Unit One Legal Education / 1
Part A Legal Concepts / 1
Part B Movie Clips —— Legally Blonde / 5
Part C 60 Minutes —— The Duke Case: Innocent / 16
Part D Food for Thought / 23
Unit Two Racial Discrimination / 25
Part A Legal Concepts / 25
Part B Movie Clips —— To Kill a Mockingbird / 28
Part C 60 Minutes —— Welcome to Hazleton / 36
Part D Food for Thought / 41
Unit Three Basic Rights / 43
Part A Legal Concepts / 43
Part B Movie Clips —— The Siege / 46
Part C 60 Minutes —— The Exposure of Valerie Plame / 56
Part D Food for Thought / 62
Unit Four Lawyer Profession / 64
Part A Legal Concepts / 64
Part B Movie Clips —— The Devils Advocate / 67
Part C 60 Minutes —— Under the Influence / 82
Part D Food for Thought / 88
Unit Five Judicial System / 90
Part A Legal Concepts / 90
Part B Movie Clips —— 12 Angry Men / 93
Part C 60 Minutes —— Patricia Dunn: I Am Innocent / 104
Part D Food for Thought / 108
Unit Six Criminal Procedure /110
Part A Legal Concepts /110
Part B Movie Clips —— Primal Fear / 115
Part C 60 Minutes ——How Near-DNA Matches Can Incriminate Relatives of Criminals Match / 129
Part D Food for Thought / 135
Unit Seven Witness Protection / 137
Part A Legal Concepts / 137
Part B Movie Clips —— Witness / 141
Part C 60 Minutes —— Henchman Tells Of Black Deeds of Whitey / 147
Part D Food for Thought / 153
Unit Eight Military Punishment / 154
Part A Legal Concepts / 154
Part B Movie Clips —— A Few Good Men / 158
Part C 60 Minutes —— The Court-Martial of Willie Brand / 176
Part D Food for Thought / 181
Unit Nine Prison System / 182
Part A Legal Concepts / 182
Part B Movie Clips —— The Shawshank Redemption / 186
Part C 60 Minutes —— Maximum Security Education / 195
Part D Food for Thought / 199
Unit Ten Civil Procedure / 201
Part A Legal Concepts / 201
Part B Movie Clips —— Erin Brockovich / 205
Part C 60 Minutes —— Mr. Feinberg / 217
Part D Food for Thought / 221
Unit Eleven Contract Law / 223
Part A Legal Concepts / 223
Part B Movie Clips —— The Merchant of Venice / 226
Part C 60 Minutes —— Betting on a Fall / 237
Part D Food for Thought / 242
Unit Twelve Tort Law / 244
Part A Legal Concepts / 244
Part B Movie Clips——Philadelphia / 247
Part C 60 Minutes——Whose Life Is It Anyway / 263
Part D Food for Thought / 268
References / 269
Legal education in different countries In addition to the qualifications required to become a practicing lawyer,legal education also encompasses higher degrees such as doctorates,for more advanced academic study.
In many countries other than the United States,law is an undergraduate degree.Graduates of such a program are eligible to become lawyers by passing the countrys equivalent of a bar exam.In such countries,graduate programs in law enable students to embark on academic careers or become specialized in a particular area of law.
In the United States,law is a graduate degree,which students embark upon only after completing an undergraduate degree in some other field(usually a bachelors degree),and is considered to be a graduate or professional school program.The undergraduate degree can be in any field,though most American lawyers hold bachelors degrees in the humanities and social sciences;legal studies as an undergraduate study is available at a few institutions.American law schools are usually an autonomous entity within a larger university.Faculty of law is another name for a law school or school of law,the terms commonly used in the United States.This term is used in Canada,other Commonwealth countries and the rest of the world.It may be distinguishable from law school in the sense that a faculty is a subdivision of a university on the same rank with other faculties,i.e.faculty of medicine,faculty of graduate studies,whereas a law school or school of law may have a more autonomous status within a university,or may be totally independent of any other post-secondary educational institution.
In addition in some countries,including the United Kingdom,Canada and some states of Australia,the final stages of vocational legal education required to qualify to practice law are carried out outside the university system.