COMPARATIVE LAW Course: Comparative Law LAW 622-419 UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE SCHOOL OF LAW FALL SEMESTER 2016 INITIAL SYLLABUS AUGUST 1, 2016 Instructor: Days/Time: Location: James R. Maxeiner Office 528, jmaxeiner@ubalt.edu, 410-837-4628 Office Hours: Wednesdays 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM and by appointment Mondays/Wednesdays, 6:15 PM to 7:30 PM The room assignment is available through MyUB. Law in Context Description: A complete legal education requires more than knowledge of legal rules and proficiency in legal skills. These courses are intended to provide law students with the third element of a complete education: the ability to understand law in a variety of theoretical, social, historical, and philosophical contexts. To complete the Law in Context requirement, students will take one of the following courses as a 3-credit elective. Day students must complete this requirement in their first year. Evening students must complete this requirement in their second year. Course Description: The course provides an introduction to differences and similarities among the world's legal systems. Students will discuss the variety of possible solutions to fundamental legal problems in differing cultures and legal institutions. The class will consider the constitution, litigation, legislation, interpretation and enforcement of justice, and how the United States legal system compares to those of other federations, states and nations. Textbooks: JAMES R. MAXEINER, FAILURES OF AMERICAN CIVIL JUSTICE IN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE (Cambridge University Press, hard cover, paperback and Kindle editions available, 2011) (listed in the assignments as ) JAMES R. MAXEINER, FAILURES OF AMERICAN LAWMAKING IN HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES (forthcoming 2017, Cambridge University Press). A prepublication draft of this book will be made available in electronic form (listed in the assignments as ) Suggested Supplemental Text EVA STEINER, FRENCH LAW: A COMPARATIVE APPROACH (Oxford University Press, 2010) (listed in the assignments as Steiner ) NOTE THAT THIS TEXT IS NOT REQUIRED. IT IS FOR THOSE WHO WISH A CONTRAST TO THE WORLD S OTHER LEADING NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING SYSTEM. IT IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK WITH A FOCUS SIMILAR TO THE CLASS.
Comparative Law Fall 2016 Maxeiner Page 2 Student Learning Outcomes: The American legal system is different from legal systems elsewhere in the world. These differences are perplexing because modern legal systems share fundamental values of how they should work. Almost everyone wants what is today called the rule of law but earlier was (and still is) known as a government of laws. Differences among systems are rooted less in goals and more in legal methods, that is, in how legal systems make, find, apply and organize law. This course examines in detail the legal system and legal methods of Germany as a leading exponent of modern legal systems in non-englishspeaking countries. Students will be able to explain how German legal methods differ from contemporary American legal methods and from historic American aspirations, which often were quite different from contemporary methods. Upon successful completion of this course students: (1) will be able to serve as bridges between people coming from different legal systems; and (2) will understand how American legal methods affect substantive American laws and how they might be reformed in light of comparative models and historical experiences. Grades: There will be a final examination that will count 85% of the final grade. The exact format of the examination will be discussed in class. There will be a short person report, written and oral, that will count 15% of the final grade. All students will be assigned a report for weeks 2, 3 or 4. The grade so determined may be increased or decreased by one grade level for class participation. Grading Range: The 1 st year grading range applies to this class. Under the mandatory grading range, the arithmetic average of all of the grades assigned to students must be no lower than 2.67 and no higher than 3.00. Between 15-25% must be grades of A- or higher and between 7-14% must be grades of C- or below, Based on the present enrollment of 35, that means, irrespective of actual performance, I must assign six to eight grades of A- or above and three to four grades of C- or below. To stay within the mandatory grading range, every A- grade must be offset by two B- grades or one C+ grade. Course Expectations: American Bar Association Standards for Law Schools establish guidelines for the amount of work students should expect to complete for each credit earned. Students should expect approximately one hour of classroom instruction and two hours of out-of-class work for each credit earned in a class, or an equivalent amount of work for other academic activities, such as simulations, externships, clinical supervision, co-curricular activities, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours. Attendance: Class attendance is a primary obligation of each student whose right to continued enrollment in the course and to take the examination is conditioned upon a record of attendance satisfactory to the professor. A student who exceeds the maximum allowed five absences may be compelled to withdraw from the course, or may be barred from sitting for the final exam. Students who are forced to withdraw for exceeding the allowed absences may receive a grade of FA (failure due to excessive absence). This policy is consistent with American Bar Association Standards for Law Schools.
