First Year Reading Assignments
Fall 2008
Section A
(Criminal Law A1/Torts A1)
Civil Procedure (A) (Bone)
JD873 (A1)
Welcome to the first year of Law School and to Civil Procedure. The following course materials should now be available from the bookstore:
(1). Jack Friedenthal, Arthur Miller, John Sexton, & Helen Hershkoff, Civil Procedure: Cases and Materials (Revised 9th Edition 2008)
(2). FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE – 2008 (Foundation Press).
(3). Gerald Stern, THE BUFFALO CREEK DISASTER
(4). Robert G. Bone, THE ECONOMICS OF CIVIL PROCEDURE (Foundation Press Turning Point Series 2003)
In addition to these basic texts, I will distribute supplementary materials from time to time. You can download SYLLABUS, PART I and DISTRIBUTION NO. 1 from the class website.
For Section A – http://courseinfo.bu.edu/courses/08falllawjd873_a1/
You will need your BU user name and Keberos password to gain access to the website. I also plan to e-mail these documents to everyone registered for the class. If you don’t get them one of these ways, e-mail me (rbone@bu.edu) and I’ll send them to you. You need Distribution No. 1 for the first assignment but you don’t need the Syllabus.
FIRST ASSIGNMENT: For the first class meeting, please read pages 1-12 of Distribution No. 1. You might also begin reading The Buffalo Creek Disaster. You will need to complete the entire book by the end of the first two weeks or so of class, so you might want to get a head start on it now, especially as there will be other reading assignments during the period. The Buffalo Creek Disaster is a brief and highly readable – even entertaining – account of a major lawsuit written from the point of view of the lawyer representing the plaintiffs. The book conveys a feeling for the way an actual case is litigated, which will be useful as the course progresses. We will refer to the book from time to time throughout the fall semester.
Contracts (A) (Kull)
JD813 (A1)
First-day assignment for Wednesday (9/3):
Please read Hurley v. Eddingfield, page 1 of the course materials (this is going to be a “Course Pack” from Kinko’s)
Criminal Law (A) (Fisher)
JD946 (A1)
Course Materials: The required materials are:
1. Joshua Dressler, Cases and Materials on Criminal Law (4th ed., West, 2007). It is denoted in the Reading Assignments as “Text.”
2. Paul Robinson, Criminal Law Case Studies (3d ed. West, 2007) [“CLCS”].
3. Supplementary Handouts [“H/O”] are posted on the course web site.
First Assignments:
Before the first class (Sept. 2), please read:
- Introductory information at pp. 1-3 of the Course Syllabus, posted on the Course Information Website at: http://courseinfo.bu.edu/courses/08falllawjd946_a1/index.html
- Text pp. 1-11 (thru n. 2); 13-18 and Model Penal Code (“MPC”) Section 1.12(1), in the Appendix to the Text.
For the second and third classes (Sept. 3 & 5), please read:
- Alex Cabarga case study in Robinson, CLCS, pp. 136-40 (Disregard Section C, “Current law,” at 140 ff.) Before reading Section B materials on pp. 139-40, please fill out the Liability Survey at the top of p. 139, and enter your answer on the CLCS web site (at http://clcs.law.upenn.edu. Sign in using this code: OQ1001).
- Text pp. 29-48 and 66 (top)- 69 (top)
- MPC sec. 1.02(1)-(2).
Prepare to answer the following questions in class:
(1) What punishment or treatment, if any, would be appropriate for Cabarga? (Follow your intuition; do not feel bound by the punishments authorized by the California statutes).
(2) With what crimes should Cabarga be charged?
(3) Does he qualify for any of the statutory exceptions in California? Do you think that he would have any other defense?
(4) How would you justify your treatment or punishment of Cabarga in terms of the various purposes of punishments discussed in the assigned readings. Class discussion will focus mainly on your answers to this question.
Torts (A) (Baxter)
JD892 (A1)
Assignments for the first three classes (September 2 through September 8)
Welcome to BU Law, and welcome to the Section A1 Torts class!
The text for this class is Franklin, Rabin, and Green, Tort Law and Alternatives (8th ed. 2006).
