1 Saint Leo University CRM/POL 123 Introduction to Law and the Legal System Course Description: This course is an introductory survey of the history, structures, and processes of the U.S. legal system. It is designed to be taken as a first University-level course in law and should precede more specialized courses such as criminal, business, or constitutional law. Covered are basic legal concepts such as due process, the structure of the U.S. court system, and the major subdivisions of law such as civil procedure, criminal procedure, and the law of torts. The role of law in society, the analysis of judicial reasoning, and the application of legal concepts to factual situations are stressed. Prerequisite: None Textbook: The textbook information which appears on our Saint Leo Bookstore ordering site is as follows: Schubert (2015). Introduction to Law and the Legal System 11thEdition. Loose-leaf (Custom) ISBN-13: 978-1-337-68560-3 Schubert (2015). Introduction to Law and the Legal System 11thEdition. E-Book (Custom) ISBN-13: 978-1-337-56847-0 Your custom textbook was created from the following National text(s): Schubert (2015). Introduction to Law and the Legal System 11th Edition ISBN-13: 978-1-285-43825-2 Ch. 1-9 Samaha (2015). Criminal Procedure 9th Edition ISBN-13: 978-1-285-45787-1 Ch. 1-8, 10 & 15 Course Objectives: 1. Students must demonstrate a basic understanding of legal concepts such as substantive and procedural due process, constitutional interpretation, appellate review, and the history of the U.S. legal system. 2. Students must be familiar with the structure and jurisdiction of the U.S. court systems. 3. Students must demonstrate a basic familiarity with civil procedure. 4. Students should be able to demonstrate that they can brief and understand appellate court decisions. 5. Students should be able to demonstrate that they know how to apply case and statutory law to factual situations. 6. Students must demonstrate a basic familiarity with criminal law and procedure. 7. Students must be aware of the applications of equity and the spectrum of judicial remedies. 8. Students must demonstrate a basic familiarity with alternative dispute resolution. 9. Students must demonstrate a basic familiarity with contracts. 10. Students must demonstrate a basic familiarity with the law of torts. 11. Students must demonstrate a basic familiarity with the relationship between legislation and court law. 12. Students must be aware of the applications of administrative regulations. Core Value: 2 Personal Development: Saint Leo University stresses the development of every person’s mind, spirit, and body for a balanced life. All members of the Saint Leo University community must demonstrate their commitment to personal development to help strengthen the character of our community. Evaluation: Assignment % of Grade Discussions (8) 8 Case Bri ...

1. 1
Saint Leo University
CRM/POL 123
Introduction to Law and the Legal System
Course Description:
This course is an introductory survey of the history, structures,
and processes of the U.S. legal system.
It is designed to be taken as a first University-level course in
law and should precede more specialized
courses such as criminal, business, or constitutional law.
Covered are basic legal concepts such as due
process, the structure of the U.S. court system, and the major
subdivisions of law such as civil procedure,
criminal procedure, and the law of torts. The role of law in
society, the analysis of judicial reasoning, and
the application of legal concepts to factual situations are
stressed.
Prerequisite:
None
Textbook:
The textbook information which appears on our Saint Leo
Bookstore ordering site is as follows:
Schubert (2015). Introduction to Law and the Legal System

2. 11thEdition. Loose-leaf
(Custom) ISBN-13: 978-1-337-68560-3
Schubert (2015). Introduction to Law and the Legal System
11thEdition. E-Book
(Custom) ISBN-13: 978-1-337-56847-0
Your custom textbook was created from the following National
text(s):
Schubert (2015). Introduction to Law and the Legal System 11th
Edition
ISBN-13: 978-1-285-43825-2
Ch. 1-9
Samaha (2015). Criminal Procedure 9th Edition
ISBN-13: 978-1-285-45787-1
Ch. 1-8, 10 & 15
Course Objectives:
1. Students must demonstrate a basic understanding of legal
concepts such as substantive and
procedural due process, constitutional interpretation, appellate
review, and the history of the U.S.
legal system.
2. Students must be familiar with the structure and jurisdiction
of the U.S. court systems.
3. Students must demonstrate a basic familiarity with civil
procedure.
4. Students should be able to demonstrate that they can brief
and understand appellate court
decisions.
5. Students should be able to demonstrate that they know how to
apply case and statutory law to

3. factual situations.
6. Students must demonstrate a basic familiarity with criminal
law and procedure.
7. Students must be aware of the applications of equity and the
spectrum of judicial remedies.
8. Students must demonstrate a basic familiarity with alternative
dispute resolution.
9. Students must demonstrate a basic familiarity with contracts.
10. Students must demonstrate a basic familiarity with the law
of torts.
11. Students must demonstrate a basic familiarity with the
relationship between legislation and court
law.
12. Students must be aware of the applications of administrative
regulations.
Core Value:
2
Personal Development: Saint Leo University stresses the
development of every person’s mind, spirit, and
body for a balanced life. All members of the Saint Leo
University community must demonstrate their
commitment to personal development to help strengthen the
character of our community.

