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CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN 21ST CEN (CRIMINAL LAW - 1040)

3 credits

This course considers capital punishment's legal, political, and social implications, with an emphasis on modern legal issues. Historical and philosophical perspectives on the use of capital punishment will frame the many contemporary questions addressed during the course. The course will spend much time discussing the intricate constitutional doctrines developed by the Supreme Court in the 1970's when it "constitutionalized" capital punishment. Doctrinal topics may include: the role of aggravating and mitigating factors; challenges to arbitrary and/or racially discriminatory application of the death penalty; restrictions on the types of defendants eligible for the death penalty; restrictions on the types of jurors eligible for capital trials; the roles of defense counsel, prosecutors, judges, and juries; the scope of federal post-conviction review; and the role of executive clemency. The course will also address current issues surrounding the future of capital punishment in the United States. Grading will be based on a final exam.

Prerequisite: CRIMINAL LAW
Craig M. Cooley

CHILD ADVOCACY CLINIC (ADVOCACY AND LEGAL SKILLS - 5090)

4 credits

The Child Advocacy Clinic is a one-semester in-house, live- client, multi-disciplinary clinical program available to second and third year students. The Clinic addresses the needs of children who have been abused and neglected and affords the students the opportunity to develop essential lawyering skills, practical legal knowledge and professional responsibility while serving the Queens community. Students in the Clinic will be assigned to represent children in child abuse and neglect cases in Queens County Family Court. Allegations in these cases include parental drug and alcohol abuse, educational neglect, excessive corporal punishment, domestic violence, inadequate guardianship, parental mental illness, etc. Students provide representation from arraignment through final resolution of the case. Students working with mental health consultants will engage in all professional responsibilities and aspects of representation, such as interviewing, fact investigation, preparation of all legal papers, working with experts, trial preparation, negotiation, field work and trials. The Clinical Professor supervises students in all aspects of client representation and litigation. Students are required to work in the Clinic 13 hours a week. Additionally, students are required to attend a weekly 2-hour seminar component. The seminar will provide the opportunity for students to learn and develop essential lawyering skills required in client representation, learn substantive areas of law, and participate in roundtable discussions. Students will be selected based upon an interview with the professor and submission of a resume, cover letter, and unofficial transcript.

Prerequisite: LEGAL WRITING II
Jennifer Baum
Teresa J. Grogan
Theresa A Hughes

CIVIL EXTERNSHIP PLACEMENT (ADVOCACY AND LEGAL SKILLS - 3010)

2 credits

Students work 140 hours in pre-approved civil externship placements under the guidance of carefully selected mentor-attorneys. It is expected that students will be integrated into all aspects of the legal setting so that students will assist their mentor-attorneys in their day-to-day legal activities as well as receiving research, writing or other legal assignments. Some placements may include an opportunity to appear in court, interview clients, or interact with opposing counsel, while others may be more observational in nature. Civil clinical placements are in a variety of not-for-profit, government and public interest organizations which are on the leading edge of housing law, domestic violence law, immigration law, environmental law, labor law, mental hygiene law, consumer law, and general civil litigation, as well as other legal areas. The course is graded on a pass-fail basis. This course must be taken in conjunction with the Civil Clinical Externship Seminar.

Corequisite: CIVIL EXTERNSHIP SEMINAR
Michael A. Genkin
Jennifer Gilroy Ruiz
Keri K. Gould
Lisa Schreibersdorf
Eylan Schulman
Joseph Sieger

CIVIL PROCEDURE (CIVIL PROCEDURE - 1000)

4 credits

This first year course is concerned with the statutory and judicially established procedures governing the conduct of civil litigation in the courts, with an emphasis on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The course examines in depth principles of jurisdiction, conflict of laws, pleadings, joinder of parties (including class actions), motions, summary judgment, discovery and the doctrine of preclusion. Grades are based upon a final examination.

Vincent C. Alexander
Edward D. Cavanagh
John P. Hennigan
Robert A. Ruescher
Jeff Sovern
Ettie Ward

COLLOQUIUM IN LAW (CONSTITUTIONAL LAW - 2010)

2 credits

This seminar invites faculty from outside St. John's to present scholarship around a general theme chosen by the instructor(s). Students will be required to write short "reflection papers" (1500 words each) analyzing the scholarship presented, to discuss these reflection papers in class, and to particpate in exchanges with the visiting scholars. Grades will be based on students' reflection papers (70%), class participation (15%), and interaction with the visiting scholars (15%). Enrollment will be based on interviews with the instructor(s) and limited to 16 students. The instructor(s) will make enrollment decisions on the basis of students' academic credentials, demonstrated interest in legal scholarship, and career plans and opportunities.

