1L - First Year Lesson Topics

This lesson explores the circumstances in which a court is likely to award specific performance as a remedy.

A critical issue that arises in many administrative cases is the question of constitutional standing to litigate. At its most basic, standing is the requirement that a litigant must have a sufficient interest in the outcome of the litigation in order to be entitled to sue. This lesson provides an introduction to constitutional standing issues and provides the basis for more in depth review in subsequent lessons. The lesson is intended for students who have studied these issues in class and who wish to further refine their knowledge.

This lesson examines several status issues that arise in standing cases. In a prior lesson, we examined two contexts in which individuals might seek standing: taxpayer standing and citizen standing. In this lesson, we examine two other situations that may arise: the right of associations to sue on behalf of their members, and the rights of individuals to assert the interests of third parties. This lesson is intended for students who have studied these issues in class and who are seeking to further refine their knowledge and grasp of the area.

Article III of the United States Constitution requires a plaintiff to establish "standing" in order to sue in federal court. In addition to showing an injury-in-fact, plaintiff must also show "causation" and "redressability." In other words, plaintiff must show that defendant is the "cause" of the injury, and that the injury will be redressed by a favorable judicial decision. In this lesson, we examine the requirement of causation (and, to a lesser extent, the requirement of redressability) in an attempt to determine what its means and how it is applied in particular cases. The lesson is intended for students who have studied this topic in class, and who wish to refine their knowledge of the topic.

This lesson covers the basic Constitutional doctrine of state action. This lesson can be used to prepare for class or as a review of Constitutional doctrine.

This lesson is designed to cover how to distinguish legally relevant facts, contextually relevant facts, and nonrelevant facts; plus, how to use each of those types of facts. It is also designed to cover beginning and organizing a statement of facts, writing facts briefly and readably, stating facts objectively, and stating facts persuasively.

This exercise assists the student in determining whether a transaction is within the statute of frauds, whether the agreement is evidenced by a writing, and whether an exception applies.

This lesson assumes you are familiar with the requirement of consideration and the rule that past consideration is not good consideration. Ordinarily, a promise is legally binding only if that promise is supported by a consideration. As the student may recall, "past consideration" is a misnomer. If a party makes a promise to pay for a benefit previously conferred, there is no consideration for the promise because the benefit was not bargained for in exchange for the promise. This lesson covers one of the exceptions to this general rule.

This lesson introduces the student to the doctrine and processes involved in interpreting state and federal statutes. Statutes are a critical part of every substantive area of the law, so this is important background for every student, legal professional, lawyer and judge.

Strict liability for animals is one of the oldest forms of strict liability in tort law. The topic concerns the problems that arise with both trespassing animals and attacking animals. This lesson discusses and illustrates the rules that apply to that area.