The Case Method of Law Teaching

UNIT 17

Case method

a system of instruction or study of law focused upon the analysis of court opinions rather than lectures and textbooks

the predominant method of teaching in U.S. law schools today

Christopher Columbus Langdell – a law professor at Harvard – receives credit for inventing it

Case method – basic featuresDiffers in two ways from the teaching methods

used in most other academic programs:

1) requires students to work almost exclusively with primary source material

1) encourages a discussion on the meaning of a case

Case method

Students learn to reduce cases to four basic components:

1)The facts of the controversy

2)The legal issue (that the court decides)

3)The Legal resolution (that the court reaches)

4)The reasoning (that the court uses to explain its decision)

Reading comprehension

Paragraph I:

Read and complete the sentences.

1. The case method of law teaching was first developed ______________(When?) in _______________ (Where?).

2. It was an act of rebellion against ___________________.

3. The creators of the method insisted that ____________ .

4. They decided to focus legal instruction on _____________ .

5. Instead of classical textbooks they compiled _____________ .

Paragraph II:

Read and answer the questions.

1. Why did all the major schools accept the case method?

2. In which field(s) is it surprising that casebooks have been compiled?

Paragraph III and IV:Read and complete the table on page 84.

Paragraph VI, VII, VIII:

Read and answer the questions.

1. What knowledge can a student gain out of this study?

2. What are the young lawyers who have been educated in such way like?

Discussion

Discuss the case method and list all possible benefits and

drawbacks of the method.BENEFITS DRAWBACKS

Case method - Benefits

cases involve real parties with real problems and therefore tend to stimulate students more than textbooks and hypothetical problems

helps students develop the ability to read and analyze cases, which is a crucial skill for practicing lawyers

teaches by example the system of legal precedence

develops critical thinking

Casebook method - Drawbacks

it is difficult to test analysis skills – examinations mostly test the students’ ability to spot legal issues and apply legal rules

unpopular with law students owing to the amount of reading it requires

students miss the critical element of the lawyer’s initial role – discovering and shaping facts and determining legal strategies to present to the court at the trial level (casebooks are mostly compiled to show legal development or illustrate the meaning of legal principles – a small sample of cases, mostly appelate-level decisions )

chaotic compared with organized lectures

Essential terms

case method = casebook method – metoda u poučavanju prava koja se temelji na analizi slučajeva

a casebook = knjiga koja služi kao priručnik, a sadrži slučajeve koji ilustriraju opće principe i tipične slučajeve

merits of the case method = odlike metode poučavanja zasnovane na analizi slučajeva

to deliver a formal lecture = održati formalno predavanje

to ask a probing question = pitanje koje upućuje na analizu, istragu

to pose a succession of problems = postaviti niz problema

to have a firm grasp of the facts of a case = potpuno vladati činjenicama određenog slučaja

court’s reasoning= mišljenje, zaključak suda

to gain a precise knowledge of = steći detaljno znanje o

to gain an insight into the way legal problems arise = steći uvid u način na koji nastaju pravni problemi

to work with legal source material = koristiti izvorni pravni materijal

underlying issues of social policy and administration = temeljna pitanja socijalne politike i uprave

tough-minded = praktičan, uporan

resourceful = snalažljiv