For the first class (Tuesday, September 2), read pp. 1-17 (up to section D). The discussion of litigation procedure (pp. 9-17) is dense. Read it very closely and more than once. Within a few weeks, your Procedure class will begin covering this material in more depth, but I’ll need you to have a working understanding of it before then.
For Wednesday, September 3 we’ll cover pp. 31-39 (up to section B). Feel free to skim pp. 31-35, up to Brown – for our purposes, it’s just background material.
For Monday, September 8, read pp. 39-50 (up to subsection 2).
Further assignments will be available on the syllabus that I’ll post to the course webpage (under construction).
I look forward to our first class.
Section A
(Criminal Law A2/Torts A2)
Civil Procedure (A) (Bone)
JD873 (A1)
Welcome to the first year of Law School and to Civil Procedure. The following course materials should now be available from the bookstore:
(1). Jack Friedenthal, Arthur Miller, John Sexton, & Helen Hershkoff, Civil Procedure: Cases and Materials (Revised 9th Edition 2008)
(2). FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE – 2008 (Foundation Press).
(3). Gerald Stern, THE BUFFALO CREEK DISASTER
(4). Robert G. Bone, THE ECONOMICS OF CIVIL PROCEDURE (Foundation Press Turning Point Series 2003)
In addition to these basic texts, I will distribute supplementary materials from time to time. You can download SYLLABUS, PART I and DISTRIBUTION NO. 1 from the class website.
For Section A – http://courseinfo.bu.edu/courses/08falllawjd873_a1/
You will need your BU user name and Keberos password to gain access to the website. I also plan to e-mail these documents to everyone registered for the class. If you don’t get them one of these ways, e-mail me (rbone@bu.edu) and I’ll send them to you. You need Distribution No. 1 for the first assignment but you don’t need the Syllabus.
FIRST ASSIGNMENT: For the first class meeting, please read pages 1-12 of Distribution No. 1. You might also begin reading The Buffalo Creek Disaster. You will need to complete the entire book by the end of the first two weeks or so of class, so you might want to get a head start on it now, especially as there will be other reading assignments during the period. The Buffalo Creek Disaster is a brief and highly readable – even entertaining – account of a major lawsuit written from the point of view of the lawyer representing the plaintiffs. The book conveys a feeling for the way an actual case is litigated, which will be useful as the course progresses. We will refer to the book from time to time throughout the fall semester.
Contracts (A) (Kull)
JD813 (A1)
First-day assignment for Wednesday (9/3):
Please read Hurley v. Eddingfield, page 1 of the course materials (this is going to be a “Course Pack” from Kinko’s)
Criminal Law (A) (Leonard)
JD946 (A2)
Please go to the course website and read the excerpt from Kadish, pp. 1-11, that can be found in the Assignments section. Then, in the casebook, Bonnie, et al., Criminal Law, please read pp. 1-17. The Kadish reading is only background reading. We will spend class time discussing the Bonnie reading.
Torts (A) (Hylton)
JD892 (A2)
First Day: Battery and Consent, pp. 4-13.
Remaining days:
Battery and Consent, 35-50 (skip Canterbury at 43)
Nonconsensual Defenses (insanity), 50–54.
Section B
(Contracts B1/Torts B1)
Civil Procedure (B) (Bone)
JD873 (B1)
Welcome to the first year of Law School and to Civil Procedure. The following course materials should now be available from the bookstore:
(1). Jack Friedenthal, Arthur Miller, John Sexton, & Helen Hershkoff, Civil Procedure: Cases and Materials (Revised 9th Edition 2008)
(2). FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE – 2008 (Foundation Press).
(3). Gerald Stern, THE BUFFALO CREEK DISASTER
(4). Robert G. Bone, THE ECONOMICS OF CIVIL PROCEDURE (Foundation Press Turning Point Series 2003)
In addition to these basic texts, I will distribute supplementary materials from time to time. You can download SYLLABUS, PART I and DISTRIBUTION NO. 1 from the class website.
