COURSE OUTLINE
CIVIL PROCEDURE
FALL 2003
PROFESSOR SUSANNA FREDERICK FISCHER
I. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Welcome to Civil Procedure! The goals of this course include:
A. To learn some important concepts about the procedural dimensions of the civil justice system. These concepts include jurisdiction, due process, choice of law, pleading, joinder, discovery, trial, verdict, issue preclusion, and claim preclusion.
B. To learn the procedural steps of an action in federal district court from the beginning through trial up to enforcement of judgment/appeal.
C. To assess the procedural concepts and doctrines that we study against the basic goals set out in Rule 1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: do they "secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action"?
D. To discuss whether other values are adequately satisfied by the procedural concepts and doctrines that we study.
E. To develop effective learning techniques for the study of law, including learning to actively and critically read, understand, and apply cases and rules. In this course, we focus in particular on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
F. To develop and improve writing and exam-taking skills.
G. To develop and improve oral presentation skills.
H. To enjoy the study of learning civil procedure.
II. REQUIRED TEXTS
You are required to buy the following books. Please make sure you obtain the most recent edition of each. All are available in the CUA Bookstore.
1. Stephen N. Subrin, Martha L. Minow, Mark S. Brodin & Thomas O. Main, Civil Procedure (Aspen Law & Business 2000) ("CB"). A photocopied Update for this book will be distributed in class. You are required to check the Update for each assignment.
2. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Abridged 2003-2003 Educational Edition (West 2003) ("Supplement")
3. Joseph W. Glannon, Civil Procedure: Examples and Explanations (4th ed.) (Aspen Law & Business 2001) ("Glannon")
III. OUTSIDE SOURCES
Although you will only be tested on the material contained in your assigned readings and presented in class, it is important to realize that these materials do not cover every aspect of civil procedure. There are many additional materials that you can consult for more information on the topics covered in this course or to explore other areas that may be of special interest to you.
A. Multi-volume treatises
These are standard works of reference consulted by practitioners when questions of civil procedure arise. Although none of these works are required materials for this course, you should learn to use them before starting any legal employment, including externships. You will find these sets in our law library:
1. Wright, Miller, & Cooper, Federal Practice and Procedure (West Publishing Co.)
2. James Wm. Moore, Moore's Federal Practice (Matthew Bender)
B. Hornbooks
Smaller, single volume treatises, known as "hornbooks", attempt to summarize and clarify the law. The following are on reserve in our law library:
1. Charles A. Wright, Federal Courts (6th ed.) (West 2002)
2. Larry L. Teply and Ralph U. Whitten, Civil Procedure (Foundation Press 2000)
3. Fleming James, Jr., Geoffrey C. Hazard & John Leubsdorf, Civil Procedure (5th ed.) (Little Brown 2001)
4. Jack H. Friedenthal, Mary Kay Kane & Arthur R. Miller, Civil Procedure (3d ed.) (West 1999)
C. Legal Encyclopedias
Legal practitioners frequently refer to legal encyclopedias when researching legal issues. Although these multi-volume works are not specifically devoted to civil procedure, you may find that they contain helpful coverage of various procedural topics. Both of the following encyclopedias are available in our law library. Our law librarians will be happy to help you locate them.
1. Am. Jr. 2d
2. C.J.S.
D. Scholarly Articles
Legal scholars explore and discuss many challenging and problematic issues relating to civil procedure in articles, often published in law school law reviews. Your casebook refers to some important articles. Articles on particular topics can also be located by using electronic legal research tools, such as Lexis or Westlaw, or by searching our law library's periodical collection. Some books on reserve in our law library that contain collections of scholarly articles on various aspects of civil procedure are:
1. G. Hazard and Jan Vetter, Perspectives on Civil Procedure (Little Brown 1987)
2. David I. Levine, Donald L. Doernbert & Melissa L. Nelken, Civil Procedure Anthology (Anderson 1998)
E. Student Study Guides
Many study guides have been written specifically for first-year students of civil procedure. One useful guide, on reserve in our law library, is:
1. Gene R. Shreve & Peter Raven-Hansen, Understanding Civil Procedure (3d ed.) (Matthew Bender 2001)
Other nutshell guides which you may find useful, although not especially detailed, are:
2. Mary Kay Kane, Civil Procedure in a Nutshell (5th ed.) (West Publishing 2003)
3. Kevin M. Clermont, Civil Procedure Territorial Jurisdiction and Venue (Foundation Press 1999)
Both of these nutshells are on reserve in our law library.
