Course Description

This course is an introduction to the American legal system and to the processes used by courts, legislatures and administrative agencies to resolve problems. Particular attention will be given to the legal analysis of judicial opinions, statutes and regulations, to the role of legal reasoning in the development of law, to the interdependence of legal institutions and the consequences for legal analysis, to the place of law in society.

In the course of evaluating the legal processes and their competencies, attention will be given to the impact of these processes on racial and ethnic minorities and on groups seeking redress through the legal system, such as women, the disabled and sexual minorities. The objective of this attention is to witness how issues of importance to these groups are transformed into legal grievances and how these disputes are handled by the legal system. Moreover, we will explore how the legal system addresses demands of social and economic justice, particularly in terms of the value biases of legal institutions and the implications for law reform and social change.

Course Objectives

Through the readings, class discussions and assignments, students are expected to be able to:

(1) assess American legal processes and their interdependence;
(2) demonstrate competency in legal reasoning, legal analysis, and argumentation (oral and written),generally, and to be able to differentiate between the analytical framework for making sense of judicial opinions, legislation and regulations;
(3) compare the strengths and limitations of the legal system.
(4) demonstrate an understanding of the dispute settlement function of the legal system;
(5) specify the strengths and limitations of legal institutions in addressing social problems or responding to historically disenfranchised populations or marginal issues;
(6) dissect the law’s shaping role in social policy formulation;
(7) analyze legal documents, such as judicial decisions, legislation an regulation.;
(8) synthesize judicial decisions to uncover evolutionary changes in the law; and
(9) evaluate the value assumptions underlying the legal system regarding racial, ethnic or sexual minorities or controversial policy problems, such as poverty, and compare how system outcomes, in terms of judicial decisions, statutes, and regulations, manifest these assumptions.

Required Texts

Raymond Albert, Law and Social Work Practice: A Legal Systems Approach, Spring Publishing Company, 2000
Photocopopied materials

Course Requirements

The course requirements are designed to promote skill development in legal analysis and legal reasoning and to provide opportunities to demonstrate an understanding of course concepts. It is especially important to be able to assess the merits of legal processes, in terms of the strengths and limitations of constituent legal institutions. The requirements will enable students to discriminate between various forms of legal arguments, particularly within the context of a judicial opinion, to integrate conceptual and analytical competencies. Collectively, the ensuing competencies will inform students’ comprehension of how the legal system shapes social policy and affects the populations and problems that are the province of social work, particularly racial, ethnic and sexual minorities and issues of social and economic justice.

1.  Class participation; learning the law is analogous to learning a new language, and practice is essential.
2.  Mid-term exam (format to be announced)
3.  Final exam (take home; distributed on final class session)

Course Outline

May 21^st Introduction
Course objectives and requirements; fundaments of legal method; "briefing" cases

May 23^rd Law and the process of classification: technique of case law development
Albert, R. (2002) Law and Social Work Practice: A Legal Systems Approach. Spring Publishing Company. Chapter 1 and 2

May 25^th An overview of the civil process and of criminal procedure
Albert, R. (2002) Law and Social Work Practice: A Legal Systems Approach. Spring Publishing Company. Chapter 3
Photocopied materials

May 30^th Uncovering the process of appellate court decision making; judicial functions and "legal realism"
Albert, R. (2002) Law and Social Work Practice: A Legal Systems Approach. Spring Publishing Company. Chapter 11 (for background concepts) and focus on Chapter 12

June 1st Case synthesis: rule creation, evolution, and consolidation
Photocopied materials

June 4 The legislative process: statutory rule development; enacting substantive rules andappropriating for legislation
Albert, R. (2002) Law and Social Work Practice: A Legal Systems Approach. Spring Publishing Company. Chapter 4

June 6^th The legislative process: legislative intent and statutory interpretation
Albert, R. (2002) Law and Social Work Practice: A Legal Systems Approach. Spring Publishing Company. Chapter 5, 6 (pp. 168-188), and 8

June 8^th Mid-term examination

June 11^th The administrative process: authority, structure and function
Albert, R. (2002) Law and Social Work Practice: A Legal Systems Approach. Spring Publishing Company. Chapter 7 and 8

June 13^th Administrative rules and tort liability: the case of nursing home regulations
Albert, R. (2002) Law and Social Work Practice: A Legal Systems Approach. Spring Publishing Company. Chapter 17

June 15^th Interdependency of legal processes: the case of welfare reform
Albert, R. (2002) Law and Social Work Practice: A Legal Systems Approach. Spring Publishing Company. Chapter 6 (pp. 189-209)

June 18^th Interdependency of legal processes: the case of lobbying and lobbying reform
Albert, R. (2002) Law and Social Work Practice: A Legal Systems Approach. Spring Publishing Company. Chapter 19 and 20

June 20^th Summary