Legal Process
Professor Rhonda Wasserman
University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Assignment for First Class
Welcome to the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and to my section of Legal Process. I look forward to meeting all of you on Monday, August 25, 2008. For many years, I dedicated the first several classes of Legal Process to a discussion of the three branches of government the legislature, the executive and the judiciary and the sources of, and limits upon, their law-making authority. In the past few years, many students have informed me that they are already familiar with this material (from Political Science or Government or Civics courses) and would prefer to spend classroom time on new material. So this year, Im going to ask you to read background material on these topics pages 1-33 of the supplementary materials and pages 1-33 of the Meador book in advance of the first class. (Dont worry: most assignments will be significantly shorter than this one!) Following an introduction to the course on the first day, I will then take any questions you have on the background material. In our second class on Wednesday, August 27, 2008, we will jump right into somewhat more complex material on checks and balances and the thorny question of how courts interpret legislative enactments. For the second class, then, I will assign pages 34-59 of the supplementary materials.
Please purchase all of the required books for the course, including the supplementary materials, from the Book Center in advance of the first class. (The Book Center will also offer for sale several reference books, which it may label "recommended." I do not recommend that you purchase any of these reference books until you have heard what I have to say about them on the first day of class.)
Enjoy the rest of the summer, and I look forward to meeting you on August 25!