Introduction to the Law and Legal System of the United States

by Burnham, William

• ISBN13: 9780314253934
• ISBN10: 0314253939
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-05-01
• Publisher: West Group

Summary

Intended for law students, lawyers, and legal scholars from foreign countries; U.S. graduate and undergraduate college students; and members of the general reading public in the United States. For use as the text of an introductory course on U.S. law, as a reference, or for self-study.

Table of Contents

History and Governmental Structure	1	(36)
Some Constitutional History	1	(3)
The Governmental Structure Provided for in the 1789 Constitution	4	(5)
Separation and Balance of Powers Among the Branches of the Federal Government	9	(9)
The States and Federalism	18	(11)
The Impact of Governmental Structure on the Legal System: An Overview	29	(8)
Legal Methodology	37	(43)
Sources of Law and Their Hierarchy	37	(4)
Common Law	41	(8)
Statutory Law in a Common Law System	49	(4)
Statutory Interpretation Methods	53	(10)
The Form and General Nature of Caselaw	63	(3)
The Legal Reasoning Process in Caselaw	66	(7)
Legal Research Techniques and the Form of Legal Argument	73	(7)
The Adversary System and Jury Trials	80	(46)
The Characteristics and Rationale of the Adversary System	80	(6)
Juries	86	(5)
The Adversary Jury Trial and the Lawyer's Role in It	91	(17)
Evidence Law	108	(7)
Criticisms of the Adversary System	115	(5)
Criticisms of the Jury System	120	(6)
The Legal Profession	126	(41)
Legal Education and Admission to the Bar	127	(13)
Issues in the Regulation of Practice	140	(3)
Types of Practice	143	(16)
Minorities and Women in the Legal Profession	159	(1)
Legal Ethics	160	(7)
The Judicial System	167	(1)
PART I: An Overview of Court Systems and Judges	167	(22)
Trial Courts and Appellate Courts: Their Basic Characteristics and Interrelationship	167	(6)
State and Federal Court Structure and Characteristics	173	(4)
Judges and Methods of Judicial Selection	177	(7)
Other Judicial Officials and Assistants	184	(3)
Subject-Matter Jurisdiction of State and Federal Courts	187	(2)
PART II: Federalism Complications in the Judicial System	189	(7)
Law Applied in Federal and State Courts	190	(3)
Simultaneous Litigation in State and Federal Court	193	(3)
Administrative Law	196	(1)
PART I: Law and Procedures of Administrative Agencies	196	(19)
Types and Purposes of Administrative Agencies	196	(1)
Rule-Making Functions of Agencies	197	(2)
Adjudicatory Functions of Agencies	199	(7)
Judicial Review of Agency Action	206	(5)
Presidential and Congressional Controls on Federal Agency Action	211	(4)
PART II: Separation of Powers and Federalism Issues Involving Agencies	215	(183)
A Administrative Agencies and Separation of Powers	215	(5)
Federalism and Sovereign Immunity Limits on Suits to Redress Illegal Federal and State Agency Action	220	(5)
Civil Procedure	225	(40)
PART I: The Course of a Civil Lawsuit
The Pleading Stage of the Case	225	(5)
The Discovery Stage	230	(5)
Motion for Summary Judgment and the Final Pretrial Conference	235	(3)
Trial Procedure	238	(1)
Judgments in Civil Cases: Money Damages, Equitable Relief and Costs	239	(5)
Effect of Judgments	244	(2)
Resolving Cases Without Litigation	246	(3)
PART II: The Complications of Federalism
Personal Jurisdiction in State and Federal Courts	249	(5)
Forum Non Conveniens	254	(2)
Recognition of Judgments: The ``Full Faith and Credit'' Requirement	256	(2)
Choice of Law Rules	258	(7)
Criminal Procedure	265	(49)
PART I: A Outline of the Criminal Justice Process
Arrest, Formal Charges and the First Appearance	265	(4)
Preliminary Hearings, Indictments or Informations, and Pre-Trial Motions	269	(2)
Trial	271	(1)
Sentencing Procedures in Criminal Cases	272	(1)
Appellate Review of Convictions	273	(1)
Resolving Criminal Cases Without Trial	274	(2)
PART II: Constitutional Criminal Procedure
Introduction and Preliminary Comments	276	(2)
Limitations on Investigative Techniques and Apprehension of Suspects	278	(19)
