Courses

• LAW JD 837: Wrongful Convictions and the US Criminal Justice System (S)
  The past two decades have witnessed an unprecedented surge in the freeing from our nations jails and prisons of innocent people who were wrongfully convicted. Many have served lengthy sentences and some have spent years on death row awaiting execution for crimes they did not commit. This course will examine the broad range of factors that contribute to the wrongful conviction of the innocent and, in doing so, will shed light on broader questions about the functioning of the US criminal justice system. We will explore the role played by faulty eyewitness-identification procedures; coercive and deceptive police interrogation procedures; the mishandling of confidential informants, cooperating witnesses, and jailhouse snitches; junk science, disorganized crime labs, and incompetent and corrupt experts; police and prosecutorial failures to preserve & disclose exculpatory evidence; and incompetent defense counsel and underfunded criminal-defense-delivery systems. We will also examine the role of racial and ethnic bias, profiling, and tunnel vision, before considering how wrongful convictions affect the debate over the death penalty. We will look the use of postconviction procedures such as appeals, new-trial motions, and habeas corpus petitions, to free the wrongfully convicted. Finally, we will explore some of the reforms that have been proposed and some of the critiques — from both the left and the right — of the innocence movement, with its reliance on DNA technologies, and its narrow focus on the "wrong-man" notion of the "factually innocent." Films, case studies, and guest speakers will help ground our discussion in concrete examples. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 838: Antitrust Law
  Antitrust law regulates the competition between business firms in unregulated markets (and in varying degrees in regulated markets, where it supplies a benchmark standard). Thus, all privately owned economic entities are subject to or affected by the antitrust laws (federal or state), ranging from the largest multinationals to self-employed individuals, e.g., lawyers. Antitrust law constrains business behavior that injures the competitive process, encompassing such topics as price fixing, boycotts, monopolization, mergers, price discrimination, distributorship limitations and similar trade restrictions. Antitrust analysis is increasingly economic in its orientation and therefore economic analysis will form a vital part of the course. Supplementary economic readings are suggested for students without previous economic background (and for others who may wish to refresh their knowledge).
• LAW JD 839: First Amendment
  This course will begin with an examination of freedom of expression and freedom of the press and will then move to a study of freedom of religion – the establishment clause and the free exercise clause. We shall cover issues such as the protection of political speech, sexualized speech (obscenity and pornography), symbolic speech and speech in public places in addition to issues related to press censorship, reporters’ privilege and press coverage of trials. In the area of freedom of religion we shall review the jurisprudence on the role of religion in the public sphere as well as the constitutional command to guarantee free exercise of religion. While studying the doctrines developed under the Bill of Rights, we shall also address theoretical questions such as the role of rights in constitutional democracy and the institutional question of judicial review.
• LAW JD 840: International Competition Law Research (S)
  Would you like to research topics in international competition law and publish your research immediately? This course will offer you that opportunity. Students will choose subject matters to study and will write either a large report or several small reports within their subject areas. The reports will be uploaded to a website on international competition law (http://antitrustworldwiki.com) as the semester progresses. Students taking this course can choose a country as a research area, or a topic in competition law (e.g., international variation in rules on tying), or some combination of both. Suggested Reading: Keith N. Hylton, Antitrust Law: Economic Theory and Common Law Evolution (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003). RESTRICTION: This course is limited to students who have taken antitrust law, are taking it concurrently, or who have permission of the instructor. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 842: International Business Transactions
  IBT will cover transactional approach to legal problems encountered in commercial and financial business ventures that cross national borders. Topics include form of doing business, including formation of contracts and the range of issues presented—such as choice of law, commercial terms, force majeure, distribution and agency law, franchise, licensing arrangements, and direct investments in the form of partnerships or formation of corporation; financing the international sale of goods through letters of credit; the organizations and operations of the institutions of the World Trade Organization; investment in free trade areas such as the European Union and NAFTA; and issues of transfer of intellectual property.