Marc O. DeGirolami
Margaret E. McGuinness
Mark L. Movsesian

COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS (BUSINESS AND FINANCE LAW - 1070)

3 credits

John P. Hennigan

COMP ASYLUM PROT & INTL HUM RT (INTERNAT'L AND COMPARATIVE LAW - 2090)

2 credits

This course will examine and compare how different nations have addressed asylum protection in a modern context, starting with the United States and problem areas it recently has faced, such as post-911 concerns with national security, persecution, civil war, opposition to coercive family planning programs, and the many issues raised by gender-based claims for protection. The course also will examine the ways in which human rights and humanitarian law have influenced asylum law and continue to help achieve the goals of the Geneva Convention. The course grade is based on a final exam.

Charles M. Russell

COMPARATIVE CORPOR LAW SEMINAR (BUSINESS AND FINANCE LAW - 3070)

2 credits

This course examines the corporate governance systems used by key European and Asian countries. Much of the seminar will be devoted to analyzing the common problems facing business organizations and how different legal systems respond to those problems. Among other topics, the seminar will analyze differences in the basic governance structure of corporations, creditor protection, related party transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and investor protection. The class will be conducted as a seminar in which students will present, defend, and receive comments from their fellow students on their papers. Students will be responsible for reading all required course materials and for class participation. Each student will also be required to research and write a paper on a relevant topic. The grade will be based on the paper (80%) and class participation (20%).

Prerequisite: BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
Michael A. Perino

COMPARATIVE ELECTION LAW SEM (INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS - 2040)

3 credits

This seminar will examine contemporary doctrinal and normative issues concerning the electoral process and the efficacy of American democracy vis a vis the election systems of other constitutional democracies. The goal of the seminar is to engage students in a critical analysis of the legal framework and social and political landscape that underpin the exercise of the franchise in the United States within a broader, global context. Students will gain a deeper understanding of democratic theory and constitutionalism by studying features of the electoral systems in key European, Latin American, and African democracies, as well as Australia and the constitutional principles that animate them. The seminar will provide an abbreviated review of the legal history of the American franchise, legal and practical limitations on its current use, and the ways in which the regulation of political participation affects the balance of power in America. The course differs from Election Law and Political Participation (ELPP) in that it focuses on comparative law concepts and specific election laws in other constitutional democracies. Specific domestic election law concepts will be introduced as developed regulations and considered more fully only in the comparative context. To this end, students will be required to examine a contemporary voting rights issue in the United States and explore its current societal impact and the global context in which it operates through a comparative law analysis involving a peer democratic nation. Grades for the course will be based on a final paper, an in- class presentation, and in-class participation. N.B.: It is recommended, but not required, that students take Election Law and Political Participation in advance of the seminar.

Prerequisite: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
Janai S. Nelson

COMPARATIVE LEGAL SYSTEMS (INTERNAT'L AND COMPARATIVE LAW - 4050)

1 credits

Comparative Legal Systems: Scotland. This unique travel study course provides selected second-, third-, and fourth-year students the opportunity to experience one of the best comparative law jurisdictions in the world, Scotland, through travel study to that country. An English speaking country with a mixed common law/civil law legal system based primarily on Roman law and significant continental influences, Scotland presents a remarkably accessible opportunity to gain substantial comparative knowledge of the two major world legal systems. The course includes pre-departure lectures at St. John's, guest lectures by law professors, judges and lawyers in Scotland, and historical "walking lectures" to the sites of some of the most important events in forming the modern nation of Scotland. The travel portion will include stays in Glasgow, Inverness and Edinburgh, as well as visits to Glasgow and Edinburgh University Law Schools, the Court of Session, the Faculty of Advocates, the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh Castle, and Culloden Battlefield. Grading will be based on two written essays, one accomplished before departure and one upon return.

Jeffrey K. Walker

COMPUTERS & THE LAW (INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - 1000)

2 credits

This course will focus on the current legal issues involving computer technology. Topics include use of the computer as a legal aid, the protection of computer software as intellectual property, contracting for computer services, and government regulation of computers. Grades are based upon a research paper.

Joseph P. Zammit

CONFLICT OF LAWS (STATE AND FEDERAL PRACTICE - 1000)

3 credits

This course studies the resolution of problems that arise when legal matters have a relationship to more than one state or nation. Topics covered include the circumstances under which courts will adjudicate disputes, the recognition of judicial decrees by other states, and the criteria for determining the substantive law applicable to multistate transactions. The role played by the United States Constitution in limiting state freedom of action in this area is also examined. Grades are based upon a final examination.