For Section B – http://courseinfo.bu.edu/courses/08falllawjd873_b1/
You will need your BU user name and Keberos password to gain access to the website. I also plan to e-mail these documents to everyone registered for the class. If you don’t get them one of these ways, e-mail me (rbone@bu.edu) and I’ll send them to you. You need Distribution No. 1 for the first assignment but you don’t need the Syllabus.
FIRST ASSIGNMENT: For the first class meeting, please read pages 1-12 of Distribution No. 1. You might also begin reading The Buffalo Creek Disaster. You will need to complete the entire book by the end of the first two weeks or so of class, so you might want to get a head start on it now, especially as there will be other reading assignments during the period. The Buffalo Creek Disaster is a brief and highly readable – even entertaining – account of a major lawsuit written from the point of view of the lawyer representing the plaintiffs. The book conveys a feeling for the way an actual case is litigated, which will be useful as the course progresses. We will refer to the book from time to time throughout the fall semester.
Constitutional Law (B) (Lahav)
JD810 (B1)
First Class Reading Assignment: Text of the Constitution of the United States
The constitution of the U.S. is the first modern constitution to appear as a binding text. It has also endured (with only 27 amendments) for 221 years. It is the first attempt by human beings to put together, as binding law, a comprehensive system of government.
In our first class we shall review this document, its framework, structure and basic building blocks.
The text is not easy to read, and at first many will find it utterly boring. Please do not be discouraged. The more you read it the more you will understand it and the more you will come to appreciate its extraordinary intellectual power. Of course, this does not mean that the constitution should be glorified or worshipped as infallible. In class we shall try to develop a critical sensibility toward this document. But we cannot critic that which we do not understand.
When you read this text, focus on the following:
1. The preamble: what’s in it? Why was it placed in the beginning of the text?
2. The principle of separation of powers.
3. The principle of checks and balances. Try to find examples of checks and balances in the text. Ask yourself, does this principle stand in tension with the first principle of separation of powers?
4. Federalism: what are its manifestations in the text?
5. The first ten amendments guarantee rights. What about the remaining 17 amendments? What are they meant to do?
We shall focus on these questions and hopefully some others in our first class. I look forward to meeting you.
Contracts (B) (Farnsworth)
JD 813 (B1)
Acquire the photocopied materials for the course from Kinko's. Read and prepare through p. 5.
Torts (B) (Simons)
JD892 (B1)
Welcome to law school!
For the first class, on Tuesday, September 2, please read the Introduction (xxxiii-xlvi) and read carefully pages 1-6 (last full para.) from Chapter One of the casebook. Do not be concerned about fully understanding every detail of the introduction at this point. I suggest that you reread it a few weeks into the course, at which point it will be more comprehensible.
Please also check the course website (http://courseinfo.bu.edu/courses/08falllawjd892_b1/index.html-the “Course Information” tab) for the document, “Course Requirements and Syllabus Part I.”
If you want to read ahead, I expect that on Thursday and Friday we will be discussing pp. 6-8 (first full para), p. 9 (note 9)-p. 10 (end of note 9), and p. 11 (last para) – p. 16.
Section B
(Contracts B2/Torts B2)
Civil Procedure (B) (Bone)
JD873 (B1)
Welcome to the first year of Law School and to Civil Procedure. The following course materials should now be available from the bookstore:
(1). Jack Friedenthal, Arthur Miller, John Sexton, & Helen Hershkoff, Civil Procedure: Cases and Materials (Revised 9th Edition 2008)
(2). FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE – 2008 (Foundation Press).
(3). Gerald Stern, THE BUFFALO CREEK DISASTER
(4). Robert G. Bone, THE ECONOMICS OF CIVIL PROCEDURE (Foundation Press Turning Point Series 2003)
In addition to these basic texts, I will distribute supplementary materials from time to time. You can download SYLLABUS, PART I and DISTRIBUTION NO. 1 from the class website.
For Section B – http://courseinfo.bu.edu/courses/08falllawjd873_b1/
You will need your BU user name and Keberos password to gain access to the website. I also plan to e-mail these documents to everyone registered for the class. If you don’t get them one of these ways, e-mail me (rbone@bu.edu) and I’ll send them to you. You need Distribution No. 1 for the first assignment but you don’t need the Syllabus.