• LAW JD 843: Transactional Drafting (S)
  The practical aspects of practicing business law. A simulated deal format allows the students to follow a typical business transaction through its various phases. Legal, economic, personal and procedural issues are addressed. The goal, as in any business law practicum, is to prepare the students to "hit the ground running" as first year transactional associates. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 12 students. NOTES: This seminar does not satisfy the upper-class writing requirement. This seminar satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 844: Non-Profit Organizations (S)
  This seminar will focus on the unique status under the law of non-profit organizations. Particular attention will be given to the different types of non-profit entities (including universities, hospitals, and religious organizations) and their organization, governance, and regulation by both the federal government and the states. Specific topics will include the permissible scope of non-profit activities; choice of organizational form; the powers and fiduciary duties of non-profit directors/trustees and officers; standing to sue non-profits, charitable immunity, and limitations on the liability of non-profits; qualification for federal tax-exempt status and related tax issues; forms of charitable giving and the regulation of fundraising; the investment and use of charitable funds; and other issues unique to non-profits. All students will be required to write papers on topics covered by the class and approved by the instructor. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with the approval of the instructor and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. PREREQUISITE-COREQUISITES: CORPORATIONS AND INTRODUCTION TO FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION; however, students who have not taken or are not taking these courses may enroll in the seminar with the permission of the instructor. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 12 students. NOTE: This class will meet in the first floor conference room at 125 Bay State Road. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who waitlist for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 845: Civil War & Reconstruction (S)
  This course will investigate the legal history of the era of the Civil War and Reconstruction. We will explore legal and constitutional change from several different angles, including presidential leadership, legislative mandates, and judicial interpretation. We will also consider how society at large debated, influenced, and reacted to legal developments, paying particular attention to the themes of fluidity, contingency, and participation, and how law, society, and politics mixed during this period to set American legal development on paths that were not predetermined. Topics to be covered will include slavery, the redefinition of American citizenship during the era of the Civil War and Reconstruction, civil liberties and war powers, Lincoln and race, blacks and the Union, civil rights during Reconstruction, and the rise of Jim Crow. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 846: Historical Perspectives on Law, Constitutions and Culture (S)
  This workshop-format seminar examines the interplay of law, constitutions, and culture from an historical perspective. The heart of the seminar is student engagement with works-in-progress by leading scholars in the history, theory, and culture of law, broadly understood. The first four meetings will be devoted to developing the intellectual tools necessary for reading and engaging with such papers. During each of the remaining nine meetings, an invited scholar will present her or his current research for discussion. Students will read the speaker’s paper in advance and prepare discussion questions for the seminar. The written work for the seminar will consist of a series of brief, critical essays in response to a student-selected subset of the nine papers. This course is open to law students and to graduate students from other departments. A background in history is not a prerequisite. Graduate students from outside the law school may be able to receive 4 credits for this course. Please consult the professor regarding this option. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 848: Habermas, Law & Democracy (S)
  Jürgen Habermas is perhaps the world's most prominent living social theorist and philosopher. His later work has turned to law and its relation to political democracy. This seminar, cross-listed with the philosophy department, examines critically Habermas's theory of law and democracy. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 849: Trial Evidence
  The new trial lawyer faces a daunting challenge; how to “master” the rules of evidence sufficiently well to effectively meet the tactical and strategic challenges of the trial. The rules of evidence, some of which are unwritten, are difficult to understand until experienced in a trial setting. This on-your-feet course provides that experience. This is a practical introduction to evidence which equips one with a high level of proficiency in evidentiary advocacy procedures - the mechanics of arguing evidentiary issues - as well as a working knowledge and comfort level with evidentiary rules and concepts that trial lawyers frequently encounter. You will conduct a large number of witness examinations and other evidentiary exercises. A basic evidence course is a prerequisite for Trial Evidence, but the learn by doing approach utilized is distinct from that of a basic evidence course. This course, which seeks to foster strong communication skills modeled on the less formal school of advocacy, is an excellent complement to a trial advocacy class. NOTE: Two classes are held at the Suffolk Superior Court located at the Suffolk County Courthouse at Three Pemberton Square. PREREQUISITE: EVIDENCE. NOTE: This course satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement.
• LAW JD 850: Insurance Law
  The presence or absence of insurance is in many instances the single most important determinant of whether and how a tort or contracts action is litigated. This course focuses on both individual and commercial forms of insurance coverage. Students are introduced to the key insurance concepts of risk management, including the transfer, pooling and allocation of covered risks. Problems of contract interpretation, imperfect information, adverse selection and discrimination will be treated at length. Additionally, the class will take up issues particular to property, life, health, disability, liability and auto insurance. Finally, some time will be devoted to the state regulatory regimes designed to ensure solvency and profitability, and to the secondary market (i.e. reinsurance, and surplus and excess lines). A final exam is required although a research paper may be substituted with instructor approval.
• LAW JD 851: Labor Law
  Survey of modern labor management and union relations law in the private sector. Organization of workers and the representation process; collective bargaining; unfair practices, employer and union; negotiation and enforcement of collective agreement, including arbitration; regulation of strikes and lockouts. Administrative law and federalism principles will be treated. Employment discrimination and other individual employee protection laws are not treated in this course.
