minority happen to include all such as possess the skill and habits of military life, & such as possess the great pecuniary resources, one third only may conquer the remaining two thirds. 2. One third of those who participate in the choice of the rulers, may be rendered a majority by the accession of those whose poverty excludes them from a right of suffrage, and who for obvious reasons will be more likely to join the standard of sedition than that of the established Government. 3. Where slavery exists the republican Theory becomes still more fallacious.

7. want of sanction to the laws, and of coercion in the Government of the Confederacy.

A sanction is essential to the idea of law, as coercion is to that of Government. The federal system being destitute of both, wants the great vital principles of a Political Cons[ti]tution. Under the form of such a Constitution, it is in fact nothing more than a treaty of amity of commerce and of alliance, between so many independent and Sovereign States. From what cause could so fatal an omission have happened in the articles of Confederation? from a mistaken confidence that the justice, the good faith, the honor, the sound policy, of the several legislative assemblies would render superfluous any appeal to the ordinary motives by which the laws secure the obedience of individuals…. It is no longer doubted that a unanimous and punctual obedience of 13 independent bodies, to the acts of the federal Government, ought not be calculated on. Even during the war, when external danger supplied in some degree the defect of legal & coercive sanctions, how imperfectly did the States fulfil their obligations to the Union? In time of peace, we see already what is to be expected. How indeed could it be otherwise? In the first place, Every general act of the Union must necessarily bear unequally hard on some particular member or members of it. Secondly the partiality of the members to their own interests and rights, a partiality which will be fostered by the Courtiers of popularity, will naturally exaggerate the inequality where it exists, and even suspect it where it has no existence. Thirdly a distrust of the voluntary compliance of each other may prevent the compliance of any, although it should be the latent disposition of all. Here are causes & pretexts which will never fail to render federal measures abortive. If the laws of the States, were merely recommendatory to their citizens, or if they were to be rejudged by County authorities, what security, what probability would exist, that they would be carried into execution? Is the security or probability greater in favor of the acts of Congs. which depending for their execution on the will of the state legislatures, wch. are tho' nominally authoritative, in fact recommendatory only.

8. Want of ratification by the people of the articles of Confederation.

In some of the States the Confederation is recognized by, and forms a part of the constitution. In others however it has received no other sanction than that of the Legislative authority. From this defect two evils result: 1. Whenever a law of a State happens to be repugnant to an act of Congress, particularly when the latter is of posterior date to the former, it will be at least questionable whether the latter must not prevail; and as the question must be decided by the Tribunals of the State, they will be most likely to lean on the side of the State. 2. As far as the Union of the States is to be regarded as a league of sovereign powers, and not as a political Constitution by virtue of which they are become one sovereign power, so far it seems to follow from the doctrine of compacts, that a breach of any of the articles of the confederation by any of the parties to it, absolves the other parties from their respective obligations, and gives them a right if they chuse to exert it, of dissolving the Union altogether.

9. Multiplicity of laws in the several States.

….  Among the evils then of our situation may well be ranked the multiplicity of laws from which no State is exempt. As far as laws are necessary, to mark with precision the duties of those who are to obey them, and to take from those who are to administer them a discretion, which might be abused, their number is the price of liberty. As far as the laws exceed this limit, they are a nusance: a nusance of the most pestilent kind. Try the Codes of the several States by this test, and what a luxuriancy of legislation do they present. The short period of independency has filled as many pages as the century which preceded it. Every year, almost every session, adds a new volume. This may be the effect in part, but it can only be in part, of the situation in which the revolution has placed us. A review of the several codes will shew that every necessary and useful part of the least voluminous of them might be compressed into one tenth of the compass, and at the same time be rendered tenfold as perspicuous.

10. mutability of the laws of the States.

…. We daily see laws repealed or superseded, before any trial can have been made of their merits: and even before a knowledge of them can have reached the remoter districts within which they were to operate. In the regulations of trade this instability becomes a snare not only to our citizens but to foreigners also.

