The Case Method of Law Teaching

1. The Case Method of Law Teaching UNIT 17

2. Case method a system of instruction or study of law focused uponthe analysis of court opinions rather than lectures and textbooks the predominant method of teaching in U.S. law schools today Christopher Columbus Langdell – a law professor at Harvard – receives credit for inventing it

3. Case method – basic features Differs in two ways from the teaching methods used in most other academic programs: requires students to work almost exclusively with primary source material encourages a discussion on the meaning of a case

4. Case method Students learn to reduce cases to four basic components: The facts of the controversy The legal issue (that the court decides) The Legal resolution (that the court reaches) The reasoning (that the court uses to explain its decision)

5. Reading comprehension Paragraph I: Read and complete the sentences. The case method of law teaching was first developed ______________(When?)in _______________ (Where?). It was an act of rebellion against ___________________. The creators of the method insisted that____________ . They decided to focus legal instruction on _____________ . Instead of classical textbooks they compiled _____________ .

6. Paragraph II: Read and answer the questions. Why did all the major schools accept the case method? In which field(s) is it surprising that casebooks have been compiled? Paragraph IIIand IV: Read and complete the table on page 84.

7. Paragraph VI, VII, VIII: Read and answer the questions. What knowledge can a student gain out of this study? What are the young lawyers who have been educated in such way like?

8. Discussion Discuss the case method and list all possible benefits and drawbacks of the method.

9. Case method - Benefits cases involve real parties with real problems and therefore tend to stimulate students more than textbooks and hypothetical problems helps students develop the ability to read and analyze cases, which is a crucial skill for practicing lawyers teaches by example the system of legal precedence develops critical thinking

10. Casebook method - Drawbacks it is difficult to test analysis skills – examinations mostly test the students’ ability to spot legal issues and apply legal rules unpopular with law students owing to the amount of reading it requires students miss the critical element of the lawyer’s initial role – discovering and shaping facts and determining legal strategies to present to the court at the trial level (casebooks are mostly compiled to show legal development or illustrate the meaning of legal principles – a small sample of cases, mostly appelate-level decisions ) chaotic compared with organized lectures

11. Essential terms • case method = casebook method – metoda u poučavanju prava koja se temelji na analizi slučajeva • a casebook = knjiga koja služi kao priručnik, a sadrži slučajeve koji ilustriraju opće principe i tipične slučajeve • merits of the case method = odlike metode poučavanja zasnovane na analizi slučajeva • to deliver a formal lecture = održati formalno predavanje • to ask a probing question = pitanje koje upućuje na analizu, istragu • to pose a succession of problems = postaviti niz problema • to have a firm grasp of the facts of a case = potpuno vladati činjenicama određenog slučaja • court’s reasoning= mišljenje, zaključak suda • to gain a precise knowledge of = steći detaljno znanje o • to gain an insight into the way legal problems arise = steći uvid u način na koji nastaju pravni problemi • to work with legal source material = koristiti izvorni pravni materijal • underlying issues of social policy and administration = temeljna pitanja socijalne politike i uprave • tough-minded = praktičan, uporan • resourceful = snalažljiv