It protects you from unreasonable governmental intrusion in your private life. It protects you from job discrimination based on your sex, ethnicity, or religion. It protects the right of the federal, state, and local governments to tax you on your income and the value of your property. This is just a short list. The purpose of this course is to enable students to understand the legal method, legal principles, and the American legal system.
Students learn legal reasoning and analysis and acquire knowledge of certain areas of law.
The course emphasizes thinking, speaking, and writing clearly. It presents legal principles in the context of actual court decisions. The course stresses the importance of understanding the dispute from all sides, not just the winner's. In the law, today's winner can be next week's loser. The legal method is best learned through thoughtful, spirited, moderated discussion.