Course Descriptions
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Immigration Law (2)
541G
Concentration(s):
(Formerly DCL 353)
This course is intended to provide a general survey of U.S. immigration law with emphasis on policy issues on the one hand and on the various issues a practicing attorney is likely to encounter on the other hand. The course will cover the entry into the U.S. of non-immigrants such as foreign students, visitors, temporary workers, executives, etc. as well as the entry of immigrants. The course will review the various avenues of immigration such as family reunification, work based immigration, asylum, and refugee petitions. Students will review the admissions of aliens into the U.S. and the possibilities for removal whether at point of entry or later as well as available defenses and waivers to removal. They will analyze the right of immigrants in employments, education, and public benefits, and the interaction of immigration law with constitutional law. The course will also review permanent residency and the route leading to attaining the United States Citizenship. Throughout the course, students will learn about the governmental structure with regulatory and enforcement authority over this complex and ever changing area of the law. Students will be expected to participate in wide-ranging class discussions involving problem solving, case analysis, and policy reviews. The course will follow the material in the book "Immigration and Refugee Policy", (5th edition) by Stephen H. Legomsky and Cristina Rodriguez. To cover as many concepts as possible, only selected material from every chapter will be emphasized. That way, the students will cover every major aspect of immigration law, but without being overwhelmed with too much material in a narrow line of issues.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
Indigenous Law and Policy Center (3)
630F
Concentration(s):
(Formerly DCL 625)
This experiential learning course addresses the issues involved in
creating and operating tribal judiciaries, and the federal, state, and
tribal tax laws that affect tribal governance. Students learn about the
appellate process in tribal court systems, including preparation of
bench memoranda for pending cases in tribal appellate courts. Students
also have the opportunity to assist in developing tribal court
structures and improving tribal court administration. In addition,
students assist in drafting tribal tax codes, creating administrative
tax tribunals, and handling tax controversies for qualifying clients.
Other projects may include legislative and policy work for tribal
governments, including drafting and revising tribal laws and providing
legal assistance regarding land tenure systems.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
Indigenous Law and Policy Center II (3)
630G
Concentration(s):
(Formerly DCL 625A)
Prerequisite(s):
Top
Insurance Law (2)
514
Concentration(s):
(Formerly DCL 379)
This course will offer a student of general topics such as (1) scope and function of insurance, (2) relation of insurer and insured, (3) construction of insurance contracts, (4) governmental regulation of insurance, (5) insurance agency and (6) broad categories of insurance coverage (property, person and liability). Specific areas of study will include insurance of automobiles, homes, commercial property and professional conduct, as well as special topics such as coordination-of-benefits, stacking, subrogation, errors and omissions, environmental coverage, duty-to-defend/reservation of rights, coverage litigation and bad faith/settlement issues. The primary method of instruction will be case study using traditional Socratic classroom techniques with open discussion. The course text will be supplemented with the most recent published appellate cases of significance. The instructor would seek to invite occasional guest lecturers on specific topics from time to time.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
Integrative Law & Social Work (3)
541J
Concentration(s):
(Formerly DCL 474)
The Integrative Law and Social Work Seminar is offered only to law students
and second year master-level social work students accepted into the one-year
Chance at Childhood Program which begins each fall semester.
The spring course is a continuation of this two semester seminar that is
part of the Chance at Childhood Certificate Program. The certificate
program is designed to strengthen the knowledge base, practice and advocacy
skills of law students and master-level social work students interested in
working with abused, neglected and at-risk children and families. The
seminar emphasizes select issues related to child abuse and neglect from a
multi-disciplinary perspective.
Major: CHLD.