F. Commercial Outlines
Many commercial outlines on civil procedure are marketed to first year students. Audiotapes, such as Glannon's Fireside Civil Procedure, are also available. While you may find these helpful as supplemental materials, please bear in mind that they are no substitute for reading the assigned materials and preparing your own class notes and case briefs.
G. Introductions to Law School
A number of materials providing introductory information about studying law and taking examinations in law school are available. On reserve in our law library are:
1. Kenney Hegland, Introduction to the Study and Practice of Law in a Nutshell (4th ed.) (West Publishing 2003)
2. Stephen Gillers, ed., Looking at Law School: A Student Guide from the Society of American Law Teachers (4th rev. ed.) (Meridian, 1997)
3. Charles H. Whitebread, The Eight Secrets of Top Exam Performance in Law School (Harcourt Brace 1995)
H. CALI CDs
The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction ("CALI") has computer-based tutorials/games on a variety of law subjects, including a number of issues in civil procedure. These lessons may be useful and fun ways to test yourself on civil procedure, though of course they are not tailored to this particular course. CALI CDs will be distributed to you later in the semester. You can also access them on the internet at: http://www.cali.org/FacultyCD/confirm.html
IV. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
A. Attendance
Class attendance is mandatory. This law school's Academic Rules (in the CUA Announcements) provide that "[r]egular and punctual attendance at class meetings or equivalent course exercises is a condition of receiving credit in all courses." (See Academic Rules V.1) You will be required to sign in at every class to record your attendance. If you fail to sign in, I will regard you as absent. Please be aware that if you miss "more than two hours of class work for each credit hour assigned to the course", you may be excluded from the course. (See Academic Rules V.1)
B. On Time Arrival to Class
I expect you to be on time for every class. Tardy students are highly distracting to the rest of the class. I reserve the right to treat late arrival as if you were absent from the class. If I provide a break in the middle of class, I expect you to return promptly for the start of the second part of the class. Failure to do so may adversely affect your class participation grade.
C. Class Participation
I expect all students to be well prepared for every class session. I will therefore feel free to call on students randomly in class. I may call on a particular student more than once during a particular class.
Your class participation can affect your final course grade, either adversely or favorably. (See Academic Rules V.3) Please bear in mind that my standard of excellence for class participation is not based on quantity, but rather quality.
In this course, which emphasizes learning through Socratic discussion, you must learn to tolerate and appreciate each of your classmates. Please realize that you can learn a great deal from listening to each other. Many of your classmates' backgrounds or particular skills may help you to see things in a way that you could not by yourself.
You should exercise consideration for your classmates by carefully assessing your own behavior in class. Try to view yourself objectively. Are you talking too much and monopolizing the discussion? If so, please refrain from talking for a while to let someone else have a chance. If, on the other hand, you have been too silent or passive in class, please make the effort to volunteer to speak.
D. Finding Me
My office is located on the fourth floor of the law school. It is room number 412. My office telephone number is 202-319-5568, and my e-mail address is fischerATlaw.edu (replace the AT with @).
I will hold office hours on Mondays from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., and at other times by appointment. While you are always free to stop by my office outside of my office hours, I cannot guarantee that I will be available to speak with you unless you have previously scheduled an appointment. I encourage you to use e-mail to contact me. It is often the most efficient communication method.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions, either after class, by e-mail or by scheduling an individual or study group appointment. No question relating to Civil Procedure is too trivial. I will do my best to respond to all questions within a reasonable time. I do my best to respond to all e-mails within 24 hours of receipt.