Edward D. Cavanagh
Margaret E. McGuinness

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS SEMINAR (CONSTITUTIONAL LAW - 1010)

2 credits

This seminar explores current important areas of constitutional law, with particular attention to the judicial protection of individual rights, including free speech, free press, religious freedom, privacy and gender-based discrimination. The seminar format permits analysis of these topics of expanding interest in greater depth than in the basic course. The areas discussed may vary somewhat in emphasis from one semester to another, depending in part on current decisions of the courts and in part on students' choices in selecting topics for their papers. Each student will prepare a paper of law review quality on a topic approved by the faculty member conducting the seminar. Grades are based upon a paper and course participation.

Prerequisite: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY (BANKRUPTCY LAW - 1070)

2 credits

This course will concentrate on Chapters 7 and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code, including consideration of such topics as the conflicting principles of fresh start vs. maximum return to creditors; good faith and substantial abuse; the automatic stay; property of the estate; exemptions and the discharge of debts; needs-based bankruptcy; Chapter 13 plans; and serial Chapter 13 filings. Grades are based upon a final examination. (The credit hours decision will be in advance each semester and clearly disclosed in the registration packet and schedule). Prerequisite for J.D. students: Creditors' Rights.

Prerequisite: CREDITORS' RIGHTS
Elizabeth S Stong

CONSUMER PROTECTION CLINIC PT1 (ADVOCACY AND LEGAL SKILLS - 1025)

4 credits

The Consumer Protection Clinic will be offered as a two semester clinical program available to second- and third-year students. Part-time students who have completed three semesters of law school and are available to work at the clinic during the day are eligible to apply. St. John's University is partnering with the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs to give students the opportunity to learn the inner workings of an administrative agency, the responsibilities and duties of an administrative agency, and the process of decision-making in enforcement of consumer laws, including false advertising laws. Students will survey print advertising, signage and the internet for possible false and deceptive advertising. Students will engage in research and investigations; draft pleadings (whether state court pleadings or tribunal notices of hearings); engage in settlement negotiations; draft settlements; and conduct or participate in hearings. Students will also particpate in conducting consumer and industry outreach on advertising issues, as well as draft consumer tips and other educational materials.

Prerequisite: LEGAL WRITING II
Phyllis Lynn Arnold

CONSUMR JUSTICE ELDER LIT CL (ADVOCACY AND LEGAL SKILLS - 2010)

4 credits

The Elder Law Clinic is a one-semester in-house clinical program and is available to second and third-year students. The Clinic addresses the legal needs of Queens' senior citizens and affords students the opportunity to develop essential lawyering skills, practical legal knowledge and professional responsibility while serving the community. Students represent clients in the areas of consumer law (focusing on consumer frauds and scams, including predatory lending), debtor-creditor law and benefit entitlements, such as social security disability, supplemental security income, Medicaid and pension benefits. Clinical Professors supervise students in all aspects of client representation. Students provide representation from the initial client contact through the final resolution of their case. Accordingly, students perform client and witness interviews; perform legal research; draft all pleadings including complaints, answers, motions and briefs; conduct discovery proceedings, including depositions; argue motions; represent clients at administrative hearings and at court hearings and trials; and represent clients at settlement negotiations and draft settlement agreements. Students are required to work in the Clinic 13 hours a week (20 hours a week during summer program). There is also a weekly 2-hour seminar component.

Prerequisite: LEGAL WRITING II
Gina M. Calabrese
Ann L. Goldweber

CONTRACTS I (BUSINESS AND FINANCE LAW - 1090)

3 credits

This course deals with the formation, avoidance and discharge of contract obligations. Attention is also directed to the remedies available for breach of contract and the rules for ascertaining the damages recoverable. Grades are based upon a final examination.

Christopher J. Borgen
Robin A. Boyle Laisure
Margaret N. Kniffin
Mark L. Movsesian
Nicholas R. Weiskopf

COPYRIGHT LAW (INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - 1010)

3 credits

This course provides a detailed study of copyright law. We will explore topics such as the nature and determination of authorship and ownership; the types of work protected; the scope of protection; infringement; fair use; remedies; and issues raised by digital creation and Internet uses. Focusing primarily on U.S. law, and also on the international dimensions of copyright and related rights, we will discuss the historical development and purposes of copyright law and policy, and we will consider whether and how those purposes are being served in the digital age. Grades are based upon a final examination.