• LAW JD 852: Mutual Funds (Investment Companies)
  Investment companies have become an important part of the financial system. This course is designed to familiarize students with the special laws governing investment companies: their creation, structure, corporate governance, operations, including the distribution of shares and the management of the portfolios, dissolution, and, time permitting, taxation. In particular, the course will focus on the Investment Company Act of 1940, and on the practice in this area before the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• LAW JD 853: Philosophy of Law
  The course will explore the philosophical foundations of law and its legitimacy. It will survey the primary traditions purporting to justify the authority of law. We will start by examining Aquinas' natural law theory and the social contract tradition: Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. We will also examine contemporary social contract theorists such as Rawls and Nozick. This part of the course will examine the relevance of these theories to contemporary controversial debates. The course will also examine the critical approaches to the social contract tradition and to law in general. The last part of the course will be devoted to investigate different jurisprudential theories, in particular, the positivist and the natural law theory.
• LAW JD 854: White Collar Crime (S)
  Purpose of the Course: to teach present-day "white collar crime" practice, including the elements of principal federal and state statutes and the special procedures followed by prosecutors and private attorneys. Ethical obligations will be emphasized. The course will begin by reviewing the historical roots and theoretical bases of modern "white collar crime" prosecution and end with a review of significant recent cases and consideration of whether current "white collar crime" practice is achieving its intended purposes. Upon successful completion of the course, students will be as conversant as first-year attorneys with the statutes, procedures, and methods of issue analysis employed by prosecutors and private lawyers in day-to-day "white collar crime" practice. Each student will be required to write two research papers of 15 pages each, applying state and federal statutes and policies to a hypothetical fact situation. In one paper, the student will address the situation from the prosecution side; in the other, the student will look at the same situation from the point of view of a private attorney. Class discussion will focus on the material elements of the most frequently used federal and state criminal statutes, DOJ prosecution guidelines, and the day-to-day realities of investigating, prosecuting and defending claims of white collar crime violations. PREREQUISITE: Students should be familiar with criminal law and procedure and Constitutional law before taking this course. NOTES: This seminar does not satisfy the Upper-class Writing Requirement. This seminar satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 856: Restitution and Unjust Enrichment
  A survey of the modern U.S. law of restitution and unjust enrichment, organized around the new “Restatement Third, Restitution and Unjust Enrichment,” scheduled to be completed during the summer of 2010 and published some time in 2011. Our syllabus will combine selections from the Restatement with selected cases. “Restitution” in this context refers to an independent cause of action based on the claim that the defendant has been unjustly enriched at the expense of the plaintiff. The action in restitution often involves characteristic equitable remedies, such as constructive trust, subrogation, and rules of “tracing.” Restitution is a basic “building block” subject, like contract and torts, with potential application to transactions across every part of the private legal spectrum. Students who have never heard of it before (except possibly in their Contracts class) are usually surprised to see how many interesting topics it involves. Course materials will be made available through a course website.
• LAW JD 857: Intellectual Property
  This course explores how the law deals with the products of creative activity. The range of subject matter is large, embracing things as different as mechanical inventions and melodies; baubles and boat designs; catalogues, computers and cartoons. Among the areas of potential coverage are federal copyright law, federal trademark law, state law theories of unfair competition, trade secret law, patent law, state rights of publicity, and misappropriation. Also considered will be whether federal law should preempt the efforts of state judges and legislatures to regulate intellectual products.
• LAW JD 858: International Trade Regulation
  International law and domestic law interact in forming international trade regulation. This course addresses both dimensions: domestic law through the work of administrative agencies, courts, and Congress, and international law through the work of the World Trade Organization (WTO). We survey the origins and development of WTO, with emphasis on the WTO legal process and its interaction with US trade agencies. Topics studied include “protectionism” through safeguards, antidumping & countervailing duties, protection of intellectual property, health, safety & the environment, and potential use of trade restrictions to strengthen domestic economies and to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
• LAW JD 860: Fiduciary Law (S)
  With few exceptions fiduciary law appears in all legal subjects: contract, tort and property; trusts and estates, agency and partnership; corporation and securities regulation; criminal law, health law, and civil procedure. You cannot escape it. We learn snippets of the subjects in different contexts. This course offers a view of fiduciary law as a legal category, highlights its uniqueness and history, and predicts its future development or disappearance. We sample statutory and common law fiduciaries of various kinds and ask: When and why do fiduciary duties arise? Why so many different fiduciaries with similar, but different rules? Are family members, the clergy, broker-dealers fiduciaries? What are the remedies for the breach of their duties? Is contract a good and simplified substitute to this mess? Can civil law and common law systems in the fiduciary law area be unified, as we move to, or already are in, a global business environment? Course reading materials are a manuscript in the making. Students’ comments and contributions are very welcome. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

Note that this information may change at any time.

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