E. Preparing For Class
Reading assignments will be distributed in writing and are also posted on the class web pages. Follow this link to access the Online List of Assignments. Updates and revisions will be announced in class and posted on the class web pages. Remember to check the Update for each assigned portion of the CB!
It is your responsibility to prepare adequately for each class. To do so, it is necessary to do more than simply reading through (or worse, skimming, unless expressly authorized by me) the assigned material. You should carefully brief each assigned case in the CB.
It is not necessary to memorize the assigned Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or other statutory provisions in your Supplement. You will have a copy of relevant rules during the exam. However, you should read each assigned rule or statutory provision very carefully, unless specifically instructed to skim. Your aim is to understand each such Rule or statutory provision well enough to apply it to different fact situations. As you study the assigned materials, please make notes of any questions or concerns that you may have. You may sometimes be able to resolve your questions or concerns by consulting outside materials such as those listed in III above. If you still have questions, bring a list of them to class. If time permits, I will attempt to resolve them in class. If there is insufficient time to deal with your questions in class, please come to one of the weekly review classes or e-mail me or come to see me during my office hours or by scheduling an appointment.
Sometimes I ask that you write out a Practice Exercise. Please bring these to class. I may require you to hand in the Practice Exercise, which will count as part of any class participation component of your final grade.
I also require that you do some problems in the Glannon problem book. You do not have to hand these in; they are for your own assistance. I strongly recommend that you write out all answers to each assigned Example before reading the Explanations. Writing out answers is essential practice for preparing for exams. You can then check your answers against the Explanations. Since Explanations are provided, I will not usually discuss Glannon problems in class, but if you have any questions about them I will be happy to discuss them outside of class.
F. Additional Review Classes
Starting in the second week of class, I will hold additional review classes on Fridays from 3:30 to 4:30 in a room TBA. These will be unstructured group Q & A sessions, which any student is welcome, but not required to attend. I will answer questions about any aspect of the course that we have studied to date, and we will also work on additional problems. Students can drop by for all or part of the session, as convenient.
G. Teaching Assistant
A second year CUA law student, Daniel Herbst, is this year’s Teaching Assistant. Among other things, Daniel will schedule regular times to meet with students to discuss questions and concerns. Sometimes, it may be more comfortable to talk to another student about some questions or concerns. Daniel has an excellent grasp of Civil Procedure, and will be attending all classes this year. He will also be holding some additional voluntary sessions on study skills and exam taking issues, among others. Contact information will be provided for Daniel. I am sure that you will find him to be a helpful resource.
H. Prohibition of Tape or Video Recording
I do not authorize any tape or video recording of my classes by or on behalf of any student without my prior advance permission.
I. Exams and Grading
1. Final Examination
There will be a final examination at the end of the semester. It is a three-hour in-class examination. Your course grade will be based primarily on this examination, but I have discretion to raise or lower your final grade based on my assessment of your class performance. See above at III(C).
I will provide information during the course of the semester about the format and content of the final examination so that you will not be taken by surprise. Final examinations for previous classes are available on reserve in the law library. You may find these to be a helpful resource.
2. Mandatory Practice Midterm
I will administer an anonymous but mandatory, take-home practice midterm about halfway through the course. I will provide you with written feedback. Your midterm will be graded on the same scale as the final exam, but your performance on the practice midterm will not affect your final course grade. It is designed to assist you in synthesizing the material you learned in the first half of the course, as well as to give you some experience of law school examinations before you have to take the real thing. If you do not hand in the midterm on time without my prior approval, your final course grade will be docked by one grade step each day that it is late (e.g. A to A-).
3. Other Written Assignments
From time to time I may require you to complete written assignments or take in-class quizzes. I will not grade these assignments, although your performance on them may affect your final course grade, as part of your overall class participation component. Please see III(C) above.
Text and Design © 2003 Susanna Fischer. Friday, August 22, 2003 08:20:30 PM