4. Evaluation:
Assignment % of Grade
Discussions (8) 8
Case Briefs (4) 32
Case Analyses (5) 60
Total 100%
Grading Scale
Grade Score (%)
A 94-100%
A- 90-93%
B+ 87-89%
B 84-86%
B- 80-83%
C+ 77-79%
C 74-76%
C- 70-73%
D+ 67-69%
D 60-66%
F <60%
3
Module 1 Introduction to the Law

5. Objectives: When you complete this module, you should be
able to:
▪ Prepare a written case brief.
Assignments:
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read assigned materials
Post introduction to the class Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post an initial response to the discussion question Thursday
11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Submit Case Brief assignment Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Module 2 Due Process
Objectives: When you complete this module, you should be
able to:

6. ▪ Evaluate facts in a hypothetical legal scenario.
▪ Apply case and statutory law based on due process analysis.
Assignments:
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read assigned materials
Post initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59
PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Submit Case Analysis assignment Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
4
Module 3 Civil Procedure
Objectives: When you complete this module, you should be
able to:
▪ Order the steps in the civil litigation process.
▪ Prepare a written case brief.
▪ Evaluate facts in a hypothetical legal scenario.
▪ Apply case and statutory law based on civil procedure
analysis.

7. Assignments:
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read assigned materials
Post initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59
PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Submit Case Analysis assignment Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Module 4 Criminal Law
Objectives: When you complete this module, you should be
able to:

8. ▪ Identify the four components of a criminal offense.
▪ Define actus reus and mens rea.
▪ Prepare a written case brief.
Assignments:
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read assigned materials
Post initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59
PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Module 5 Criminal Procedure
5

9. Objectives: When you complete this module, you should be
able to:
▪ Describe the preliminary stages of criminal proceedings prior
to trial.
▪ Order the procedural steps in a typical criminal trial.
▪ Evaluate facts in a hypothetical legal scenario.
▪ Apply case and statutory law based on criminal procedure
analysis.
Assignments:
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read assigned materials
Post initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59
PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Submit Case Analysis assignment Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT

10. Module 6 Intentional Torts
Objectives: When you complete this module, you should be
able to:
▪ Identify the historical origins of modern tort law.
▪ Identify the three types of civil wrongs that comprise modern
tort law.
▪ Identify the different types of intentional torts.
▪ Prepare a written case brief.
Assignments:
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read assigned materials
Post initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59
PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT

11. Module 7 Negligent Torts
Objectives: When you complete this module, you should be
able to:
6
▪ Identify the elements necessary to establish negligence.
▪ Identify the defenses to negligence.
▪ Evaluate facts in a hypothetical legal scenario.
▪ Apply case and statutory law based on tortious analysis.
Assignments:
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read assigned materials
Post initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59
PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Submit Case Analysis assignment Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT

12. Module 8 Ethics
Objectives: When you complete this module, you should be
able to:
▪ Identify ethics as a branch of philosophy that studies morality.
▪ Apply to egoist perspective to an ethical scenario.
▪ Evaluate facts in a hypothetical legal scenario.
▪ Apply case and statutory law based on ethical analysis.
Assignments:
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read assigned materials
Post initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59
PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Submit Case Analysis assignment Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT

13. CRM 123 – How to Brief a Case
A case brief is a dissection of a judicial opinion. It contains a
written summary of the basic
components of that decision. Briefing a case helps you acquire
the skills of case analysis and
legal reasoning. It also helps you understand it. Briefs help you
remember cases for class
discussions and assignments. Learning law is a process of
problem solving through legal
reasoning; case briefs, therefore, should not be memorized.
Below are examples and
explanations of the components of a case brief.
1. Case Title and Citation
■ Buckhannon Board and Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia
Department of Health
and Human Services
(Plaintiff Nursing Home) v. (Defendant State Entity) 532 U.S.
598 (2001)
Case titles generally take on the names of the parties involved
in the case. For example, in this

14. case Buckhannon Board and Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia
Department of Health and
Human Resources, Buckhannon Board is the party asking the
Court to reverse a lower court’s
holding; West Virginia Department of Health and Human
Resources wants the Court to affirm
that holding.
A citation acts as the case’s “address.” There is a standard
format for cases contained in the
United States Reports (abbreviated U.S. in case citations).
Therefore, in this case, the citation is
532 U.S. 598. This means that this case is found on page 598 of
the 532nd volume of the
United States Reports.
2. Procedural History
■ Procedural History
The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of
the case and denial of
attorney’s fees. The Supreme Court affirmed. The procedural
history (or posture) states how the
case got to the court that wrote the opinion that you are reading.