11. Injustice of the laws of States.

If the multiplicity and mutability of laws prove a want of wisdom, their injustice betrays a defect still more alarming: more alarming not merely because it is a greater evil in itself, but because it brings more into question the fundamental principle of republican Government, that the majority who rule in such Governments, are the safest Guardians both of public Good and of private rights. To what causes is this evil to be ascribed?
These causes lie 1. in the Representative bodies.  2. in the people themselves….

Contracts– Professor Albert – Spring 2020
[1L day class] - 1705 Section C

Required Readings:

• Kuney and Lloyd, Contracts: Transactions and Litigation (4th Edition)
• Farnsworth, Sanger et al, Selections for Contracts (2019 Edition)
• Examples and Explanations: Contracts (7th Edition)

Class web page: You are required to register on the TWEN site for this class with an email address that you check regularly; go to www.lawschool.westlaw.com and select “TWEN” from the menu of items along the top of the page next to the current date.  You will then be asked for your Westlaw password and for registration information (including your email address – this need not be the address issued by the Law School).  To maximize the effectiveness of the TWEN system, please be sure to provide all requested information.  You will then be given the opportunity to register for the TWEN website dedicated to this course (by choosing “Drop/Add a Course”).  The website facilitates the exchange of ideas and provides interested students with an opportunity to participate in online discussions.  Registration and participation are an essential part of this course.  Students should check the website regularly throughout the semester.

For our first class, on Wed Jan 9, please read the following:

Introduction: v-xxvii
UCC §§ 1-103(b); 1-302; 2-102; 2-104(1); 2-105(1); 2-106(1);  2-204; Restatement 2d §§ 1; 7; 8; 16; 22(2); 24

Objective Theory of Contracts: 1-28
Restatement 2d § 26;

With regard to the first class for my Spring 2020 contracts class, please refer to the TWEN site for the course (which is up and running).

The First Two Weeks of Class

Textbooks: The syllabus explains them (see p. 2).  Buy or rent the hard copy casebook.  Don’t buy Amazon’s eTextbook version.  You’ll need the hard copy casebook — not an electronic or digital version.  (Laptops aren’t allowed in class.  See syllabus pp. 5–6 for why.)  You’ll probably need to buy a new copy of the rules supplement.  It’s too recent for used copies or rentals to be on the market.  Again, don’t buy Amazon’s eTextbook version.   The photocopy supplement will be available in the basement photocopy room beginning Friday, Jan. 3.  In case you want to prepare during the holiday break for the first week of classes, the first 37 pages of the photocopy supplement have been distributed as a PDF by email.  But you will need hard copy during class.  Don’t rent the E&E.  You’ll need it now for this class and again two years later while you study for the bar.  We won’t discuss the E&E in class (the syllabus explains why), so you can buy an electronic version if you want.  But make sure you’ll still have access two years from now.  The hard copy version might be cheaper than the electronic anyway, even if you buy the hard copy version new.

Class assignments:  Do the work in the exact sequence below.  CB below means the casebook and PS means the photocopy supplement.  Problems in the casebook are abbreviated P-.  For example, P-2 means Problem 2.  If a CB Problem or a PS Exercise is assigned, be prepared to discuss your analysis in class.

First week of class (Jan. 9 & 11)
Read the syllabus.  It has been distributed by email and also appears at the front of the PS.

• PS — pp. 1–19.  Analyze the contracts on pp. 12–13, which we’ll discuss in class.
• CB — pp. 1–6 and the first paragraph on p. 7.
• PS — pp. 21–37, including Pass and Carnival Cruise Lines.
• CB — p. 22.  Do P-2.
  • pp. 52–53(middle), including P-9.
  • p. 60.  Do P-10. (Compare the sign to the one on PS p. 32.  Is the legal effect identical?)
  • pp. 77–81, including Norcia.  (Don’t do P-16.)
  • pp. 90(middle)–99(middle), including P-17, Dickinson, 2949 Inc., P-18, and P-19.

