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Course Descriptions

Block (Advanced)
Block (Advanced)
LAW 833
3 Credit Hours

The Ohio Legislative Process, a once a week seminar will be taught by former Speaker of the House of Representatives, William Batchelder, and by Professor David F. Forte. The case example we shall study will be the Medicaid Expansion required to be adopted by the states under the Affordable Care Act. We shall study the Supreme Court case of NFIB v. Sibellius, in which the Supreme Court struck down the compulsory aspect of the Medicaid Expansion, but left it as a voluntary option. We shall then look at the legislation passed by the Ohio General Assembly rejecting the Medicaid Option, the line… see more
LAW 784
2 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*. This course will focus on the home-rule powers of Ohio municipalities. The first several weeks of the course will be given over to a discussion of photocopied materials consisting of Ohio cases. The last few weeks will be used for the presentation of student papers. Grading will be based primarily upon the quality of each student’s paper on some topic of Ohio municipal law. The course satisfies the upper level writing requirement.
LAW 662
3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC. Oil and Gas Law provides students with a survey of the law governing interests in oil and gas, including classification of property interests; conservation and administrative regulation of drilling and production; an examination of the oil and gas lease; conveyance; and pooling and utilization. The rights and responsibilities of the parties to the transaction and other affected persons during the various stages of the development process will also be examined. In the course of the semester, students will be exposed to documents and instruments that are integral to oil and… see more
LAW 642
3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*; Copyright, Patent & Trademark (LAW 658) (recommended but not required). This course explores the U.S. patent system, including the regulatory framework that governs the procurement and maintenance of patents. The course will also consider various aspects of the burgeoning practice of patent law before federal courts and administrative agencies, such as enforcing patents and seeking available remedies from infringers. The course will also cover some of the distinctions that exist among patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secrets protection. There are no upper level… see more
LAW 714
3 Credit Hours

This course focuses on the barriers to justice facing convicted, incarcerated defendants through simulated representation of actual clients. Students will learn the post-conviction procedures available to convicted clients. Through engaged participation, students will handle the simulated representation of the criminal case of an actual client. Students will digest trial transcripts, critically review original law enforcement investigations, investigate new areas of factual development, research applicable legal challenges, and draft a filing with a brief in support. From week to week,… see more
LAW 668
3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*; Evidence (LAW 661). This course will cover the role of an attorney in representing clients from initial interview up to the time of trial. Topics covered will include interviewing clients and witnesses, fact development, scene investigation, obtaining tangible evidence, interrogatories, depositions and negotiations. Ethical concerns will be discussed in the context of pretrial practice as they confront the students in the preparation of their cases.
LAW 775
2 Credit Hours

This course will examine the historical origins, processes of change, and goals of modern products liability law. We will explore the basic doctrinal theories that support products liability actions against manufacturers negligence, warranty, and strict liability in relation to the manufacturing, design, and marketing processes. We will then examine the principles and proofs courts use to determine whether a product should be classified as defective, as applied to the separate defect categories of manufacture, design, and warnings. Special attention will be given to the Restatement (Third) of… see more
LAW 514
4 Credit Hours

Property Law involves the study of the creation and allocation of rights to resources in varied forms. These resources include real property (land and things permanently attached to land such as houses or other structures). Property law also addresses rights to tangible personal property (such as books or furniture) and intangible personal property (such as author or investor's rights to control use of his creation, or shares in a company.) The major goal of the course is to familiarize students with the foundations and norms of both historic Property Law formulations and contemporary… see more
LAW 558
2 or 3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*. This course examines the relationship between law and psychiatry, including commitment procedures, the attorney’s role in commitment hearings, delivery of legal services to patients confined to mental institutions and the substantive rights of such patients. Satisfies perspective elective requirement. A paper option may be made available in this course.
LAW 694
3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*. The objective of this course is to examine social science research about the legal system and to identify ways in which lawyers can benefit from social science insights about the adjudicatory system. The five major topics of classroom focus will be: (1) a general discussion of strategies and techniques for achieving the goals of adjudication; (2) an exploration of the ways we go about selecting and preparing fact finders (most particularly the jury); (3) the ways the legal system attempts to inform fact finders (and whether these are a success or failure--with a… see more
LAW 565
2 or 3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*. Through a focus on standard legal materials (cases, statutes and so on), selected archival materials and scholarly writings, this seminar seeks to examine the ways in which the law has both (a) reflected societal attitudes about race and (b) generated racial identities for society. In examining these two mutually constitutive poles, we will attempt to arrive at an understanding of the relationship between law and identity. The course will emphasize the historical construction of racialized identities—those of European-Americans, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, native… see more
LAW 648
2 or 3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*. This course covers both practice and procedure, emphasizing actual current practices in purchase, sale, tax treatment and financing of commercial, residential and government-owned real estate. We will study the relationships among and between the buyer, seller, financing institutions, title companies, brokers, and public authorities. We will focus on issues that impact the greater Cleveland real estate market including foreclosures, urban renewal, and government financial assistance.
LAW 619
3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*. Students will study monetary damages, restitution and equitable relief in the context of contract, property and torts with an examination of the goals behind remedial rules and whether our system is accomplishing these goals. The course provides insight into the integrated nature of our legal system across the different subject areas by focusing on the impact of the merger of law and equity and the many public policy implications underlying statutory and common law efforts to provide appropriate redress to an injured party.
LAW 752
2 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*. The subject matter of the course will be the practical legal issues that arise when counseling the musical artist. The class will follow the artist from the early days as a "baby band" to when the artist becomes "classic" or "heritage." The course will focus on practical aspects of counseling the burgeoning artist including song/sound recording creation, sample clearances, band partnership agreements, the producer agreement, band management, shopping for a label, negotiation the label agreement, getting an agent, applying for copyrights and trademarks, and going on tour.… see more
LAW 753
2 or 3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*. This course will begin with an overview of the sports marketing industry and then proceed to discuss some of the more important legal doctrines relating to that industry, involving intellectual property law, labor law and contract law. In that context, the course will explore the skills necessary to conduct a series of “hypothetical” sports-related contract negotiations. The students will then participate in group-based contract-drafting exercises with an emphasis on client representation. Contracts to be drafted include a “product endorsement agreement,” and a “name,… see more
LAW 521
2 Credit Hours

