Peter Smith
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
During a trial, any lapse in a lawyer's attention could be extremely costly. Enter the task of voicing objections. Here, look at some of the most common types of evidentiary issues that might call for objections and learn why lawyers get only one shot at raising one.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
What makes civil procedure different from all other subjects law students encounter in their first year of school? Using a hypothetical lawsuit and two Supreme Court cases, explore the broad set of issues and questions any system of litigation must address, including the procedures needed to clear a person's name.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Why are innocent people sometimes convicted of crimes they didn't commit? Often, it's because a jury is persuaded by problematic evidence. How do lawyers navigate these troubled legal waters? Investigate three of the most important kinds of flawed evidence: false confessions, mistaken eyewitness identification, and flawed "expert" evidence.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
This isn't about getting a case right - it's about getting a case over with. Consider the rules that prevent parties from relitigating matters that courts have already decided. What's the difference between prior litigation and subsequent litigation? Several important cases offer illuminating insights.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
"You have the right to remain silent." These are perhaps the most famous words in American criminal justice. Investigate the historical and legal background of the Supreme Court's 1966 Miranda decision. Professor Hoffmann builds his discussion around two key issues at the heart of this still-controversial decision.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Continue looking at the Fourth Amendment. How do search warrants work? Can police enter a home without a warrant? Topics include the exclusionary rule, which provides that evidence seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment be excluded from criminal prosecutions, and the vague standard of "probable cause."
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Explore the fundamental requirement of mens rea, or the guilty mind. Topics here include: how criminal intent is traditionally defined, the relationship between malice and motive, what happens when a defendant claims to lack a guilty mind, and the concept of criminal liability without fault (known as strict liability).
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Investigate the concepts of reasonable care and the concept the legal system uses to determine it: the reasonable person. You'll consider the meaning of reasonable care, debates over the proper definition of "fault," the relationship between reasonable care and cost-benefit analysis, and more.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Direct examination has been popularized by countless TV crime dramas. But how does it work in a real courtroom? Learn how lawyers figure out whom to put on the witness stand, what questions they should ask, and how to prepare witnesses for their day in court.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Ninety-percent of all criminal cases, surprisingly, don't end in a trial but in a plea bargain. Consider both plea bargains and criminal trials and how they complement one another. How - and why - did plea bargains come to dominate American justice? How does the jury system work?
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Here, Professor Cheng dives into modern products liability doctrine. What kinds of product defects qualify for this treatment? What kinds of products and manufacturers qualify? What's the effect of government regulations in certain cases? How are these massive cases, sometimes involving thousands of plaintiffs, resolved?
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
No, the discovery process isn't glamorous. But it's important in that it allows parties access to information to support their claims and defenses. How do we define the "scope of discovery," as well as terms like "substantial need" and "work product"? How can the process be used to wear down plaintiffs?
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Continue your look at personal jurisdiction by examining how the approach evolved into its modern standard, as well as the limits this approach places on the power of a plaintiff to haul a defendant into court far from the defendant's home. Central to this: 1945's International Shoe Co. v. Washington.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
According to the Fifth Amendment, "no person...shall be compelled to be a witness against himself." Examine the history of this core aspect of the Bill of Rights. Learn how the amendment works in and out of court, how the privilege has become subject to compromises over time, and what "pleading the fifth" actually requires.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Professor Smith discusses jurisdiction: the power of the courts to hear a case and to render a judgment. As you'll discover, there are really two different types of jurisdiction, one of which is subject matter jurisdiction, which refers to the court's authority to hear cases concerning a particular subject matter.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Pore over the "cruel and unusual punishments" clause of the Eighth Amendment in search of why the Supreme Court has had so much trouble applying this provision to real-world criminal cases. By the end, you'll realize why the Eighth Amendment is considered by some legal experts to be a constitutional enigma.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Tort law isn't fixed in stone but instead evolves to meet a changing society. Case in point: the development of modern products liability law. In the first a two-part look at the subject, walk through some elegant cases in torts to determine why products liability has promoted litigation on a massive scale.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Get the same foundational knowledge as lawyers - without law school. In the 48 lectures of Law School for Everyone, four exceptional law professors recreate key parts of the first-year law student experience, introducing you to the areas of law most every beginning student studies: litigation and legal practice, criminal law and procedure, civil procedure, and torts.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
How does one tell whether a particular rule of state law is procedural or, instead, substantive? Which law applies - and when? Here, a famous case between two taxicab transfer companies offers an extreme and fascinating illustration of the procedural problems that can arise between federal and state courts.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
While we're morally obligated to help others, we're not necessarily legally obligated to help, regardless of what religious and ethical authorities may advise. Welcome to the concept of affirmative duty. Here, learn why this rule exists, examine legislative efforts to change it, and consider some well-established exceptions to the rule.