1L - First Year Lesson Topics

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.

This lesson explores the mens rea of knowledge as defined by the Model Penal Code.

This lesson examines the mens rea level of negligence as defined in the Model Penal Code.

This lesson explores the mens rea of recklessness as defined by the Model Penal Code.

This lesson explores the mens rea of purpose as defined by the Model Penal Code.

This exercise is designed as a review for students taking the basic first year course in criminal law. Suspendatur! (Latin for “let him be hanged”, the final entry in medieval plea rolls in capital cases) is patterned after the familiar game of hangman, in which each wrong answer adds a part to a stick figure on the gibbet. The student must answer multiple choice and true-false questions based on hypothetical situations. Each right or wrong answer provides substantive feedback in what aims to be at least a mildly humorous fashion.

This lesson deals with the duration of offers. The existence of an offer is often an essential element of the bargaining process. Sometimes the offeree's power of acceptance will end so that the offer is no longer valid. This lesson will look at termination of the power of acceptance by termination of the offeror, revocation and counteroffer, rejection, death and lapse.

This exercise deals with offer, an essential element of the bargaining process. There are basically three requirements to establish an offer: (1) intent; (2) definiteness; and (3) communication to the offeree.

This lesson explores invitations to negotiate/preliminary negotiations and other statements and expressions that are not offers, including advertisements, invitations to bid, price quotations and statements of intention. Determining whether a particular communication is an offer or preliminary negotiation (a matter determined according to the surrounding circumstances) prior to the formation of contract is essential to the determination of whether a contract exists.

This lesson explores one of the fundamental requirements for contract formation, mutual assent. Mutual Assent is a mutual manifestation of assent to the terms of an agreement. This lesson looks at how parties establish mutual assent, including manifestations of mutual assent by words and conduct and the effect of misunderstanding. However, the attributes of offer and acceptance are covered in other lessons. This lesson concludes with a sample analysis exercise involving mutual assent.

This lesson explores the contours of anticipatory repudiation, including the repudiating promisor's ability to retract his repudiation, the nonrepudiating promisee's right to demand adequate assurances of performance, and the effect of the promisor's repudiation on the promisee's obligation to perform.

Interpretation involves an ascertainment of the meaning of the words and provisions of a contract. Whereas "construction" of a contract relates to the legal effect of the words used by the parties, "interpretation" addresses the meaning of the parties. Whose meaning is to be given effect with respect to certain contract terms? What evidence may be taken into account when courts engage in interpretation? In this lesson, the parol evidence rule will be considered with respect to the admissibility of extrinsic evidence to determine the meaning of the contract as formed.

A contract can contain many different types of promises, made up of both express and implied terms. Express and implied warranty terms are the subject of this lesson. When parties contract for the sale of goods, they have certain expectations about the quality of the goods to be sold. These expectations form the basis of warranties that arise under UCC Article 2. That is, what has the seller agreed to sell?

This lesson considers probably the most common type of implied term, that of good faith. At common law, courts often supply a term requiring the parties to exercise "good faith" or "good faith and fair dealing". Moreover, for the sale of goods, the UCC provides that every contract is subject to good faith requirements, which cannot be disclaimed by agreement.

The terms of a contract include express and implied promises, conditions, provisos and presuppositions that bind the parties. Contracts often have "gaps" in them, either intentionally or unintentionally left that way by the parties. This exercise considers how courts supply terms to fill those gaps both at common law and under the UCC.

This lesson assumes you are familiar with the requirement of consideration and the rule that past consideration is not good consideration. Ordinarily, a promise is legally binding only if that promise is supported by a consideration. As the student may recall, "past consideration" is a misnomer. If a party makes a promise to pay for a benefit previously conferred, there is no consideration for the promise because the benefit was not bargained for in exchange for the promise. This lesson covers one of the exceptions to this general rule.

This lesson assumes students are familiar with the requirement of consideration. This exercise covers one of the exceptions to this general rule. Historically, one situation where consideration was not required to create a binding contract was when the promise was made "under seal." The lesson explains the history of "the seal" and the seal's role in contract law today.

This lesson is about satisfaction clauses. This is an area of special concern, as satisfaction clauses appear to make promises illusory.

This lesson covers one of the fundamental components of contract formation - mutuality of obligation or commitment. Students learn why mutuality of obligation is an essential element of a contract.

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.

An overview of the fraud defense to the formation of a contract.

An overview of the defenses of misunderstanding and mistake to the formation of a contract.

This lesson presents an overview of unconscionability as a defense to contract formation or to particular clauses in the contract.

This lesson explores the duress and undue influence defenses to contract formation.