This lesson is designed to help students understand the basic principles of diversity and alienage jurisdiction in the federal district courts. It examines both the constitutional authority for diversity and alienage jurisdiction, U.S. Const. Art. III, § 2, and the statutory provisions that bestow diversity and alienage jurisdiction on the federal district courts, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1)-(a)(3). It consists of both text and explanatory problems.
This lesson presents the elements of issue preclusion, sometimes referred to as "collateral estoppel", and exceptions to the doctrine. This lesson will explore the elements of collateral estoppel and the questions of who may be bound by, or take advantage of, the prior adjudication. Another lesson will address the question of whether an adjudication in one jurisdiction can preclude relitigation in a second jurisdiction.
This lesson covers the basic principles of ethical pleading as required by Federal Rule 11 (it does not cover analogous state rules).
The topic of this podcast is the Parol Evidence Rule. In general, there is no probem with oral agreements. There are a few exceptions where the agreement has to be evidenced by a writing to satisfy the Statute of Frauds, but by and large oral agreements are perfectly valid.
This lesson takes you through the basic elements of the doctrine of forum non conveniens and through the statutes governing transfer of venue in federal court.
Professor Welkowitz joined the Whittier faculty in 1983. Prior to that time, he practiced law as a litigation associate with Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in New York. At Whittier, he has taught numerous courses, to first-years and upper-level students alike. His primary teaching emphases have been Civil Procedure and intellectual property, particularly Trademark law. He has also created more than a dozen lessons for the Center for Automated Legal Instruction (CALI) in Civil Procedure, Trademarks, and Copyright. He was a CALI Fellow in Trademarks in 2003 and a CALI Fellow in Copyright in 2004. From 2006-2009, he served as the Director of the Whittier Law School Center for Intellectual Property Law. His scholarship has ranged from topics in Civil Procedure to various intellectual property issues, both domestic and international. He is the author of a treatise on Trademark Dilution law and a co-author of a casebook on Rights of Publicity. His articles have been cited by courts, treatise writers in both Civil Procedure and Trademarks, and numerous articles.
Professor Challener teaches primarily civil procedure and related courses. She has published several articles on civil procedure issues and is the author of four chapters in Mississippi Civil Procedure. She formerly served as a member of the Mississippi Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Rules and is currently a CALI Civil Procedure Fellow. Professor Challener received her B.A. degree from Oberlin College, her Master’s degree in Public Policy from Vanderbilt University, and her J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Prior to teaching at Mississippi College School of Law, she taught at the University of Maine and Washburn University, worked for the law firm of Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco and clerked for two federal judges.
Professor Thornburg teaches and writes in the area of civil procedure. Drawing on her experience with civil rights and commercial litigation, her scholarship focuses on the procedural fairness of the litigation process, especially at the pleadings, discovery, and jury charge stages. She also writes and speaks in the areas of comparative procedure, judicial ethics, online dispute resolution, and the intersection of law and culture. Professor Thornburg teaches Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws, Complex Litigation, Texas procedure, Remedies, and an advanced procedure seminar. To learn more about her, visit her website at https://sites.google.com/site/beththornburg/home.
This lesson introduces strategies and resources for researching state and federal judges. After completing this lesson, you will feel comfortable researching a judge's educational and professional history, scholarship, prior opinions, and other courts and judges they most frequently cite. It will be useful for prospective and current judicial clerks, law firm summer associates, paralegals, and practicing attorneys.
