Legal Studies (LGS)
LGS 201. Introduction to Legal Studies. 3 Credit Hours.
This course is an introduction to the American legal system: its processes, institutions, actors, objectives, values, and impact. We will investigate not only how law affects society but also how it affects the attitudes and actions of individuals in everyday life. To study this, an interdisciplinary approach is adopted and theories that range from the mainstream to the critical will be examined. This course is required for the LGS minor; it may also be taken as a PSC offering.
Cross-listed Courses: PSC 205
LGS 220. The Criminal Justice System. 3 Credit Hours.
This course examines the criminal justice system and its effects on individuals within the system. It also considers the criminal justice systems effects on individuals both inside and outside the system with respect to the commission of crime.
LGS 230. Legal Research and Writing. 3 Credit Hours.
Students will be introduced to the skills of legal analysis, legal research, and legal writing. The course will focus on building a basic legal vocabulary, issue recognition, effective organization, clear writing, and proper legal citation. Students will also have an opportunity to strengthn their speaking skills by participating in oral arguments. These skills form the essential building blocks of critical and logical thinking, and will serve any student interested in pursuing legal studies, advancing their undergraduate educations, entering graduate school, or working in science or business.
Cross-listed Courses: PSC 230
LGS 243. Law and Politics. 3 Credit Hours.
A study of the relationship between legal and political norms, actors and institutions. Through analysis of contemporary controversies the following questions are examined: How is law political? Can or should judging be value free? What are the alternatives to going to court? What values does the legal system maintain? Can law change an unwilling society? Requires junior standing.
Fulfills Core Requirement(s): Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS).
Cross-listed Courses: PSC 243
LGS 250. Legal Environment of Business. 3 Credit Hours.
This course provides an introduction to the various ways in which laws and the legal system affect the conduct of buisness. Students will be encouraged to use their understanding of law and the legal system as a tool in ethical buisness decision making. Some reference to the impact of law in the international sphere will be included.
Cross-listed Courses: LAW 200
LGS 253. Cybersecurity Law. 3 Credit Hours.
An introduction to the key legal and policy issues related to cybersecurity, including the legal authorities and obligations of both the government and the private sector with respect to protecting computer systems and networks, as well as the national security aspects of the cyber domain including authorities related to offensive activites in cyberspace. The course will include a survey of federal laws,executive orders, regulations, and cases related to surveillance, cyber intrusions by private and nation-state actors, data breaches, and privacy and civil liberties matters, among other things.
Cross-listed Courses: PSC 253
LGS 266. Criminal Law. 3 Credit Hours.
Criminal Law provides students with an overview of the power and limits of government authority to define, prohibit, grade, and punish socially harmful behavior. It includes the nature of criminal law, classification of crimes and criminal liability, punishment, and more. Students in this class will gain an understanding of legal terms, key cases, clauses, and chronologies in criminal law, and they will analyze judicial thinking and legal reasoning. Various cases are used to illustrate how the courts operate and how decisions are made that can impact society. Students in this case will also apply their knowledge in case briefs and written work to demonstrate critical thinking relating to criminal law.
LGS 301. The U.S. Supreme Court. 3 Credit Hours.
An examination of the personalities, politics, processes, decision-making and impact of the United States Supreme Court.
Cross-listed Courses: PSC 301
LGS 310. Business Law for Accountants. 3 Credit Hours.
A continuation of LAW 200. This course will focus on the law of business organizations including partnerships, corporations, employer-employee relationships, principal-agency relationships and topics closely related to business organizations. Such topics will include commercial transactions, bankruptcy and suretyship. An emphasis will be placed on the role of the accountant with respect to all topics.
Prerequisite: LAW 200.
LGS 316. History of American Law. 3 Credit Hours.
This course will weave together the history of U.S. legal and constitutional thought with the role that law has played in social and political change and in everyday life. It will consider a wide variety of texts and events but will concentrate on: colonial antecedents; revolution and the U.S. Constitution; the golden age of American law; courts and the rise of industrial capitalism; Black slavery and freedom; achievements and limits of liberal legal reform; the experience of the women's, labor, and civil rights movements; and legal realism and theories of the administrative state.
Cross-listed Courses: HST 316
LGS 321. Law, Society & Social Science. 3 Credit Hours.
The structure and functions of law as an institution are analyzed from the perspectives of classical and contemporary social scientific theories. The legal processes of the assignment of responsibility, the resolution of disputes, the distribution of social rewards and the imposition of sanctions are studied in cross-cultural perspective. Attention is also focused on the use of social scientific knowledge by legal institutions.
LGS 335. Psychology and the Law. 3 Credit Hours.
The legal system is a pervasive and important part of our lives. THe goal of this course is to help students develop an understanding of the psychological aspects of the functioning of the system and the effects of the legal system on us. This course will address the social psychological aspects that impact and are impacted by the legal system. Students will develop an understanding of many issues, including how psychologists contribute to the law and the legal system, psychological theories of crime, psychological issues related to the selection and performance of police officers, the dynamics of eyewitness testimony, jury selection and performance and confessions. Junior standing required.
Fulfills Core Requirement(s): Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS).
LGS 340. International Business Law. 3 Credit Hours.
This course introduces the international legal environment of business through a study of differing legal systems and the methods of international trade regulation. Part One focuses on the economic, social and political forces that shape the development of international law and its related legal institutions including an overview of the public and private legal tools used to regulate business and settle disputes. Part Two will deal with the international commercial transaction with a focus on private law. Part Three will cover the public law aspects of international and US trade law including GATT, import and export regulations and NAFTA. Part Four deals with the legal risks associated with international trade, environmental concerns, nationalization and privatization. Students will be encouraged to use their knowledge of law and the legal system as a tool in business and policy decision making.
LGS 350. Philosophy of Law. 3 Credit Hours.
This is not a course in the study of law. It is a course designed to afford students who have an interest in the law (not necessarily professional) an opportunity to reflect on the philosophical presuppositions of the law and the philosophical problems that arise within the general domain of jurisprudence. Based on readings (historical and contemporary) written by both philosophers and jurists, the course typically addresses general theories of law, law and morality, judicial reasoning and crime and punishment. Students should expect to do a great deal of linguistic analysis as well as some case study.
Cross-listed Courses: PHL 350
LGS 362. International Law. 3 Credit Hours.
The course will examine the theory and practice of International Law (IL) with reference to various events, which shaped the development of international law in all its forms (norms, rules, principles, precedent, custom, treaties etc). The course will emphasize current international legal norms and possibilities for future development.
LGS 451. American Constitutional Law I. 3 Credit Hours.
The U.S. Constitution details the rules by which our government operates. In what areas does Congress have the authority to legislate? What powers does the President have? How can an unelected Supreme Court overturn laws passed by democratically elected representatives? This course will examine the development of constitutional law resolving questions about the separation of powers, federal and state power, and the role of the government in American society.
Cross-listed Courses: PSC 451
LGS 452. American Constitutional Law II. 3 Credit Hours.
The Bill of Rights guarantees certain protections to all Americans. These include the right to free speech, religious belief, a fair trial, and freedom from racial discrimination. How these rights have been interpreted and applied to citizens has evolved greatly over the past 240 years. This course will focus on the Supreme Court's development of civil rights and liberties from the founding era to the present. Using both case law and historical documents, students will gain an understanding of how and why the law today takes the form that it does.
Cross-listed Courses: PSC 452