Federal Courts
• Semester: Fall 2016
• Class Unique: 29210
• Course ID: 386
• Credit Hours: 3
The Course. This is the classic course in Federal Courts, a study of the American two-court two-law system. Federal Courts is a big-picture course, systemic and structural rather than procedural. We have a look at the peculiarities, pathologies, and metaphysics of the two-court two-law system, and of the powers, often controversial, of the judiciary, state and federal. The course focuses on power struggles between government and the judiciary; the clash of federal and state adjudicatory powers; controversial judicial lawmaking; and conflicts between federal and state laws.
This Section. This section offers a three-hour option for Federal Courts in the congeniality of a small group. A small room is reserved for it.
The Materials. The required readings are in the Professor’s early casebook, with a new Cumulative Case Supplement. Both are now available digitally on Canvas.
The Professor. This Section is taught by a student of the originator of the course, Henry Hart. Professor Weinberg has thrice chaired the Federal Courts Section of the Association of American Law Schools. She is author of a book on Federal Courts, of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Legal History article on Federal Courts, and of several now-classic law-review articles in the field.
Prerequisites and limits. No application is required. This course presumes completion of the first year courses in an American law school, so it must be closed to first-year students. No papers can be accepted in lieu of the exam. There is no general pass/fail option. If the course closes at maximum seating capacity, students are advised to add themselves to the online waitlist. Three hours.
Weinberg, Louise L. 