William Burnham Introduction to the Law and Legal System of the United States 6Th Ed
This text provides an introduction to American law. It is aimed at law students, lawyers and jurists from abroad; U.S. non-lawyer graduates and college students; and anyone else looking for an “overview” of the law and legal system, including U.S. law students. It is not a digest of case law, but it explains the main substantive areas of the law in narrative form and includes quotes on cases and sources for more details. In addition, the book contains chapters on the essential basic history and governance structure needed to understand the legal system; the legal profession; the theory and practice of the adversary justice system; and the interpretation of the law and the reasoning of case law. General note on changes in the 7th edition: Update with all cases until the 2019-2020 term plus some from the 2020-2021 term. Most of the cases mentioned here are Supreme Court cases, but some important lower court cases are also included. If sections need to be reorganized and revised due to recent cases or clarity, the changes made will be indicated. In terms of style, footnotes are shorter for a cleaner look and less distracting reading.
Chapter I – History and Structure of Government: — Federal Census that collects data on all individuals in a state instead of eligible voters is authorized (Evenwel v. Abbott)– History of the President`s “Cabinet” — Dormant Business Clause and Permanent Residence Requirement (Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Association v. Thomas)– The limits of presidential power will be resolved with recent cases of presidential immunity starting in 2020 (Trump v. Mazars and Trump v. Vance) and other analyses of the revamped president Power in general – President`s inherent executive power, Prudence clause (Decision 4-4 on DACA in U.S. v. Texas) – vertical federalism and 10th Amendment Limits of the trade clause Power of Congress – Congressional power of investigation and oversight, history of exercise and abuse (Trump v. Mazars) – Electoral College in light of the ongoing debate on this subject as opposed to the popular vote, including the case of “unfair voters” (Chiafalo v. Washington) – permanent residency requirement in violation of the dormant commercial clause (Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Association v. Thomas) – federal right of first refusal (Virginia Uranium, Inc. v. Warren; Kansas v.
Garcia)– State Judicial Obligation to Apply Federal Law (James v. Boise)– Limitations of Federal Common Law (Rodriguez v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp)Chapter II – Legal Methodology:– Federal Common Law (Rodriguez v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp)– Legal Interpretation of Transplanted Terms (Hall v. Hall; Taggart v. Lorenzen) (new article)– Deliberate Interpretation of the Act and its Rejection (Bostock v. Clayton County)– Rule of Leniency in the Legal Interpretation of Criminal Statutes (Ocasio v. United States; Shular v. United States) (revised article)– Legislatively Common Law (Dutra Group v. Batterton)– Consideration of Statutory Interpretation by Public Authorities (Epic Systems Corp. v.
Lewis)– Effect of Supreme Court Decision 4-1-4, Plurality of Opinions and Stare Decisis (Ramos v. Louisiana) (revised article)– “Repeal” of the Supreme Court`s Legal Interpretation by Congress (Revised Section)Chapter III – Opponent System and Jury Trial:– Adversarial Principles and Hyperactive Judges (United States v. Sineneng-Smith)– Revocation of jurors during jury deliberations, even if their views on the case are influenced by religious considerations (U.S. v. Brown)– Unanimous jury (Ramos v. Louisiana) (section on jury composition revised)– Judge`s power to recall civil jurors after verdict and reconvene them to clarify verdict (Dietz v. Bouldin)– Jurors lie in jury selection (Warger v. Shauers)– Racial bias of jury (Peña-Rodriguez v.
Colorado)– 12-member jury in civil cases– Mixed factual issues jurors can decide (Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Albrecht)Chapter IV – Legal Appeal:– Update of Statistics and Descriptions of Professions– Section Update of Lawyers` Professional ConductChapter V – Legal System:– Appellate Review of Mixed Factual Law Findings (Monasky v. Taglieri; U.S. Bank N. A. v. Village at Lakeridge)– Review of Abuse of Discretion Appeal (McClane v. Equal Employment Opp. Comm`n; Highmark, Inc. v.