Must be in the Child and Family Advocacy Certificate program.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
Intellectual Property and Cultural Protection: Regulating Creativity in an Interconnected World (2)
533Z
Concentration(s):
Three different paradigms for regulating creativity have competed in recent decades:
(1) conventional IP rights premised on economic incentives; (2) collaborative licensing regimes based on open source principles; and (3) ownership claims grounded in natural/moral rights. Intellectual property rights have traditionally relied on a utilitarian calculus that grants limited exclusivity as an incentive to induce innovation. The assumption that exclusive rights are needed to encourage creativity has been challenged in recent years by open source licensing regimes. From their early roots in the free software movement, open source principles have been applied to everything from biotechnology to beer. Open source proponents often criticize proprietary systems for regulating creativity as inefficient, undemocratic, or even immoral. While open source models often view IP rights as overly protective and counterproductive, IP law have also been criticized for being underprotective from a natural rights perspective. Natural rights paradigms challenge the limitations on IP rights under an incentive model because they view intellectual property as an inalienable moral right, independent of its economic significance. Resisting the globalized comodification of culture, natural rights proponents often insist that the right to control creativity belongs to particular peoples in particular places and inheres in subject matter ranging from the traditional knowledge of rainforest shamans to wine labels used by champagne vintners in France. Readings in this seminar will explore arguments for and against each of these positions as we seek to understand the interface between law and culture, property and creativity.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
Intellectual Property Law (0)
533V
Concentration(s):
(Formerly DCL 321)
This course could be offered for 2 or 3 credits.
This course is a survey of all Intellectual Property law, including patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secret law. No technical degree is necessary.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
Intellectual Property Management and Technology Transfer (2)
535
Concentration(s):
(Formerly DCL 597A)
NOTE: MSU LAW SCHOLARSHIPS WILL NOT PAY FOR THIS COURSE. Students who will graduate the same summer that the course is being offered are not eligible to enroll in this course.) This course provides basic education and hands-on experience in various aspects of intellectual property rights and technology transfer. Particular emphasis will be devoted to the day-to-day handling and management of intellectual property in various settings within the context of recent changes in the GATT/WTO Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The course aims to provide students with the background necessary to effectively advise clients on technology transfer issues and with a more sophisticated understanding of intellectual property licensing issues, strategies and customary business practices in commercializing technology.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
International Banking Law and Finance (2)
548V
Concentration(s):
(NEW course as of Spring 2006)
This course surveys national (US), regional (EU), and supranational cross-border financial legal regimes. Topics include international anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism initiatives, international public finance (World Bank, IMF), and economic sanctions.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
International Business Transactions (3)
512B
Concentration(s):Int'l & Comparative Law
(Formerly DCL 363)
This course examines the legal aspects of international finance, trade and investment using Canadian-U.S. trade as an example. Topics covered include transnational litigation, international rule-making systems, the extraterritorial effect of business laws, currency regulation, technology transfer, foreign investment and protection against loss, governmental immunity, dispute settlement, and relations between developed and developing countries.
Prerequisite(s):
-Public International Law
Top
International Civil Litigation (3)
548K
Concentration(s):Int'l & Comparative Law
(Formerly DCL439) The context of this course is the litigation of claims involving private plaintiffs against both private defendants, who may reside in or be citizens of different countries, and against defendants that are foreign governments or governmental entities. The course will cover the following topics: (1) suing foreign defendants in U.S. courts, also known as personal jurisdiction; (2) choosing the proper forum, including forum non conveniens and forum selection clauses; (3) jurisdiction to prescribe, also known as legislative jurisdiction, including the extraterritorial application of U.S. law; (4) international judicial assistance, including service of process abroad and the taking of evidence abroad; (5) claims against foreign states, foreign sovereign immunity, and the act of state doctrine; and (6) the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and U.S. judgments abroad. Several international conventions will be studied, including the Hague Convention on Service Abroad and the Hague Convention on Taking Evidence Abroad. This course replaces International Litigation and Arbitration effective fall 2009.
