The definition and location of customary international law is a difficult research task. This lesson begins by defining customary international law and placing customary international law into context through historical examples. Two research strategies for locating custom will be introduced. The first strategy is to locate pre-defined custom using a source that discusses state practice that has risen to the level of custom. The second and more complex strategy involves searching directly for evidence of customary international law.
Read moreThis lesson is designed to introduce students to the Fourth Amendment prohibition against "unreasonable searches and seizures." The goal is to provide students with an overview of the history of the Fourth Amendment, as well as an introduction to the warrant requirement and the concept of warrantless searches. The lesson is intended for students who have studied these issues in class, and wish to refine their knowledge.
Read moreThis lesson covers researching medical information. It emphasizes resources that are publicly available free of charge.
Read moreThis lesson is about Legal Encyclopedias in print format. As one of the main types of secondary resources for legal research, Legal Encyclopedias can be useful for a variety of basic legal research tasks. This lesson will give you an overview of legal encyclopedias, explain how they are used in legal research, and run through a couple of hypotheticals. The lesson focuses on one of the two legal encyclopedias covering American Law in general - American Jurisprudence 2d (Am. Jur. 2d) - and gives some examples of state legal encyclopedias.
Read moreThis lesson will take you through the process of updating statutes. It is an advanced lesson that builds on concepts developed in the CALI lessons, Introduction to State and Federal Statutes and Codification. This lesson assumes a basic understanding of statutes including how they are created and codified.
Read moreLaw school creates a competitive environment with significantly more work than most undergraduate programs. The new expectations and environment increases anxiety and stress for many students. This lesson introduces basic skills to help students practice mindfulness and stay in the present despite the numerous stressors.
Read moreThese two exercises are offered to familiarize students with what prosecuting and defense attorneys do from the time an investigation begins until trial preparation and why they do it.
Read moreThis exercise reviews some substantive principles of contract law and demonstrates the application of that substance to the process of drafting. The exercise begins with a form contract that the user must rewrite to suit the needs of the client. On completion, the user has reviewed applicable principles from both the common law and the U.C.C. In addition, the user has learned principles of drafting that can be applied either to revision of a form or to drafting from scratch.
Read moreThis is an introductory lesson on federal and state statutes to acquaint first-year law students with this important form of law. The lesson focuses on the basic structure of statutes and the sources in which they appear. It doesn't describe how to research statutes, but you'll learn statutory research much more easily if you understand this material first.
Read moreThis lesson covers punctuation and some key points of grammar every law student should know. Getting these key rules down will keep you from losing credibility with your legal-writing teacher, employers, clients, and judges.
Read more