Comparative Law Fall 2016 Maxeiner Page 3 Classroom courtesy: Please arrive on time. Please do not leave the class while the class is underway. It is rude and disruptive. Please do not use electronic devices for a purpose other than classroom participation. Preparation: Students should prepare well for all classes. They should read the assigned materials carefully. In the classroom I use a combination interactive-lecturediscussion method. Sometimes I call on students who have not volunteered. If a student that I call on is unprepared, I will move onto another, but I expect that within a few class days the unprepared student will voluntarily participate. The same applies to students who before class ask me not to call on them. Course Website: This course has a TWEN page that includes this syllabus, the class assignments, and other class materials. You are responsible for self-enrolling in the TWEN page and for checking it regularly for course information. Prezi Presentations: The Prezi slide presentations shown in class will be made available after class in an electronic form. Access will be announced in class. Class Cancellation: If I cancel a class, notices will be sent to students via email and posted on the classroom door. If there is inclement weather, students should visit the University of Baltimore web site or call the University's Snow Closing Line at (410) 837-4201. If the University is open, students should presume that classes are running on the normal schedule. Academic Integrity: Students are obligated to refrain from acts that they know or, under the circumstances, have reason to know will impair the academic integrity of the University and/or School of Law. Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to: cheating, plagiarism, misuse of materials, inappropriate communication about exams, use of unauthorized materials and technology, misrepresentation of any academic matter, including attendance, and impeding the Honor Code process. The School of Law Honor Code and information about the process is available at http://law.ubalt.edu/academics/policiesandprocedures/honor_code/. Title IX Sexual Misconduct and Nondiscrimination Policy: The University of Baltimore s Sexual Misconduct and Nondiscrimination policy is compliant with Federal laws prohibiting discrimination. Title IX requires that faculty, student employees and staff members report to the university any known, learned or rumored incidents of sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking on the basis of sex, dating/intimate partner violence or sexual exploitation and/or related experiences or incidents. Policies and procedures related to Title IX and UB s nondiscrimination policies can be found at: http://www.ubalt.edu/titleix. Disability Policy: If you are a student with a documented disability who requires an academic accommodation, please contact Leslie Metzger, Director of Student Services, at 410-837-5623 or lmetzger@ubalt.edu.
Comparative Law Fall 2016 Maxeiner Page 4 ASSIGNMENTS First Week s Assignments and Tentative Assignments for Term Below I give the topics and assignments for the first week (first two classes). Subsequent topics and assignments are tentative, and are subject to change. I will post the final official assignments from WEEK 2 on the class TWEN site, ordinarily by noon Saturday of the week before. They should automatically be emailed from TWEN two days before the class itself. Assignments are usually by week, so Monday s class may continue into Wednesday s. Week Topic Monday One Introduction G.F. Hauser, Clients from Civil Law Legal Systems 8/22 in U.S. Litigation, 17 NYSBA INTL LAW 8/24 PRACTICUM 129-34 (2004) TWEN Wednesday Ch. 1 Of Governments and Laws; Ch. 3 American Exceptionalism in 1876 Suggested Contrasted Two 8/29 8/31 Three 9/7 Four 9/12 9/14 Five 9/19 9/21 Six 9/26 9/28 Seven 10/3 10/5 Eight 10/10 10/12 What Americans Wanted ABA Code Debate What Americans Got System Federalism Constitutional Review TENTATIVE FUTURE ASSIGNMENTS * Ch. 4. Founding a Government of Laws SECTION A PERSON REPORT LIST A Labor Day No Class Simulation of ABA Debate (continued) PEOPLE LIST C (continued) Ch. 9. Systematizing & Simplifying Statutes SECTIONS A & C Ch. 10, for the Common Good SECTIONS A & C Joint Rules of Procedure (GGO) TWEN Ch. 11, Federalism SECTIONS A & C Ch. 12, Constitutional Review SECTIONS A & C * FINAL ASSIGNMENTS TO BE POSTED ON TWEN Ch. 5. Building a Government of Laws SECTIONS C Statutes & F Challenges PERSON REPORT LIST B ABA Reports 1885 & 1886; Debate TWEN Simulation of ABA Debate PERSON REPORT LIST C Ch. 8. American Exceptionalism PERSON REPORT LIST D Ch. 2 Ch. 7 Ch. 9 SECT B Ch. 10 SECT B Ch. 11 SECT B Ch. 12 SECT B Steiner Ch. 2 Steiner Ch. 1
Comparative Law Fall 2016 Maxeiner Page 5 Week Topic Monday Nine Law Ch. 13, Self-Application SECTIONS 10/17 Applying A & C 10/19 Ten 10/24 10/26 Eleven 10/31 11/2 Twelve 11/7 11/9 Thirteen 11/14 11/16 Fourteen 11/21 11/23 Fifteen 11/28 11/30 Introduction Access to Justice Pleading Right to Be Heard Jurisdiction Judgments Hauser, supra, at 132-141 Ch. 1 Introduction ALL SECTIONS Ch. 3 Lawyers & Legal Systems: Access to Justice SECTION B Ch. 5 Pleading: the Matter in Controversy SECTIONS A & C Ch. 6 Process: The Right to be Heard SECTIONS A & C Ch. 4 The Court: Jurisdiction and Applicable Law SECTIONS A, B & C Ch. 7 Judgments, Appeals & Outcomes SECTIONS A, B, C & E Wednesday Thanksgiving Eve NO CLASS REVIEW SESSION Suggested Ch. 13 SECT B Ch. 2 Ch. 3 SECT A Ch. 5 SECT B Ch. 6 SECT B Contrasted Steiner Ch. 3 Steiner Ch. 7 Ch. 3 SECT C Ch. 5 SECT D Ch. 6 SECT D Ch. 4 SECT D Ch. 7 SECT D +++