Prerequisite(s):
-Civil Procedure I
-Civil Procedure II
Top
International Commercial Arbitration (3)
512K
Concentration(s):
International commercial arbitration is the most popular alternative dispute settlement mechanism for resolving disputes between private parties arising out of international commercial transactions and for resolving investment disputes between foreign investors and a host country. The basic goal of this course is to give students a thorough understanding of the international commercial arbitration process and the role of national courts in supporting that process. The rules of international commercial arbitration centers and international conventions on commercial arbitration will be studied, including the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, the Inter-American Convention on International Commercial Arbitration, and the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes. The UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration - enacted by a number of countries and by several states of the United States - will also be examined.
Prerequisite(s):
-Civil Procedure I
-Civil Procedure II
Top
International Criminal Law (2)
548D
Concentration(s):I
(Formerly DCL 364)
This course covers both America's domestic legal response and the world community's legal response to international crime. Subjects discussed include individual international criminal liability, extradition, immunity, the nature of sovereignty, judicial remedies for breaches of internationally protected human rights and specific international crimes such as terrorism, genocide and war crimes. Special focus is dedicated to the detention of Gen. Pinochet and the trial in The Hague of Slobodan Milosevic.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
International Environmental Law (3)
548E
Concentration(s):I
(Formerly DCL 417)
This course introduces the student to the use of bilateral and multilateral treaties and other international mechanisms for dealing with international environmental problems such as ozone in the upper atmosphere, the greenhouse effect, destruction of forest and trade in endangered species. Normally, a paper is required.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
International Human Rights (2)
548F
Concentration(s):
(Formerlty DCL 418)
This course explores human rights and the international legal order, background, concepts and the future. It will also consider major international agreements and their relation to local law, and remedies for the implementation of human rights.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
International Intellectual Property Law (2)
533E
Concentration(s):
(Formerly DCL 526)
THIS COURSE MAY BE OFFERED AS EITHER 2 OR 3 CREDITS.
International Intellectual Property Law begins with overview of copyright, patents, trademarks and trade secrets under U.S. law, then looks at rapidly developing treaty regimes, reciprocal international legislation, and international cases for the protection of literary and artistic works and scientific invention, and ownership issues in the global markets that affect the rights of authors and inventors.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
International Law & Ethics of Human Subjects Research (2)
548W
Concentration(s):
This course is being offered in conjunction with the College of Human Medicine. The purpose of the course is to foster interdisciplinary understanding of the substance and interrelationships of law, particularly international law, and ethics in the protection of human subjects of transnational biomedical and behavioral research. The course may be of particular interest to students interested in health law and international law. Classroom Methods: Lecture, interdisciplinary discussion, simulations, mini-rounds.
Students are limited to taking either this course or US Law and Ethics of Human Subjects Research, but not both.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
International Sale of Goods (2)
548G
Concentration(s):
(Formerly DCL 478)
A study of international sales law under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). Similarities and contrasts with sales law under Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code will be investigated. Also addressed are the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
International Sale of Goods Law-Mexico (1)
548Y
Concentration(s):
A study of international sales law under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). Similarities and contrasts with sales law under Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code will be investigated. Also addressed are the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
International Taxation (2)
548J
Concentration(s):Int'l Comp.; and also Tax
(Formerly DCL 366)
This course will provide a basic overview of the tax consequences in international transactions. The topics covered will include foreign income received by U.S. citizens, resident aliens and domestic corporations, non-resident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign persons, U.S. possessions, special taxpayers and the foreign tax credit.
EITHER Basic Income Tax A OR Basic Income Tax B fulfills the prerequisite.
Prerequisite(s):
-Basic Income Taxation A
-Basic Income Taxation B
Top
International Trade Law (1)
512D
Concentration(s):
(Formerly DCL 558)
This course will deal with the private law of international trade. Topics will include risks associated with payment and transportation (including Incoterms and documentary sale of goods), UNIDROIT principles of international commercial contracts, the Convention on the International Sale of Goods, and dispute settlement.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
International Trade Regulation (3)
512E
Concentration(s):Int'l & Comparative Law
(Formerly DCL 368)
The course has as its primary focus the international trade regime of the World Trade Organization to which the United States and 144 other countries are parties. The following topics are covered in this course:
Introduction: Why trade? Why not protect?
