College of Law, National Taiwan University

Introduction to Anglo-American Law
英美法導論

Class Schedule: Monday 1:20pm-3:10pm（社法7）
Office Hour: Monday 3:30pm-5:30pm or by appointment

授課教師：張文貞
Instructor: Wen-Chen Chang
台大法律學院 徐州路21號 研究大樓420室
Tel: 2351-9641 ext. 509
Email: wenchenchang@ntu.edu.tw
教學助理：曾勤博（台大法研所）
Teaching Assistant: Bob Tseng
Email: abob1110@yahoo.com.tw
Fall, 2006

I. Course Description
This course is designed to provide students with an introductory understanding
of Anglo-American law. It starts with a rather detailed discussion of the
establishment of modern judicial review and the workings of the United States
Supreme Court. Next, general features in common law development and procedures
will be taught. The third part of this course is devoted to an understanding
of how judicial power exercised in common law jurisdictions (particularly in
the American federal legal system). Lastly, some of the important developments
in Anglo-American legal culture and education will be discussed.
Based upon the Socratic teaching method, this course requires student
participation in class discussion. Students must read assignments before
coming to the class. In order to facilitate class participation, students will
be divided into groups with scheduled assignments. In addition, students must
submit case briefs or reflective notes in English several times as required in
the course syllabus. It should be noted that all of the instructions, class
discussions and the writings of mid-term brief and final exam will be
conducted in English, which has been the tradition of this course in NTU law
department. This requirement is by no means to discriminate students with
rather poor capacity in English, but, instead, is intended to be a better way
to provide students with an accommodating learning environment, in which they
feel comfortable in learning and making legal arguments in English.

II. Course Schedule & Reading Assignments
Week One: 9/18
Course Introduction

Week Two: 9/25
1. Introduction: the beginning of modern judicial review
*Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803)
*Box: Constitutional history
*The United States Constitution and Amendments

Week Three: 10/2
*Continue the discussion on Marbury v. Madison
*Appendix: The How, Why and What to Briefing and Citing Court Cases

----------------- 10/9 Submission of case brief on Marbury v. Madison

Weeks Four to Eight: 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30 & 11/6
2. Common law, equity & the development of the Anglo-American judicial system
2.1 The Common law courts and the writ system
2.2 Equitable jurisdiction and the court of chancery
2.3 The development of modern English and American Courts
2.4 The distinctive procedure in civil & criminal actions of modern American
courts
10/9
*Bodenheimer et al., An Introduction to the Anglo-American Legal System:
Readings & Cases 26-35, 46-51 (4th ed., 2001)
*Peter G. Stein, Roman law, common law and civil law, 66 TUL. L. REV. 1591,
1591-1602 (1992).
10/16
*Bodenheimer et al., An Introduction to the Anglo-American Legal System:
Readings & Cases 58-70 (4th ed., 2001)
*Figure: The two main routes of the Supreme Court
*Figure: The judicial map of the U.S. courts of appeal and U.S. district courts
10/23
*Margaret Z. Johns & Rex R. Perschbacher, The United States Legal System: An
Introduction 92-97 (2002)[Reading: Two Features of the United States Judicial
Process]
*Sources of law and reference aids
10/30
*An outline of American trial: 3 pages
*JOHN J. COUND ET AL., CIVIL PROCEDURE: CASES & MATERIALS 1-17 (7th ed.,
1997). [An outline of the procedure in civil action]
*The fifth, sixth, seventh Amendments of the United States Constitution
*The explanation of “juror” and “jury” in legal dictionary
11/6
*Introduction to Westlaw Research Database
*Introduction to Blue Book (美國法學術論文引註格式)

Week Nine: 11/13 (Midterm Exam)
Mid-term (48 hours exam): Exam topic will be distributed in the beginning of
the class. Students are allowed to take exam home and must return the answers
by Wednesday (11/15) before 4pm.

Weeks Ten, Eleven & Twelve: 11/20, 11/27 &12/4
3. Judicial process of modern American courts
3.1 The power of judicial review and its limits
3.1.1 Case or controversy
3.1.2 Standing to sue
3.1.3 Ripeness and mootness
3.1.4 Political questions
3.1.5 Stare Decisis Doctrine
11/20
*David M. O’Brien, Constitutional Law and Politics Vol. I: Struggles for
Power and Government Accountability100-125 (4th ed., 2000)
*Article III of the U.S. Constitution
*Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83 (1968)
*Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church
and State, Inc., 454 U.S. 464 (1982)

----------------- 11/27 Submission of case brief on Lujan v. Defender of
Wildlife


11/27 & 12/4
*Lujan v. Defender of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555 (1992)
*Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
*Goldwater v. Carter, 444 U.S. 996 (1979)

----------------- 12/4 Submission of a case brief on either Baker v. Carr

Week Thirteen: 12/11
3.2. The docket and proceedings of the U.S. Supreme Court
3.2.1 The Rule of Four
3.2.2 Oral arguments in the Supreme Court
3.2.3 Conference deliberation
3.2.4 Writing opinions
*David M. O’Brien, Constitutional Law and Politics Vol. I: Struggles for
Power and Government Accountability162-180 (4th ed., 2000)

----------------- 12/18 Submission of a case brief on Brown

Week Fourteen: 12/18
4. The impacts of court decisions on the society: Watershed cases of the U.S.
Supreme Court
4.1 Brown v. Board of Education: Equal citizenship and civil rights movement
*Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (Brown I), 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
*Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (Brown II), 349 U.S. 294 (1955)
#BERNARD SCHWARTZ, A HISTORY OF SUPREME COURT 286-310 (New York, Oxford
University Press) [Watershed Cases: Brown v. Board of Education, 1954]

----------------- 12/25 Submission of a case brief on Griswold v. Connecticut

Week Fifteen: 12/25
4.2 Griswold v. Connecticut: The right of privacy and the revolutionary role
of the court to the society
*Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 470 (1965)

Week Sixteen: 1/1 (New Year Recess)

Week Seventeen: 1/8
5. A modern view of judicial system and American legal culture
5.1 Judges and courts
5.2 The organization of bar and the culture of lawyering
5.3 Legal education and modern law schools
5.4 Legal academia, law reviews and American legal thoughts
5.5 Social change, popular culture and the rise of litigation
6. Conclusion
*LAWRENCE FRIEDMAN, AMERICAN LAW IN THE 20TH CENTURY 457-504 (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2002) [Internal Legal Culture: The Legal Profession]


Week Eighteen: 1/15 (Final Exam)
Final exam: exam topic will be distributed on 1/8. Students are allowed to
take exam home and must return the answers by 1/15 before 4pm. No extension or
exception would be allowed.


III. Evaluation & Grades
Class participation is not only required but also evaluated. Students who
take this course for credit must be well prepared for each class and
participate in class discussion. Class participation & reflection note (35%),
mid-term exam (35%) and final exam (30%) would be included accordingly into
final evaluation and grades.