Introduction to the United States Legal System

Introduction to the United States Legal System is designed for use in an introductory course in a master's program for non-lawyers. The book provides non-lawyers with an overview of the structure and operation of the U.S. legal system, including the evolution of the common law, the organization of the court system, the different types of legal authority, and how each branch of government shapes the development of the law. In order to provide non-lawyers with a better understanding of the main areas of U.S. law, the book includes short chapters on the regulation of the practice of law (including material on the unauthorized practice of law), Torts, Civil Procedure, Contracts, Property, Criminal Law and Procedure, and Constitutional Law. Each chapter contains short assessment/discussion questions as well as end-of-chapter exercises that can be assigned to students.