15. 3. Facts
■ Facts
Buckhannon Board and Care Home, Inc. (“Buckhannon”),
which operates care homes
that provide assisted living to its residents, failed an inspection
by the West Virginia Office of the
State Fire Marshall because some of the residents were
incapable of “self-preservation” as
defined under state law. On October 28, 1997, after receiving
cease and desist orders requiring
the closure of its residential care facilities within 30 days,
Plaintiff, on behalf of itself and other
similarly situated homes and residents brought suit in federal
district court against the state of
West Virginia, two of its agencies, and 18 individuals. Plaintiff
agreed to stay enforcement of the
cease-and-desist orders pending resolution of the case and the
parties began discovery. The
district court granted West Virginia’s motion to dismiss, finding
that the 1998 legislation had
eliminated the allegedly offensive provisions and that there was
no indication that the

16. Legislature would repeal the amendments. Buckhannon then
moved for attorney’s fees as the
prevailing party.
This section includes a brief overview of the relevant facts of
the case that (a) describe the
dispute at hand and (b) have brought the case to this point.
Basically, you should answer the
questions of who did what to whom and why. The facts of the
case are often presented at the
outset of an opinion of the Court, although sometimes they may
describe through the opinion. It
is also important here to note the holdings of the lower court(s)
(i.e., the legal history of the
case) so that you understand the decision of the Supreme Court
when it “reverses” or “affirms.”
4. Issue
■ Issue
Is a prevailing party is entitled to attorney’s fees in Federal
court when the prevailing
party did not receive a judgment on the merits, but only
prevailed because the lawsuit brought
about a voluntary change in the defendant’s conduct.

17. In this section, you identify the legal issue(s) addressed by the
court. The legal issues should
refer specifically to the facts of the case, but you should not
phrase the issues as purely factual
questions. Issues may involve substantive law or procedural
law.
5. Ruling and Reasoning
■ Ruling and Reasoning
(Rehnquist, J.) No. The Supreme Court of the United States
affirmed the appeals court’s
ruling denying the motion for attorney’s fees. Although
attorney’s fees may be granted to a
prevailing party following a judgment on the merits, in addition
to settlement agreements
enforced through a consent decree, attorney’s fees are not
warranted where there has not been
a judicial determination altering the legal position of the
parties.
In the United States, parties are ordinarily required to bear
their own attorney’s fees so
that the prevailing party is not entitled to collect from the loser.
However, Congress has passed

18. laws permitting the shifting of attorney’s fees in numerous
instances. In refusing to award
attorney’s fees in this instance, though, the court stressed that
its decision was consistent with
prior decisions refusing to award attorney’s fees where the court
issued a directed verdict
against one party.
The ruling and reasoning section includes what this court ruled,
or, how the court answered the
question (theoretically, the court’s application of the law to the
fact of this specific case).
6. Dissenting or Concurring Opinion
■ Dissent
Justice Ginsberg dissented, in which he was joined by Justices
Stevens, Souter, and
Breyer. His dissent stressed that fee shifting should depend on
the outcome of the case, i.e.
whether the prevailing party received their desired outcome,
regardless of whether or not a
judicial decision existed to memorialize the outcome.
Essentially, the dissent defined the term

19. “prevailing party” in a practical sense, such clear that a party
may be considered to have
prevailed even when the legal action stops short of final
judgment due to intervening mootness.
■ Concurrence
Justice Scalia concurred, in which he was joined by Justice
Thomas. His concurrence
focuses on the fact that a prevailing party cannot be one who
left the courthouse empty-handed,
i.e. one must have received a judicial determination to be
considered a revailing party.
On occasion, a case report will include a dissenting opinion that
disagrees with the majority’s
ruling and reasoning. There may also be a concurring opinion
that agrees with the majority’s
result but not its reasoning. If so, briefly sate the main points of
the disagreement.
(Case example obtained from http://www.casebriefs.com,
retrieved April 18, 2012).