Prerequisite: RCC. In this two-credit course, students will develop mastery of Article II of the Uniform Commercial Code and expertise in statutory interpretation. The course will cover UCC rules on offer and acceptance; offer and acceptance in modern electronic contracting; UCC Statute of Frauds including exceptions; UCC rules on interpretation and the parol evidence rule; UCC warranties; a more thorough exploration of doctrines of defense and excuse; rights and duties of third parties (including assignment and delegation and third party beneficiary contracts); a more thorough exploration of… see more
LAW 791
2 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*. This course is intended to help students make the transition from instrumental to critical writing. The seminar will guide students through the drafting of some common legal documents as well as a long scholarly paper. Students will build on the first year foundation of legal research skills by exploring many other research sources. The course is designed to provide specific guidance, strategies and techniques for each stage of the writing process, from citation to inspiration. The seminar will deal with editing, proofreading, and, ultimately, advice on achieving… see more
LAW 630
3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC. The course will consider a broad range of school-related issues, including rights of parents, the role of school boards, tort liability under various state statutes and regulations (including bullying and hazing), employment rights under various state laws, religious and free expression rights for students and employees, privacy rights in schools, school district guidelines for diversity and affirmative action, and constitutional and statutory procedural rights.
LAW 660
3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC* and Evidence (LAW 661) (may be taken concurrently). This course concentrates on issues dealing with the introduction of expert testimony with particular focus on testimony involving scientific and technical matters. These are among the most interesting and complex evidentiary issues confronting courts today. Experts testify in a wide variety of criminal and civil cases. Their testimony is crucial to determinations of malpractice, competence, identification, valuation of goods and property, causation and to psychological evaluations. During the semester, a number of experts… see more
LAW 603
2 or 3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*. The course surveys Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) dealing with the use of personal property as collateral security. In addition, the parts of the bankruptcy code which affect the enforcement of security agreements in bankruptcy are addressed, as are the sections in UCC Article 8 which deal with security interests in investment securities, and UCC Article 2 dealing with consignments. Problem solving and legal analysis and reasoning are involved.
LAW 655
2 or 3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*. Strongly recommended: Corporations (LAW 692). This course offers a consideration of the state and federal regulation of securities and transactions involving securities, with emphasis upon the creation of a "security," distributions of securities in the formation of capital, trading in securities, and rights associated with being the holder of a security. Careful attention is also given to specialized liabilities associated with transactions involving securities as a matter of both state and federal law. Satisfies administrative law requirement.
LAW 563
3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*. Persons with nontraditional sexual orientations face a variety of challenges that their heterosexual friends and family members do not. These include different legal standards being applied to them in employment, marriage, custody, adoption, property rights, health benefits, tax issues, and other situations. This course will explore the historic roots of sexual orientation discrimination and examine the success and failure of legislative and judicial efforts to overcome this discrimination. The role of the social sciences (including anthropology, sociology and psychology… see more
LAW 585
3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*. Lawyers, judges, and legislators increasingly draw upon social science data purporting to reveal information about human behavior. The course considers some social science data and seeks to help the law student understand, employ, and challenge the data of this "science." Satisfies perspective elective requirement.
LAW 787
3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC*. This seminar will provide a survey of the international and domestic laws that govern outer space activity. Students will be introduced to the existing space law treaties that address the use of force in space, liability for damage caused by space objects, jurisdiction, the rescue and return of astronauts, remote sensing, property rights, and other matters. Attention will also be given to national space laws, as well as to the regulatory aspects of space activity, such as the allotment of orbital slots and export controls on space technology. The class will also explore… see more
LAW 654
3 Credit Hours

Prerequisites: RCC. Special education programming at the local level in the United States is affected significantly by the actions of the federal and state governments. This course provides students with an understanding of the complex network of interrelated federal and state statutory provisions, attendant regulations, and administrative and judicial decisions concerning special education. Instructional topics include the legal basis of education, the importance of the U.S.Constitution, free appropriate education, related services, extended school year, student records discipline,… see more