Rights at the Charging stage and Pre-Trial Release	297	(1)
Rights at Trial	298	(7)
The Effect of Prior Proceedings: The Double Jeopardy Guarantee	305	(4)
Limitations on Punishment	309	(3)
Rights on Appeal	312	(2)
Constitutional Law	314	(68)
PART I: Judicial Review, Structure and Powers
Judicial Review	314	(5)
Limits on Judicial Review by Federal Courts	319	(7)
Legislative Powers of the Federal Government and the Relationship Between the States and the Federal Government; Vertical Federalism	326	(8)
The Relationship Between the States: Horizontal Federalism	334	(4)
PART II: Individual Rights
State Action	338	(2)
Rights to Equal Protection of the Laws	340	(11)
Substantive Due Process Rights	351	(4)
First Amendment Freedoms of Expression	355	(19)
First Amendment Religious Freedoms	374	(8)
Contracts and Commercial Law	382	(16)
PART I: Contract Law
Formation of Contracts	382	(6)
Interpretation of Contracts	388	(2)
Issues in Performance of Contracts	390	(1)
Grounds for Nonperformance of Contracts	391	(4)
Breaches and Repudiations of Contracts	395	(1)
Remedies for Breaches of Contracts	396	(2)
PART II: Commercial Law	398	(56)
The Uniform Commercial Code	398	(11)
Consumer Protection Laws	409	(9)
Tort Law	418	(36)
Torts in Perspective	418	(2)
Types of Torts by Degrees of Fault	420	(15)
Torts Vindicating Particular Interests	435	(9)
Relief Available in Tort Cases	444	(6)
Administration of the Tort System of Compensation	450	(4)
Property Law	454	(1)
PART I: Real and Personal Property	454	(13)
The Nature and Forms of Property	454	(1)
Defining Interests in Real Property	455	(4)
Personal Property	459	(1)
Rights and Obligations of Owners of Real Property	459	(4)
Government Control Over Real Property	463	(4)
PART II: Transfers of Property Interests	467	(10)
Real Estate Purchase Transactions	467	(3)
Development and Sale of Condominiums and Cooperatives	470	(1)
Other Methods of Transferring Interests in Property	471	(2)
Leasing Property: Landlord-Tenant Law	473	(1)
Succession of Properly Interests Upon Death of the Owner	474	(1)
Establishment and Operation of Trusts	475	(2)
PART III: Intellectual Property	477	(171)
Copyright law	478	(7)
Patent Law	485	(3)
Trademark Law	488	(4)
International Intellectual Property Protection	492	(3)
Family Law	495	(29)
Marriage	495	(4)
Dissolution of Marriages	499	(14)
Non-Traditional Relationships and Family Law	513	(2)
Child Custody Issues Outside Divorce	515	(3)
Problems in the Intact Family	518	(6)
Criminal Law	524	(29)
General Considerations	524	(2)
Elements of a Crime	526	(5)
Specific Offenses	531	(5)
Defenses to Criminal Liability	536	(9)
Peripheral Actors, Anticipatory Crimes and Enterprise Criminality	545	(4)
Criminal Sanctions	549	(4)
Business Law	553	(55)
Business Organizations	553	(19)
Regulation of Offers and Sales of Corporate Securities	572	(3)
Bankruptcy	575	(2)
Antitrust Law	577	(7)
Labor Laws	584	(13)
Environmental Law	597	(11)
Tax Law	608	(40)
Sources of Law and Basic Concepts in Federal Tax Law	608	(3)
Federal Income Tax	611	(27)
International Tax Issues	638	(4)
Other Federal Taxes	642	(1)
State and Local Taxes	642	(1)
Administration of Tax Laws	643	(5)
International Aspects of United States Law	648	(1)
PART I: International Law and Its Application in the United States	648	(22)
Sources, Forms and Hierarchy of International Law Rules	648	(5)
International Law in the U.S. Legal System	653	(12)
War Powers and Military Intervention Under U.S. Law	665	(1)
Remedies for Violations of International Law	666	(4)
PART II: International Litigation in U.S. Courts	670	(1)
Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Law and Judicial Process	670	(21)
International Enforcement of Judgments	691	(2)
Suits Involving Foreign States and Their Official Acts	693
Appendix A: Legal Materials and Diagrams	1	(1)
Appendix B: Addresses of Major Publishers of U.S. Legal Materials and Sources of U.S. Law on the Internet	1	(1)
Appendix C: Table of Cases	1