Second week of class (Jan. 13, 15, and 17)

• CB —  pp. 117(middle)–151(middle), including P-25, Morrison, P-26, Princess Cruise Lines, P-28, Commerce & Industry, Northrup, P-29, Klocek, and P-30.  (Don’t do P-27.)
• PS —  pp. 38–42, including i.Lan (UCC), the CLOUT case (CISG), and the pp. 40–42 exercises.
• CB — Do the Assessment on pp. 163–168, but we won’t cover it in class.
  • pp. 169–171(top), including P-33.

LAWR II, Spring 2018
Section C2
Professor Caffarone

First Day Assignment
Welcome back!  I hope everyone enjoyed the break and is ready to get back to work. Please do the following before we meet for our first class on Thursday, January 9, at 10:10 in room 0014.

• Register for this class on TWEN – please register with an email address that you check regularly as this is how I will communicate with the class.
• Read Neumann, Chs. 29-31 & the excerpts from Introduction to Advocacy posted on TWEN.  Answer the questions posted on TWEN.
• Sign up for Lexis/Westlaw Classes: 
  Lexis and Westlaw will be holding research classes at various times during the first few weeks of school. These sessions are specifically geared to appellate research, which is what you will be doing this semester. You must attend both classes; these classes are mandatory.  Attendance is taken and I will check compliance.  Failure to attend both classes will negatively impact your professionalism grade.  You can sign up using the following links:
  • Lexis: Training Calendar Link
  • Westlaw: Training Calendar
• Note that we have (and plan accordingly for) a mandatory additional class on Friday, January 10, from 12:10 – 2:00 (room TBA).

First Day Assignment – January 10, 2020

1. Bring to class the following documents: Syllabus and Tentative Class Schedule
2. Read Neumann, Chs. 29 and 30, as well as Appendices G and H.
3. Sign up for Lexis/Westlaw Classes: Lexis and Westlaw will be holding research classes at various times during the first few weeks of school. These sessions are specifically geared to appellate research, which is what you will be doing this semester. Students MUST sign up for each training session through the individual vendor’s website, not through the library. You must attend both classes; these classes are mandatory. Attendance is taken so I am able to check compliance. Failure to attend both classes will negatively impact your professionalism grade. Training times will be determined by the vendor’s reps and students can register for training online by clicking on the links I have provided below.
   • Westlaw: LINK TO SIGN UP
     • Select the “Event Details” option to confirm the training session location, time and other information. Then click “Register Now.” If you have any questions about Westlaw trainings, please email our Westlaw Rep., Estee Waxman, at estee.waxman@thompsonreuters.com.
   • Lexis: LINK TO SIGN UP
     • Click on the name of the training that you would like to attend. Click the blue “Register for this event” button to enroll. If you have any questions, please email our Lexis Rep, Ann Stafilias, at antoinette.stafilias@lexisnexis.com.

TO: LAW&R II Students
FROM: Professor Stein
DATE: January 3, 2020

Congratulations on successful completion of your first semester of law school and welcome back.  We will have two LAW&R II classes the first week of school- our regularly scheduled class on Wednesday the 8th and an extra class on Friday, January 10th from 12:10 pm until 2:00 p.m. in Room 205.  Remember that LAW&R II, like LAW&R I, is designed to require the most work early in the semester.  We will have a lot of work to do to ensure that we can finish the course early.
              
Throughout the regular semester, we will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays between 8:10 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. in Room 205.  If we miss a class due to snow, we will make it up the following Friday from 8:10-10:00 am.