FIRST ASSIGNMENT: For the first class meeting, please read pages 1-12 of Distribution No. 1. You might also begin reading The Buffalo Creek Disaster. You will need to complete the entire book by the end of the first two weeks or so of class, so you might want to get a head start on it now, especially as there will be other reading assignments during the period. The Buffalo Creek Disaster is a brief and highly readable – even entertaining – account of a major lawsuit written from the point of view of the lawyer representing the plaintiffs. The book conveys a feeling for the way an actual case is litigated, which will be useful as the course progresses. We will refer to the book from time to time throughout the fall semester.
Constitutional Law (B) (Lahav)
JD810 (B1)
First Class Reading Assignment: Text of the Constitution of the United States
The constitution of the U.S. is the first modern constitution to appear as a binding text. It has also endured (with only 27 amendments) for 221 years. It is the first attempt by human beings to put together, as binding law, a comprehensive system of government.
In our first class we shall review this document, its framework, structure and basic building blocks.
The text is not easy to read, and at first many will find it utterly boring. Please do not be discouraged. The more you read it the more you will understand it and the more you will come to appreciate its extraordinary intellectual power. Of course, this does not mean that the constitution should be glorified or worshipped as infallible. In class we shall try to develop a critical sensibility toward this document. But we cannot critic that which we do not understand.
When you read this text, focus on the following:
1. The preamble: what’s in it? Why was it placed in the beginning of the text?
2. The principle of separation of powers.
3. The principle of checks and balances. Try to find examples of checks and balances in the text. Ask yourself, does this principle stand in tension with the first principle of separation of powers?
4. Federalism: what are its manifestations in the text?
5. The first ten amendments guarantee rights. What about the remaining 17 amendments? What are they meant to do?
We shall focus on these questions and hopefully some others in our first class. I look forward to meeting you.
Contracts (B) (Caruso)
JD 813 (B2)
First Assignment:
For Tuesday, September 2nd, please read Casebook p 1-9 and Sullivan v. O’Connor (available on CourseInfo- http://courseinfo.bu.edu). Read also the Editors’ Introduction in Burton & Eisenberg, iii-ix.
Unless otherwise indicated, readings include notes, comments, case excerpts and other materials following or preceding the cases, within the assigned pages.
Torts (B) (Fleming)
JD892 (B2)
Assignments for the First Week
September 3: vii-viii, 1-4, 7-14
September 4: 15-29
Section C
(Torts C1)
Civil Procedure (C) (Farnsworth)
JD873 (C1)
Acquire the photocopied materials for the course from Kinko's. Read through p. 7 and prepare the problem on that page.
Contracts (C) (Pettit)
JD813 (C1)
Assignments for First Classes:
Note: Our “casebook” is Barnett, Contracts: Cases and Doctrine (Fourth Edition, 2008). “Perspectives” refers to Perspectives on Contract Law, edited by Barnett (Third Edition, 2005). You should also have our statute book, Burton and Eisenberg, Contract Law: Selected Source Materials (2008 Edition), and the course Syllabus and Additional Cases.
The assignments for the first two weeks of classes are:
Tuesday, September 2: Casebook, pages 61-71
Thursday, September 4: Casebook, pages 71-72
Perspectives, pages 3-22
Casebook, pages 84-92
Friday, September 5: Casebook, pages 929-934
Tuesday, September 9: Casebook, pages 934-940
Thursday, September 11: Casebook, pages 93-97, 108-109
Friday, September 12: Casebook, pages 112-118
Assignments include Casebook pp. 907-930 on the Statute of Frauds, which you are expected to read when SoF issues arise (Boone v. Coe, at p. 99, is the first case requiring some SoF knowledge).
Property (C) (Lawson)
JD876 (C1)
Class 1: I and II-A-1-a (the introductory material on “What is Property” and then Pierson v. Post (MS 81-86)
Class 2: The rest of II-A-1 (through Bradshaw v. Ashley in the supplement)
Class 3: II-A-2 (“Wild Minerals”)
Torts (C) (Moore)
JD892 (C1)
First Assignment
We will spend the first day and a half on the Introduction. I hope to begin the material on Intentional Torts sometime on the second day of class. The first part of the Syllabus (covering Intentional Torts) will be posted on the CourseInfo website for this course.