Allcare Health Management System, Inc.) — Preservation of Error for Appellate Examination (Holguin-Hernandez v. United States)– Simple Verification of Factual Question Errors (Davis v. United States) (revised section)– State Court`s Obligation to Apply Federal Law (James v. Boise)– Structure and functions of the Supreme Court of the United States, including the power of Congress to increase its size and quorum requirements (revised section)– Bill establishing a code of conduct for Supreme Court justices, including dismissal – Grant of certiorari only with respect to certain matters (Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky Inc.) — financial conflicts of interest of judges (Caliste v. Cantrell) (Revised Division)– Reference Federal Court Counterclaim or Third Party Defendant (The Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. Jackson)– Content of state law and “Erie assumptions” applied by federal courts; Certification of Unclear Constitutional Issues (Mckesson v. Doe) (revised and expanded section) – concurrent state and federal court litigation and revised forbearance doctrines (Sprint Communications, Inc.
v. Jacobs)Chapter VI – Administrative Law:– Availability of Judicial Review and What Constitutes a Question of Law (Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr)– Date of Judicial Review (PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropraktik Inc.) — Habeas Corpus as a Means of Judicial Review (Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam)– Standard of “substantial proof” for judicial review of administrative findings of fact (Biestek v. Berryhill; Dickinson v. Zurko) (revised section) – review of administrative decisions on legal matters revised with Chevron, Auer and Skidmore; recent cases concerning exceptions to Chevron`s restraint (Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro) (revised section)– Review of discretionary administrative measures as “arbitrary and capricious” (Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California) (revised section)– Presidential Appointment Powers for Local Federal Employees (Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment, LLC)– Place of Public Servants among Federal Employees (Revised Section)– Appointment of SEC Administrative Judges; the de facto officer doctrine; (Lucia vs. Securities & Exchange Comm`n) (revised article)– Appointment of Patent and Trademark Appellate Judges (Anthrex v.
Smith & Nephew)– Appointment of the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau);– Doctrine of Non-Delegation of Legislative Powers to Authorities (Gundy v. United States)– Lawsuits against the Tennessee Valley Authority (Thacker v. Tennessee Valley Authority)– Waiver of State Immunity in the Eleventh Amendment copyright (Allen v. Cooper) (revised article)– Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt lawsuits against states in other states` courts– Continued limitation of Biden`s implied right of action (Ziglar v. Abassi)– Lawsuits against state and federal government officials for personal liability; Immunity in good faith of the executive (Taylor v. Riojas)Chapter VII – Civil Procedure:– extended treatment of limitation periods, including fair limitation periods, discovery rule when the time limit begins to run (Artis v. District of Columbia; Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin v. United States; Rotkiske v. Klemm; McDonough v. Smith; Intel Corp.
Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma) (revised section)– California Public Employees` Retirement System v. ANZ Securities, Inc; Nutraceutical Corp. v. Lambert)– Forfeiture of profits as just reparation (Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission)– Limits on Disclosure Sanctions (Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Haeger)– Attorneys` fees in copyright matters; different meanings and definitions of “winning party” (Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; CRST Van Expedited v. Equal Employment Opportunity Comm`n) (revised article)– State Recovery of Attorneys` Fees in Patent Cases (Peter v.
NantKwest Inc)– Fair Defense Against Legal Claims (SCA Hygiene Prods. Aktiebolag v. First Quality Baby Prods., LLC) (revised article)– defensive exclusion and exceptions (Lucky Brand Dungarees, Inc. v. Marcel Fashions Group, Inc.) — Exclusion under the Federal Tort Claims Act (Brownback v. King)– Arbitration clauses (Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis; the disappearance of the CFBP regime; Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela; Kindred Nursing Centers Limited Partnership v.
Clark; New Prime, Inc. v. Oliveira; Henry Schein, Inc. v Archer and White Sales, Inc) (revised section)– cy pres relief in class actions (Frank v. Gaos)– changes to the 2018 FRCP class action lawsuit; Monitoring of settlements, notices and payments to members who drop objections – Toll effect of class actions for alleged members (China Agritech, Inc. Resh)- personal jurisdiction in Internet-related matters, developments since Zippo (revised section)- contacts and specific limits of personal jurisdiction (Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
