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Canyon College

online TRIALS (CIVIL PROCEDURE) course at Canyon College

COURSE SYLLABUS: TRIALS (CIVIL PROCEDURE)


Course Title:
Department:
Instructor:		 LS332 - TRIALS (CIVIL PROCEDURE)
Legal Studies
George E. Guay III, J.D. E-Mail - Vitae


COURSE CONTENT

To prevail in a civil suit, a plaintiff's lawyer must follow prescribed guidelines for preparing and presenting a case to a court. This course will look at the preparatory procedures, such as the filing of the complaint and taking of depositions. It will also examine the mechanics of the trial process. Students will also learn about the appeals process.

TEXT: Online Bookstore

Civil Procedure and Litigation, a practical approach. Emery, Jack s., Linda L. Edwards, J. Stanley Edwards. West Publishing. 2000. ISBN #: 0314126368

COURSE GOALS

In this class, students will learn the material, following the list of readings below. When ready, students take the open-book, on-line test for that chapter. They can contact the instructor via e-mail. By taking open-book quizzes, students will develop an understanding of the topic addressed in a particular chapter.

ASSIGNMENTS

Students will need to complete an open-book quiz (multiple-choice, true/false, or a mix thereof) for each chapter designated for study in this course. A student's final grade for the class will come from an average of all test grades for that class (70%) and from a ten-page research paper that the student submits (30%).

To take the on-line quizzes, student need to use the student ID and password assigned to them by the college. The quizzes are located at http://www.platon-line.com/wiseQuiz2b3/login.php?templateid=1. The Civil Procedure quizzes are clustered together.

Students will need to write a ten-page research paper on any topic raised in the text. See Appendix A and Appendix B for more information about the paper.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Any form of academic dishonesty is regarded as a very serious violation of college regulations. Any student suspected of engaging in such activity will be subject to the full set of procedures set forth by the college.

READING ASSIGNMENTS (CHAPTERS IN TEXT)

Introduction

Courts and Filings

Prefiling Preparation and Pleadings

Discovery

Motions

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Pretrial Practice, Trials, and Judgment

Judgment Collection and Appeal

Appendix A: Guidelines for the Term Paper

Students are expected to write at the undergraduate level and are strongly encouraged to enlist the support of the following publication: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fourth Edition, 1994. Students may rely on the MLA guidelines but must consistent use the guidelines of one approach or another.

Do’s

Double space

Organize clearly including headings for Overview, Purpose, One idea per paragraph, Conclusion and Recommendations (if appropriate)

Keep it simple

Achieve a professional level of expression (grammar, spelling, punctuation, plain talk, etc.)

Put scholarship and rigor into your work

Properly cite and document references using the writing style guide you have selected 		Don’ts

Lose sight of your purpose

Use a wordy, high fog-count or indirect style



Fail to carefully proof-read your work

Make your paragraphs too long or too short


Fail to provide pragmatic value as well as academic value in your work

Fail to give clear credit to the ideas and words of others


Content

This paper should not contain unsupported opinions. Start with a thesis (a central topic), then explain how your research has helped you to understand this topic better.

References

Use the research paper as an opportunity to explore an area of interest relevant to the topics raised in this class. A research paper requires the writer of the paper to support his or her assertions by making reference to other writings on the matter.

You need to have at least five references in your research paper. Those references must come from peer-reviewed publications (where the article had to be reviewed for accuracy and content by an administrative board; besides research journals, this would include law reviews). Each student will be allowed to refer to up to two non-peer reviewed sources.

You may use the Internet to locate up to 50% of your references for this assignment.
Caveat: just because the information is on the Internet doesn't make it correct or peer-reviewed. Take care in selecting your references so that they substantially support the proposition which you are advancing.

Caveat: if you are quoting another's work, indicate that with a citation. Offering someone else's work as your own is plagiarism. Refer to earlier in the syllabus, regarding the school's policy on plagiarism.
And, keep in mind that various types of software exist which can be used to determine whether the material draws from student papers or work prepared by others.

“Peer-reviewed” material

There is no clear-cut definition for a scholarly journal, but below are some clues to help you distinguish between them and popular magazines. A scholarly journal cannot be defined by one or two features, nor do all features have to be present to make it a professional journal. Keep in mind that their are exceptions to each characteristic listed.

You are not able to tell if a publication is a scholarly journal by simply looking at the name. There are many examples when a periodical has the word, journal, in the title, but in fact, is not a scholarly journal. The Wall Street Journal and Ladies Home Journal are examples of this.

If in doubt, ask the instructor or a librarian for help.


© 2002, Owen Williams  University of Minnesota, Crookston Library

Appendix B: Copyright

Any original work creates a copyright, which is owned by its creator. This applies to your work term papers and e-mail. Copyrighted works may be used and reproduced in very controlled circumstances. The concept is called, "fair use". This concept applies when a student doesn't use a significant portion of the work and doesn't deprive the creator of significant revenue.

You may copy the syllabus and other works FOR YOUR INDIVIDUAL USE ONLY. The instructor expressly retains copyrights on all non-student produced material for this course.

Students retain the copyright to their work, including but not limited to research papers, final exams, and e-mails. By participating in this class, students expressly grant to the instructor an unlimited license to use these materials.