Prerequisite: INTRO TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Eva E. Subotnik

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SEMINAR (BUSINESS AND FINANCE LAW - 2060)

2 credits

This seminar is designed to allow students an opportunity to explore corporate law-related topics of their choosing in depth. The course will initially be spent introducing and studying selected topics in corporate law not covered in the basic Business Organizations classes. The topics covered will include: Theories of the Corporation, including Classical, Contractarian and Social Responsibility Theories; The Role of Corporations in Society; The Concept of Limited Liability; Fiduciary Duties of Officers and Directors, including the cases of Mergers and Acquisitions; Dividend and Voting Conflicts with Shareholders and Self-Interested Transactions; The Changing Role and Rights of Debt; Proxy Rule Reform; The Corporate Governance Movement; Institutional Investors; the A.L.I. Corporate Governance Project; the Role and Duties of Corporate Attorneys; and others. The class will be conducted as a seminar in which students will present, defend and receive comments from their fellow students on their papers. This course is intended to complement but not to overlap the separate electives in Corporate Finance and Securities Regulation.

Prerequisite: BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
Cheryl L. Wade

COUNTERTERRORISM LAW (CRIMINAL LAW - 2030)

3 credits

This course focuses on the law enforcement responses to international and domestic terrorism. Topics will include the use of informants and cooperating witnesses, immigration enforcement, surveillance, interrogation, detention issues, the use of military commissions, and the USA PATRIOT Act. Grades will be based on class participation and a final exam. Students are encouraged, though not required to complete Criminal Procedure I prior to enrolling in Counterterrorism Law.

Joseph F. Bianco

CREDITORS' RIGHTS (BANKRUPTCY LAW - 1000)

3 credits

This course deals with proceedings to enforce judgments, problems with respect of fraudulent conveyances, alternatives to bankruptcy, and a complete analysis of the Bankruptcy Code. Grades are based upon a final examination.

John P. Hennigan
Keith B. Sharfman
G. Ray Warner
Robert M. Zinman

CRIM. JUSTICE EXTERNSHIP SEM. (ADVOCACY AND LEGAL SKILLS - 3020)

2 credits

The Criminal Clinical Externship Seminar seeks to promote self-directed learning in students through appropriate goal-setting and the critical reflection on how the criminal justice systems function (how the law, procedures, practice and fact patterns interrelate), give students an understanding of the roles of prosecutors and defense attorneys within the systems, and orient students to recognize and begin to learn the skills prosecutors and defense attorneys must acquire. Students must complete weekly short written assignments based upon relevant readings and externship observations and experiences, a collaborative student presentation, accurate timesheets, and a lawyering skills simulation. The seminar uses an interactive classroom format where students share insights gained through their externship observations and experiences. Grades are based upon class participation, weekly written assignments, and a final student presentation. This course must be taken in conjunction with the Criminal Clinical Externship Placement.

Corequisite: CRIM. JUSTICE EXTERN PLACEMENT
Donna Aldea
Keri K. Gould

CRIMINAL DEFENSE CLINIC PT II (ADVOCACY AND LEGAL SKILLS - 8080)

4 credits

This course is limited to students who have completed Criminal Defense Clinic Part I. Students will be placed at an indigent defense organization where they will represent clients in misdemeanor and violation cases under the supervision of an experienced attorney. Students will practice pursuant to an approved student practice order which permits students to arraign cases, interview clients, write, file and argue motions, conduct case investigations and represent clients in all court appearances. Students will also participate in a two-hour seminar. Topics will include relevant skills training, theory and practice as well as New York substantive and procedural criminal law. Grades will be based on student performance at the placement site and in the clinic seminar.

Prerequisite: CRIMINAL DEFENSE CLINIC PT I AND LEGAL WRITING II
Charles S. Bobis
Keri K. Gould
Robert William Moeller
Laura Saft

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE I (CRIMINAL LAW - 1050)

3 credits

This course studies federal constitutional and state law restrictions on police investigative practices. Specific topics include stops, arrests and other seizures; frisks and other searches; interrogations and confessions; and the operation of exclusionary rules. Grades are based upon a final examination.

Prerequisite: CRIMINAL LAW
John Q. Barrett
Charles S. Bobis
Patrick L. Mc Closkey
Peter A. Weinstein

CRIT. PERS. ON LAWS OF INHERIT (TRUSTS AND ESTATES - 1060)

2 credits

This course will examine the U.S. system of inheritance and various proposals for its reform. Specifically, the course will analyze class-based, gender-based, and race-based critiques of inheritance law. The final grade will be based upon periodic short writing assignments and a final exam. Research papers can be written in lieu of the final exam only if the topic has been certified by the instructor and paper deadlines have been established. Those writing research papers will still be required to submit the periodic short writing assignments.