An overview of the GATT-WTO system
WTO dispute settlement
The unconditional, most-favored-nation obligation
Tariff bindings
The national treatment obligation
The prohibition on quantitative restrictions (quotas)
Transparency of national laws and regulations
Regional trade arrangements (customs unions and free trade areas)
Special and differential treatment of developing countries
Trade in agricultural goods, including farm subsidies
Trade and the environment
Human, animal, and plant health and safety issues
Trade and labor rights
The General Agreement on Trade in Services
The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
The new agenda: trade and investment, trade and competition policy..
Prerequisite(s): None
Prerequisite(s):
Top
Jessup Team (2)
627E
Concentration(s):Int'l & Comparative Law
(Formerly DCL 405)
An international inter-school competition in international law, held annually in the spring semester. Team membership is by invitation on the basis of performance in the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. Participants receive two graded credit hours.
Prerequisite(s):
-Research, Writing and Advocacy I
-Research, Writing and Advocacy II
-Transnational Legal Research
Top
Journal of Animal Law (2)
629C
Concentration(s):
The Journal of Animal Law was the second legal journal established in North America specializing in animal law and is currently one of only three existing that is dedicated to the specialized topic of animal law. The Journal of Animal Law has been able to welcome editors from other ABA-accredited law schools in addition to MSU College of Law.
The goals of the Journal of Animal Law are:
-To provide volumes of legal policy materials that relate to animal law and animal welfare.
-To provide expert explanation of the materials for both legal and non-legal audiences.
-To be an education resource for both the lawyer and the non-lawyer.
-To provide historical perspective about social and legal attitudes toward animals, and how we as a society have arrived at its present perspective.
Students must satisfy the following criteria to receive Journal credit: (1) two year participation on the Journal staff/board; (2)editing and cite-checking of papers submitted to the Journal; (3)satisfy editing obligation during the first-year on Journal staff; (4)election to Journal board for final year at the Law College; and (5) fulfill leadership obligations of Board position.
Prerequisite(s):
-Research, Writing and Advocacy I
-Research, Writing and Advocacy II
Top
Journal of International Law (2)
629A
Concentration(s):Int'l & Comparative Law
(Formerly DCL 550)
Participation by writing competition upon satisfactory completion by day students of two full semesters and by evening students of three full semesters. Two credits of ungraded credit earned upon completion of a student article, a comment, required production work and participation in the organization of the International Law Symposium and the International Achievement Award Dinner.
Prerequisite(s):
-Research, Writing and Advocacy I
-Research, Writing and Advocacy II
Top
Journal of Medicine and Law (2)
629B
Concentration(s):
(Formerly DCL 407)
Two credits may be awarded to a member of the journal during the student's final semester if the student has completed a student article and a Regional Reporter article; satisfactorily completed all work assignments, training sessions, cite check workshops and assignments; and attended all mandatory meetings; participated in the organization of a journal event; actively participated in at least one committee per semester. Prior to registering for credit, a Journal member must obtain authorization by the editor-in-chief, and present authorization to the Office of the Registrar during enrollment.
Prerequisite(s):
-Research, Writing and Advocacy I
-Research, Writing and Advocacy II
Top
Jurisprudence (2)
579J
Concentration(s):
(Formerly DCL 385)
This course surveys several views of law and the legal process. it also examines the judicial decision-making process and the social, political and moral contexts that influence and are influenced by judicial decision.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
Juvenile Law (2)
541K
Concentration(s):
(Formerly DCL 378)
A survey of the law related to juvenile courts in the areas of delinquency and child neglect, including jurisdiction and waivers thereof, arrest, pre-trial, and trial procedure and disposition.
Prerequisite(s):
Top
[A-B, C-D, E-F, G-H, I-J, K-L, M-N, O-P, Q-R, S-T, U-V, W-X, Y-Z]
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