Before the first class, please do the following:

• Purchase Introduction to Advocacy:  Research, Writing and Arguments 8th edition, by the Board of Student Advisors, Harvard Law School. We will use this book throughout the semester.  Please be certain to purchase the correct edition.
• Sign up for this class on TWEN. 
• Complete the Student Information Form posted on TWEN, and bring the completed form to the first class.  It is important that I have this form so that I can schedule your oral argument.
• Read the Course Outline and Guidelines carefully. PRINT OUT A COPY AND BRING IT TO OUR FIRST CLASS, we will be reviewing it in detail.
• We will be continuing our discussion of persuasive writing. This semester we will focus on advocacy in the context of drafting an appellate brief. Read Chapter 6 in Introduction to Advocacy. Please also prepare the “Peter Scorn” exercise, posted on TWEN.  I will not be collecting this exercise because we will be going through it in detail in class.  We will also be discussing cover letters and writing samples to give you a jumpstart on your summer job search.
•   Please note that oral arguments will be held April 7th through April 17th.  You will only need to come on one of those dates- you will receive your specific time later in the semester.
• Sign up for Lexis/Westlaw Classes:  Lexis and Westlaw will be holding research classes at various times during the first few weeks of school. These sessions are specifically geared to appellate research, which is what you will be doing this semester. Students MUST sign up for each training session through the individual vendor’s website, not through the library. You must attend both classes, these classes are mandatory.  Attendance is taken so I am able to check compliance.  Failure to attend both classes will negatively impact your professionalism grade.
• Training times will be determined by the vendor’s reps and students can sign up for training online by clicking on the links I have provided below.

Westlaw: Sign on to the www.lawschool.westlaw.com home page.
Look under the “Learn” heading on the right side of the website and choose the “On-Campus Training Calendar” option.
You will see the Training Calendar with the list of Westlaw Training sessions listed by each month.  

Click on “Enroll” to register for your desired training session.   After you enroll in the training session, it will appear on your Training List.   You can also select the “Details” option to confirm the training session location, time and other information. If you have any questions, please email our Westlaw Rep, Stefanie Efrati stefanie.efrati@thomsonreuters.com

Lexis:  Log-in and click the “MY SCHOOL” link near the top of the page.  Click on the name of the training that you would like to attend.  Click the blue “Register for this event” button to enroll.  If you have any questions, please email our Lexis Rep, Ann Stafilias antoinette.stafilias@lexisnexis.com

Enjoy the rest of your break.  I look forward to seeing all of you soon!

PROPERTY
CRN 23474 / LAW 1730-A
Spring 2020
Professor Emily J. Stolzenberg

Monday and Wednesday, 2:10 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
230 Koppelman Hall

COURSE MATERIALS AND TWEN

The required casebook for this course is Jesse Dukeminier, James E. Krier, Gregory Alexander, Michael Schill & Lior Jacob Strahilevitz, Property (9th ed. 2018).  You may purchase or rent either a new or used copy, and you should bring your casebook with you to every class.

I will post the syllabus, as well as additional readings and materials, on this course’s webpage on TWEN. Please register for this course on TWEN as soon as possible, using an email address you check regularly.

FIRST DAY’S ASSIGNMENT

For the first day of class, please read the following (“CB” = casebook):

January 8: Discovery and the Rule of Capture

• CB pp. 3-16, 18-19 (Johnson v. M’Intosh and notes 1-4, 6-7)
• CB pp. 19-27 (Pierson v. Post and accompanying notes)
• CB pp. 27-35 (Ghen v. Rich and accompanying notes)

LAPTOP POLICY

You may not use a laptop, iPad, e-reader, smartphone, or any similar device during class. The available research strongly suggests that using a laptop in class impedes most students’ learning, and can also distract classmates. So that no one has to worry about missing any important material during class, a podcast of every class will be posted on Echo360 within two business days. You are not permitted to record any class yourself.

CLASS PARTICIPATION

I will “cold call” students off a randomly generated list every class, including the first class. These “calls” will be relatively short, lasting only a few questions. This means that I will likely call on about a third of the class during any given class session and that you should expect to be called on about once every week to two weeks. I expect you to be prepared to answer questions about the assigned materials each class, as well as to discuss any assigned practice problems.

Each student may decline to participate in two class sessions during the semester (though you still must attend these classes). To use these “free passes,” you must email me by 9:00 a.m. on the day(s) you elect not to participate. If there is some truly extenuating circumstance that prevents you from preparing for a given class, please also email me by 9:00 a.m. on the day of the class. An excused lack of preparation will not count as one of your “free passes.”