American Civil Procedure (Dual JD) Winter Semester, 2011 Professor Dennis Olson Syllabus Course Objectives: American

Civil Procedure is the study of the American courts and their systems for resolving cases. Other courses concentrate on the courts' decisions in legal disputes and the substantive law created thereby. This course concentrates on how courts approach the function of making those decisions. At the conclusion of the course, students will (a) comprehend the role of the judge and jury in making decisions, (b) be able to analyze the process by which judges determine what law to apply to disputes, (c) be able to apply the rules and processes parties must use to present disputes for resolution, (d) know how the court attempts to find the truth and understand the rules governing this attempt, and (e) be able to evaluate ways of making the system more efficient. These skills will arise in the context of questions of notice, pleadings, jurisdiction, suits with multiple parties and claims, and pre-trial and trial dispositions. Class Sessions: We meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00 p.m. until 3:25 p.m., starting on January 11 and continuing through April 21. Spring Break will eliminate our class sessions for February 22 and 24. The final exam will be on Tuesday, May 3. Textbook and Readings: You are required to obtain two books for this course. They are: (1) Babcock, Massaro & Spaulding, Civil Procedure: Cases and Problems (4th ed. 2009) (hereinafter Casebook) and (2) Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (2009-2010 Edition) (hereinafter Rules Supplement). In addition, I will provide through TWEN a series of supplemental course materials packets (hereinafter Packet). Along with this syllabus, I will provide a projected reading assignment list for the semester. The reading assignments are arranged by topic; the lengths vary widely but average about twenty-three pages per class. They will require much time and concentration. In preparing for class, I concentrate exclusively on the assigned material from the Casebook, Rules Supplement, and Packet. I expect you to do the same. Because Civil Procedure is required at every law school in the nation, publishers have produced a proliferation of study aids for this course. They are usually a waste of time and money. No study aid can replace the careful reading, analysis, and synthesis you must do to meet the objectives for this course. Workload: I expect every student to devote a minimum of three hours out of class in studying for each hour in class. This means you will need to study for this course no fewer than nine hours per week in addition to the three hours per week we will be in session. Put even more bluntly, American Civil Procedure will occupy your mind no fewer than twelve hours per week for the fifteen weeks of the course and two additional weeks of the examination period. By the end of the semester, you will have devoted at least 204 hours to this course. This study should include careful reading of each reading assignment before class, preparing reading summaries or case briefs, attending class, re-reading each reading assignment after class, and distilling reading notes and class notes into your course summary (often misleadingly called an outline). Warning: Be careful not to lull yourself into a false sense of security in this class. Other law school courses emphasize reasoning method over coverage. This course, however, is only one semester long and contains a great deal of material to which you should be exposed. As a result, we will go rather quickly, and I will often lecture. Because you will not have the constant prod to stay up in your reading which the Socratic method provides, you may be tempted to let your preparation for this class slide. That would be a grave mistake. Do not shortchange your education by failing to do the work required to learn. Class Participation: I expect everyone to prepare for class and participate. I form my opinion of the class as a whole based on the classroom discussion. If as a group you are ill-prepared, slow to participate, or willing to rely on a few brave souls to carry the discussion, I will consider that in grading and will adjust the entire class's grade scale

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accordingly downward. On the other hand, if as a group you have broad-based participation with insightful comments, I will develop a high opinion of your abilities and adjust the entire class's grade scale accordingly upward (within the range of the school-wide grading standard). Attendance Policy: I expect you to attend every class session. If you understand the material so well that you do not need to attend, then you have a responsibility to come and share that knowledge with the class. I understand that illness and other unavoidable events can arise, and the law schools attendance policy allows you to have four absences before a sanction is imposed. The built-in absences are not free absences; they are designed to accommodate unforeseen emergencies. For that reason, no request for an excused absence is ripe for my consideration until you have reached the cap. Once you reach the cap, you must have acceptable reasons for all absences to receive an excused absence. The one exception to this is an absence for the observance of a religious holiday, which is always excused. The consequences for not adhering to the attendance policy are as follows: If you miss more than four classes, I will reduce your grade by one-tenth of a point for every excess absence. Tardiness, Early Departure, and Class Disturbance: I reserve the right to count a late arrival to or an early departure from class as a full or partial absence. Furthermore, disturbing class (particularly with a cell phone or pager) may also be sanctioned as a full or partial absence. Laptop Policy: Recent studies have shown that laptop usage does not increase a students efficiency. This is not because the laptop is an ineffective tool; it is because, too often, the student irrationally expects the tool to be magical to overcome obvious inefficiencies such as wasting time, not paying attention, etc. You are welcome to bring your laptop to class. If you choose to do so, please be sure to use it for effective note-taking (i.e., typing summaries of the class discussion and the important points raised therein) and for referring to your reading notes and course summary. I encourage you not to waste your laptop by trying to transcribe class without engaging your mind in the discussion or by using the laptop during class for surfing the web, checking e-mail, or participating in instant messaging. Consultations: My office is room 233. My office phone number is 313-596-0250. My official office hours are Tuesday from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. and Thursday from 8:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Actually, you are free to come see me at any time, with one exception that one exception is that I ask you not to come by during the ninety minute block before I teach classes. I am usually quick to respond to e-mails; my e-mail address is olsonda@udmercy.edu. Final Examination: Your grade will be based on a 100-question, three-hour, multiple choice examination. The exam will be open-book (Casebook, Rules Supplement, and Packet); you may bring any notes or summaries that you personally (or in conjunction with a study group of fellow students in this class) have prepared. Recognize that the open-book option is simply designed to avoid requiring memorization of rules. You must be very careful to prepare so that you will not need to refer to your materials with any level of frequency; you will not have time for that. The examination will be of a level befitting no fewer than 204 hours of intensive study of a particular topic.

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