1L - First Year Lesson Topics

This is a basic lesson covering the common law doctrine of concurrence. At common law, crimes required not only an actus reus and a mens rea but concurrence of the two. Through use of scenarios involving the common law crimes of murder, robbery, burglary and larceny (which are briefly introduced), the requirements for concurrence are explored. In addition, also through the use of scenarios, the doctrine is distinguished from the related doctrines of causation and mistake. Finally, concurrence as to attendant circumstances is also addressed. After completing this lesson, the student should have a working knowledge of the common law doctrine of concurrence and some understanding of how modern common law jurisdictions deal with the issues raised by this doctrine.

This lesson explores the concept of conditions in the law of contracts. It distinguishes promises from conditions, discusses the various kinds of conditions, and explains ways the courts relieve parties from the harsh effect of conditions. The lesson concludes with two sample exam questions.

This lesson is meant to provide you with an introduction to Connecticut primary legal materials. After you have completed this lesson, you will have a better understanding of where to find and how to use Connecticut primary law materials, including case law, statutes, and regulations.

This lesson explores the various ways in which the criminal law considers victim consent. Topics include consent as negating an offense element, consent as justification, effective consent, and limitations on consent as a defense.

This interactive exercise addresses the topic of consent as a privilege or defense to various intentional tort claims. It begins with a consideration of how consent is determined to exist and then explores various applications of the defense in contexts such as medical encounters and sporting events. Consideration is given to how the courts have utilized the concept of consent in balancing the competing interests of the plaintiff and the defendant in relation to overarching policy goals.

This lesson addresses a number of issues involving consideration, including whether there was a bargain, whether there is consideration for the settlement of a claim, and whether one of the promises was illusory. You should run it after you have run the lesson on Consideration: The Basics of Consideration and the Bargain Theory.

This lesson takes a look at the basic aspects of the contractual element of Consideration. In a typical transaction, the consideration (described as a bargained-for-exchange) is what induces the making of the promise by the offeror. In turn, the promise induces the furnishing of the consideration by the offeree. Consideration is the ordinary means for justifying the enforcement of the promises by the parties. This lesson sets out the basic requisites for establishing consideration.

This lesson discusses the role of federal preemption in the implementation of environmental law. Specifically, when do federal environmental and natural resources statutes preempt, or displace, state laws on similar subjects? When are states free to enact their own environmental protections? What is the relationship between federal environmental law and state torts?

This lesson assumes the basic issues in defamation have already been covered. Before working with this lesson, the lessons on Basic Issues in Defamation and Privileges and Libel and Slander should have already been reviewed. The material here will use that basic information to study the Constitutional issues that now control defamation. Among those issues are public and private figures, actual malice, burdens of proof, and damages.

The Right of Privacy, much like defamation, raises serious Constitutional issues. Those issues arise, primarily, with the tort of Public Disclosure and False Light. This lesson discusses the details raised by that Constitutional problem.

This lesson is intended as an overview of Constitutional Law principles that are important in Family Law. It can be used at the beginning of the Family Law course as a refresher of Constitutional Law. It can also be used during the course to clarify general constitutional doctrine. This lesson is related to two other lessons regarding constitutional aspects of Family Law.

The purpose of this lesson is to review basic doctrines and theories of individual rights covered in Constitutional Law courses. The lesson covers the Due Process Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and the First Amendment, as they apply in the Family Law context.

This lesson is an examination of the constitutional law aspects of Family Law. It builds upon lessons which provide a review of Constitutional Law in the Family Law context, but is much more detailed. It is intended as a supplement and review of constitutional doctrine as it occurs in specific Family Law areas such as marriage, divorce, parenting, procreation, sexuality, the rights of minors, and end-of life issues.

This lesson will cover how to conduct legal research about the constitutions of individual states, online and in print.

This exercise provides a general overview of the Eighth Amendment as it applies to substantive criminal law. It outlines the Amendment's potential scope as well as its actual reach, as defined by the U.S. Supreme Court. Procedural criminal law (and the Court's capital punishment jurisprudence in particular) is ignored, except insofar as it bears on substantive criminal law or helps to define the Amendment's scope.

In this exercise, students get an overview of the principle of legality. Legality is divided into four subtopics: legislativity, retroactivity, vagueness, and lenity, which are addressed in turn. Particular attention is paid to the following issues: constitutional foundations; applicability to the states; applicability to the making or the interpretation of criminal laws, and to the legislature or the judiciary; applicability to criminal and civil law, and to substantive and procedural criminal law in particular.

This lesson provides a review of the constitutional requirements for standing in federal courts that citizen plaintiffs must fulfill in order to bring environmental citizen suits in the federal courts.

This lesson introduces students to consumer law research as they assist a hypothetical client "Joe" who is the victim of a used car salesman's sleazy tactics. Students will develop strategies for researching consumer law issues on both state and federal levels. The lesson covers the "major player" consumer law statutes and the agencies empowered by those statutes. Important consumer law treatises and practitioner resources are also covered.

This lesson covers Congress's authority to enact legislation pursuant to the Commerce Clause under the Supreme Court's rulings since 1995.

This exercise is designed as an introduction for beginning Property students to the basic concepts involved in a traditional contract used in a standard real estate transaction.

This is the second lesson of two designed to introduce the beginning student to the basic concepts involved in a contract for the purchase and sale of real estate.

This lesson deals with the doctrine of Mitigation of Damages, and examines Rockingham County v. Luten Bridge Co. The basic issues about mitigation are illustrated in a hypothetical scenario followed by a number of questions.

The lesson takes a look at measuring expectation damages in a sale of goods contract governed by the UCC provisions. The author explains that even though the expectation/mitigation rule is not applicable to the sale of goods contracts, the UCC gives us the same results as common law.