1L - First Year Lesson Topics

This lesson provides a review of federal reserved rights for students who have covered that doctrine in a Water Law, Natural Resources Law, or Advanced Property course.

This lesson covers Congress's authority to enact legislation pursuant to the Commerce Clause under the Supreme Court's rulings since 1995.

This lesson provides a review of the five major doctrines that states have employed to decide who has what rights in ground water.

This lesson addresses a number of issues involving consideration, including whether there was a bargain, whether there is consideration for the settlement of a claim, and whether one of the promises was illusory. You should run it after you have run the lesson on Consideration: The Basics of Consideration and the Bargain Theory.

This lesson provides a review of the doctrine of prior appropriation, the water law system that dominates in the western part of the United States.

This lesson introduces the various types of secondary sources available to research Florida law.

This lesson provides instruction on conducting Utah legal research using both primary and secondary sources.

This lesson introduces Florida primary legal resources including the Florida Constitution, statutes, court decisions, Florida administrative law and Florida attorney general opinions.

This lesson will serve as an introduction to some of the secondary resources available in the field of California law.

This lesson is intended to familiarize the user with Colorado primary legal research materials.

This lesson covers the historical evolution of Congress's authority to enact legislation pursuant to the Commerce Clause. Congress's contemporary Commerce Clause authority is covered in a separate lesson.

The purpose of this lesson is to guide students who are not experienced in researching private international law. After providing some background on the definition and sources of private international law, this lesson will suggest the initial and follow-up steps that a researcher of a typical issue related to private international law generally should take.

This lesson provides a thorough overview of Louisiana Primary Legal Resources. It covers resources that will be familiar to legal researchers from other jurisdictions and examines resources that are unique to Louisiana.

This lesson concerns Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803), a difficult and important case in Constitutional Law. It is contained in every Constitutional Law casebook and usually appears as one of the first cases. This lesson is designed to assist students to understand Marbury v. Madison and its relevance.

This lesson takes a look at two types of agreements that lack consideration: those supported by past consideration or moral obligation. Consideration is often described as the bargained-for-exchange. The bargained-for-exchange is what induces the making of the promise by the offeror and the promise induces the furnishing of the consideration by the offeree. Consideration is the ordinary means for justifying the enforcement of the promises by the parties. Where consideration was given in the past or the promisee is only morally obligated to make the promise, bargained-for-exchange is lacking and the promises are not enforceable.

This lesson will help you master legal citations using the California Style Manual, Fourth Edition (hereinafter "Manual").

This lesson discusses the role of federal preemption in the implementation of environmental law. Specifically, when do federal environmental and natural resources statutes preempt, or displace, state laws on similar subjects? When are states free to enact their own environmental protections? What is the relationship between federal environmental law and state torts?

This is one of a series of lessons on homicide, and one of two lessons on the topic of causation as applied in homicide cases. Although some crimes require only a mens rea and an actus reus (and, perhaps, an attendance circumstance), other crimes are "result" crimes in that they also require proof that defendant "caused" a particular result. Homicide is the quintessential result crime. This lesson builds on an earlier lesson dealing with causation in homicide cases by focusing on the Model Penal Code's approach to causation. This lesson is intended for students who have studied the MPC's causation provisions in class, and who wish to refine their understanding of the topic.

This lesson is designed to introduce students to the methods by which real estate brokers are compensated. Before beginning this lesson, you should complete Real Estate Brokerage Relationships.

This lesson covers the basic Constitutional doctrine of state action. This lesson can be used to prepare for class or as a review of Constitutional doctrine.

This is an introduction to researching the law relating to intergovernmental and non-governmental agencies. IGOs and NGOs have significant input into international law and finding their resources can be integral to researching international law.

The purpose of this lesson is to familiarize the learner with Ohio legal research materials. The lesson will focus on primary source materials in Ohio, including case law, statutes, administrative materials, and court rules.

This is one of a series of lessons on homicide, and one of two lessons on the issue of causation in homicide cases. While some crimes require only a prohibited act, with the necessary mental state, other crimes are referred to as "result" crimes. In other words, in order to be convicted, the defendant must "cause" a prohibited result (with the required mens rea and with proof of required attendant circumstances). Homicide is the quintessential result crime in that defendant must have "caused" the death of another in order to be convicted. In this lesson, we explore the concept of causation (both actual and legal) in an effort to determine when, and under what circumstances, a defendant should be criminally accountable for the death of another. This lesson is intended for students who have studied these issues in class, and who wish to refine their knowledge and understanding of the topic.

This is one of a series of lessons on homicide, and it deals with the topic of felony murder. At common law, one way to commit murder was to show that defendant caused the death of another during commission of a felony (the so-called "felony murder doctrine"). This lesson examines that doctrine. It is intended for students who have studied the doctrine in class and who seek to refine their knowledge and understanding of the doctrine.