Whose Monet? An Introduction to the American Legal System

by Humbach, John A.

• ISBN13: 9781543805628
• ISBN10: 1543805620
• eBook ISBN(s): 9798894107936
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2025-08-08
• Publisher: Aspen Publishing
• More Book Details

Summary

Telling the story of a real lawsuit over a stolen painting, Whose Monet? An Introduction to the American Legal System, Third Edition, introduces new law students to the basic structure of the legal proceedings that lie behind the cases they read in law school and provides an easy-to-understand overview of the American legal system.

This book is designed to ease the transition to law school by helping new law students make sense of the appellate cases they will read, the terminology they will encounter, and the structure of the legal system. It tells the story of a real case from client intake through trial and appeals. At each stage, the reader is shown the tasks and challenges that the lawyers face, and each stage concludes with the relevant judicial opinion, introducing students to the tasks of reading, briefing, and understanding a case. The Third Edition has been edited to enhance clarity and precision and to provide additional information in places where it would facilitate student understanding.

Professors and students will benefit from:

• An engaging and immersive approach to exploring the American legal system
• Author John A. Humbach's conversational, easy-to-read writing style
• Illustrations and sample documents that familiarize students with legal documents such as motions, complaints, and similar case filings
• Exploration of the ethical implications and historical context of the central case, DeWeerth v. Baldinger
• Excerpts from testimony, commentary and jurisprudence that introduce students to the use of case file and secondary legal sources
• Study Questions that encourage self-assessment and review

Table of Contents

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I Introduction 
CHAPTER II The Lawyer’s Task: Facts and Law 
CHAPTER III Deciding Whether to Sue
CHAPTER IV Deciding Where to Sue:
The Court System 
CHAPTER V Commencing a Civil Action 
CHAPTER VI The Complaint
CHAPTER VII The Common Law 
CHAPTER VIII How the Common Law Became
American Law 
CHAPTER IX How Lawyers and Courts Use
Precedents
CHAPTER X The Answer 
CHAPTER XI The Process of “Discovery”
CHAPTER XII A Motion for Summary Judgment 
CHAPTER XIII Statutory Law and Administrative
Regulations 
CHAPTER XIV The Trial 
CHAPTER XV The Judgment (and a Motion for
a “Judgment N.O.V.”) 
CHAPTER XVI The Appeal 
CHAPTER XVII The Aftermath 
POSTSCRIPT

APPENDIX Extracts from Testimony
of Gerda Dorothea DeWeerth