GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
a. expectations of the instructor
b. important information concerning:
(i) law school admittance and the need to submit applications
in a timely fashion
(ii) the need to apply to many law schools
(iii) preparation for the LSAT examinations
c. Major themes of the Course introduced:
TWO VIEWS OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
i. A HIGHLY CRITICAL VIEW OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
"For years we have winked, blinked and nodded at blatant if not outrageous lying and deception in pleading, negotiating, investigating, testifying and bargaining... Not only our code of ethics, but also many of our rules of evidence and procedure frustrate and inhibit truth telling and truth finding and are largely responsible for the wholesale public condemnation that plagues us." (Professor Burke, University of Arkansas)
Why did Sam Benson quit the practice of law?
What is the view of the police, the courts and lawyers propounded in the movie, "Pacific Heights"?
What is the view of the courts, lawyers, and the police, propounded in the movie, the Client?
What is the view of the courts, lawyers, and the police, propounded in the movie,Murder in the First?
ii. De Tocqueville
"THE PROFESSION OF LAW IN THE UNITED STATES SERVES TO COUNTERPOISE THE DEMOCRACY"
(i) What does DeTocqueville mean by "Tyranny of the Majority"? In footnote 4, what two examples does DeTocqueville provide that illustrate examples of tyrannical actions undertaken by the majority?
(ii) Why does DeTocqueville say that "the profession of the law in the United States serves to counterpoise the democracy?"
(iii) What role does DeTocqueville envision for lawyers in the democratic experiment taking place in the United States?
(iv.) Why does DeTocqueville say that "men who have made a special study of the laws derive from this occupation certain habits of order, a taste for formalities, and a kind of instinctive regard for the regular connection of ideas?"
(v.) Why does DeTocqueville view lawyers as being "very hostile to the revolutionary spirit and the unreflecting passions of the multitude."
Here are some key terms and phrases that you might wish to consider:
Required Reading:
1. Democracy in America, pp. 304-331 on the net:
Other Materials:
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Comments to:
Stephen Ross Levitt Updated: August 31, 2001 Copyright Stephen Ross Levitt |