General Course Descriptions for Terms: torts
715 - Torts
940 - Privacy Law in the Information Age
This seminar-style course is about privacy --what it means to the courts, to the legislature, to the public, or whether it really means anything at all. Through a variety of source materials, including case law, legislation, essays, and literature, the course examines constitutional and common law approaches to privacy issues in many contexts -- our persons, our homes, our workplaces, our schools, our computers and cyberspace. It also includes cultural and comparative law dimensions of privacy. The instructors make a concerted effort to weave current events and "hot topics" in privacy into the syllabus and class discussions. Students are graded primarily on a final research paper, oral presentation of the paper in class, and on class participation. Pass/fail option is available. Learning Outcomes – By the end of the course, students should have had the opportunity to engage in critical thinking about how the law reflects societal values about privacy in the following contexts: 1. Be familiar with the origins of U.S. privacy law; 2. Identify the four privacy torts; 3. Identify the privacy interests that are recognized and protected by the 4th Amendment; 4. Identify the privacy interests that are recognized and protected by the 1st Amendment; 5. Be familiar with how courts have applied the Constitution to decisions involving bodily integrity and medical decisions; and 6. Recognize and understand privacy implications in computing and on-line activities.
950 - Litigation Practicum -Products Liability
Many students leave law school feeling like they don't understand how an actual case unfolds from beginning to end. This course is designed to remedy that problem. It features a simulated products-liability lawsuit based on a real case the professor litigated. Each student in the course will represent a party, be paired with opposing counsel, and engage in the same activities that a practicing attorney would engage in from the day the client walks in the door to the eve of trial. Students will gain insight into the substantive law of torts and legal ethics and get experience with some of the following skills (in addition to the skill of legal writing): conducting client interviews, drafting pleadings, engaging in discovery, and arguing motions. They will generate a portfolio, which will include a variety of documents, demonstrating that their writing skills have a wider breadth than just memoranda and briefs.