First Year Courses
Brief Writing and Appellate Advocacy
Law #162
Instruction and further development of legal research, analysis, and communication skills. Through a series of lectures, individualized instruction, and problem solving exercises, students expand their skills to include persuasive communication. Each student prepares a trial brief and an appellate brief and presents an oral argument within a courtroom context.
Civil Procedure
Law #182
4 credits
Study of procedures involved in the institution and litigation of civil law suits, with emphasis on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure.
Constitutional Law I, II
Law #150, #152
I - 2 credits
II - 3 credits
These courses introduce students to the constitutional system of the United States and the modes of thought and criticism appropriate to constitutional law. Together, the courses examine the role of the judiciary in the constitutional scheme, the allocation of power between the national government and the states, the division of authority among the branches of the national government, and the limitations imposed upon both national and state governments for the protection of individual rights.
Contracts I, II
Law #120, #122
I - 2 credits
II - 3 credits
Study of those promises that are enforceable in our legal system with emphasis on private consensual transactions. Includes discussion of societal limitations upon, and third party interests in, these otherwise private transactions.
Criminal Law
Law #140
3 credits
Analysis of general doctrines of criminal liability and the relationship between those doctrines and the moral and social problems of crime. Includes definitions of principal crimes and defenses to criminal prosecution and consideration of limitations on the use of criminal sanctions.
Legal Process
Law #160
This course is designed to teach the first-year law student the fundamental skills of legal research, analysis, and written and oral communication, as well as introduce the rudimentary principles of the American legal system. Students will learn how to research, analyze, and predict the likely outcome of legal problems and then will communicate their predictions through a number of commonly used legal vehicles, including law-office memoranda. Methods of instruction include lecture, individual and small-group writing conferences, group exercises, and written critique. The course begins before the other first-year courses to provide a foundation for those other courses.
Property I, II
Law #200, #132
I - 3 credits
II - 2 credits
Study of the acquisition and transfer of rights in personal and real property, including the law of finders, gifts, real property estates (future interests, perpetuities and leasehold estates), interests less than estates (real covenants, easements), co-ownership, marital interests, and basic real estate conveyancing principles.
Torts I, II
Law #110, #112
I - 3 credits
II - 2 credits
This two semester course is a traditional law school Torts course. Torts I covers intentional torts, the tort negligence, and common law strict liability. Torts II focuses on products liability, nuisance, invasion of privacy, defamation, business torts, and other miscellaneous torts.
