Course Syllabus

POLS 2400 U.S. Law and Courts

Course Description

Law exerts a massive influence on modern society. It structures the way we interact in business, as consumers, and in a variety of private affairs. Law also appears heavily in our popular culture. Along with the dominance of law in modern life comes a heightened concern with the role that courts play in developing and administering that law. This course will introduce students to the study of law and courts. We will examine the basic nature of law, legal training, the structure of the legal process, and the impact that law and courts have on, and their role in shaping politics and society.

Justification

The institutions and actors that make up our legal system are charged with interpreting and applying neutral principles of law. In one sense then, we expect law and courts to rise above politics. However, in another sense, the law and courts are inherently political. Law is a product of politics and political processes. The judiciary is a co-equal branch of government, judges are selected by political means, and court decisions often have broad political and policy implications. Just how political is our legal system, and conversely, how legal is our political system? Can the two even be separated? In this course, we will explore some of the most important aspects of U.S. law and its legal system, in an attempt to answer these and other questions. We will try to separate popular misconceptions from the realities of how our legal system works. In the process, this course will emphasize that law is not simply a subject for lawyers and law professors, but it is also an integral part of our political, policy, and economic systems with far-reaching effects on society.This course is designed to be accepted at all USHE institutions in the course of study toward a degree in Political Science.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Students will understand the general organizational structure of federal and state courts, and/or criminal and civil courts, and the roles of different individuals in those systems.
2. Students will apply analytical and critical thinking skills in reading case files and/or case summaries of issues before the courts, considering the influences individuals, groups, institutions, and/or politics, and social standards have on outcomes.
3. Students will examine the development of common and/or statutory law, considering basic social science concepts, methods, and/or theories to identify political and other factors that influence changes in either or both.
4. The student will identify an argument about a social phenomenon and understand alternative explanations.

Course Content

This course will focus on the role that courts play in the American political system. The topics we will examine include the organization of the federal and state court systems; aspects of the legal profession; judicial behavior; methods of choosing judges; decision-making in the criminal and civil justice systems; and policymaking in appellate courts, with special focus on the U.S. Supreme Court and its relationships with other actors in the political system. This may include learning how to read and research a case, and case history, and researching relevant legal authorities.