I. Introduction
---Casebook, pp. 3-41. Brief the appellate court opinion in Walter v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., focusing on the defendant’s appeal from the trial court’s granting of the plaintiff’s Motion for Judgment on Liability. In class, we will focus on answering the following questions concerning the opinion:
- According to this opinion, what are the elements of a prima facie case under the tort of negligence?
- On what basis did the appellate court affirm that the plaintiff was entitled to Judgment on Liability with respect to each of these elements? Do you agree with the court’s decision?
- What affirmative defense did the defendant raise in connection with the plaintiff’s Motion for Judgment on Liability?
- On what basis did the appellate court affirm the grant of the plaintiff’s motion with respect to that defense? Do you agree with the court’s decision?
II. Intentional Torts
- Battery and Assault
1. Prima Facie Case
---Casebook, pp. 549-587; 613-615; 617(beginning with n.7)-627. What are the elements of the prima facie case in each of these torts? Identify how the prima facie case was (or was not) satisfied in each of the major cases.
I strongly recommend that you “brief” each main case in the syllabus. The particular form of brief is not important, although I think it is helpful to distinguish between the procedural issued raised on appeal (e.g., “Did the trial court err in refusing to direct a verdict for the plaintiff?”) and the substantive issue (e.g., “if the defendant is found to have violated a criminal safety statue, is that negligence as a matter of law in a civil case?”). Your legal research and writing instructor can help you locate a briefing form that you find most helpful.
The plaintiff has the burden of pleading and proving all of the elements of the “prima facie” case (which differ according to the particular tort claimed) in order to withstand a motion to dismiss or a motion for a directed verdict. A defendant can prevail in either of two ways. First, the defendant can attempt to defeat the prima facie case on the grounds that the plaintiff’s claims are legally or factually insufficient. Second, even if the prima facie case has been established, the defendant may prevail by pleading and proving an applicable affirmative defense or privilege. For purposes of analyzing any tort claim, the organizational division between elements of the prima facie case and affirmative defenses or privileges is extremely helpful and will be used again and again throughout this course. It is also a natural organizing principle for answering questions on a Torts exam.
Section C
(Torts C2)
Civil Procedure (C) (Farnsworth)
JD873 (C1)
Acquire the photocopied materials for the course from Kinko's. Read through p. 7 and prepare the problem on that page.
Contracts (C) (Pettit)
JD813 (C1)
Assignments for First Classes:
Note: Our “casebook” is Barnett, Contracts: Cases and Doctrine (Fourth Edition, 2008). “Perspectives” refers to Perspectives on Contract Law, edited by Barnett (Third Edition, 2005). You should also have our statute book, Burton and Eisenberg, Contract Law: Selected Source Materials (2008 Edition), and the course Syllabus and Additional Cases.
The assignments for the first two weeks of classes are:
Tuesday, September 2: Casebook, pages 61-71
Thursday, September 4: Casebook, pages 71-72
Perspectives, pages 3-22
Casebook, pages 84-92
Friday, September 5: Casebook, pages 929-934
Tuesday, September 9: Casebook, pages 934-940
Thursday, September 11: Casebook, pages 93-97, 108-109
Friday, September 12: Casebook, pages 112-118
Assignments include Casebook pp. 907-930 on the Statute of Frauds, which you are expected to read when SoF issues arise (Boone v. Coe, at p. 99, is the first case requiring some SoF knowledge).
Property (C) (Lawson)
JD876 (C1)
Class 1: I and II-A-1-a (the introductory material on “What is Property” and then Pierson v. Post (MS 81-86)
Class 2: The rest of II-A-1 (through Bradshaw v. Ashley in the supplement)
Class 3: II-A-2 (“Wild Minerals”)
Torts (C) (Silbaugh)
JD892 (C2)
The required text is Franklin, Rabin, and Green, Tort Law and Alternatives (8th ed. 2006). For the first class, please read pages 1-17. We will discuss Hammontree v. Jenner.