PART Ⅰ INTRODUCTION TO COMMON LAW SYSTEM 3
CHAPTER 1 COMMON LAW 3
1.1 Law 3
1.2 Common Law 4
1.3 Law versus Equity 7
1.4 Statutory Law versus Case Law 10
1.5 Summary 12
New Words and Expressions 13
Review Questions 16
CHAPTER 2 COMMON LAW COURT SYSTEM 18
2.1 The English Court System 18
2.1.1 Magistrates'Courts—For Both Civil and Criminal Cases 18
2.1.2 County Courts—For Civil Cases Only 19
2.1.3 Crown Court—For Criminal Cases Only 20
2.1.4 High Court—For Both Civil and Criminal Cases 20
2.1.5 Court of Appeal—For Both Civil and Criminal Cases 23
2.1.6 Final Court of Appeals 24
2.1.7 European Court of Justice 26
2.2 The American Court System 26
2.2.1 The Federal Courts 26
2.2.2 State Courts 29
New Words and Expressions 33
Review Questions 39
CHAPTER 3 SOURCES OF LAW 40
3.1 Sources of Law in England 40
3.1.1 The European Union Law 40
3.1.2 Statutory law 41
3.1.3 Case Law 41
3.2 Sources of Law in the United States 41
3.2.1 Constitutions 42
3.2.2 Statutes 43
3.2.3 Administrative Regulations 43
3.2.4 Case Law 44
New Words and Expressions 44
Review Questions 45
CHAPTER 4 LEGAL PROCEEDINGS 47
4.1 Commencement of the Proceeding—Pretrial 47
4.1.1 Filing with the Court:Complaint 47
4.1.2 Service of Process 48
4.1.3 The Response:Motion,Answer,and Reply 48
4.1.4 Discovery 49
4.2 Trial Date and Jury Selection 50
4.2.1 Trial Date Assignment 50
4.2.2 Jury Selection 51
4.2.3 Preliminary Instructions of Law 52
4.3 Trial 53
4.3.1 Opening Statements 53
4.3.2 Plaintiff's Case in Chief 53
4.3.3 Defendant's Case in Chief 55
4.3.4 Closing Arguments 56
4.3.5 Jury Instructions 56
4.3.6 Verdict 57
4.3.7 Motions 58
4.3.8 Judgment 60
4.4 Appeal 61
4.5 Summary 62
New Words and Expressions 65
Review Questions 71
PART Ⅱ CASE LAW 75
CHAPTER 5 DOCTRINE OF STARE DECISIS 75
5.1 Rule of Precedent 75
5.2 Doctrine of Stare Decisis 75
5.3 The Function of Stare Decisis 77
5.4 Courts Affected by Stare Decisis 82
5.4.1 The Courts in England 82
5.4.2 The Courts in the United States 83
5.5 Components of a Judicial Decision 84
5.6 Types of Judicial Decisions 85
5.6.1 Majority Opinion 85
5.6.2 Dissenting Opinion 86
5.6.3 Concurring Opinion 86
5.7 Different Ways to Use Precedents 87
5.7.1 Following Prior Precedents 88
5.7.2 Distinguishing Prior Precedents 88
5.7.3 Overruling Prior Precedents 88
New Words and Expressions 89
Review Questions 91
CHAPTER 6 COMMON LAW REASONING 94
6.1 Typical Types of Common Law Reasoning 94
6.1.1 Deductive and Inductive Reasoning 94
6.1.2 Analogy and Distinction 94
6.1.3 Arguments in Common Law Reasoning 96
6.2 Techniques and Arguments Used with Case Authorities 97
6.2.1 Favorable Authorities 97
6.2.2 Adverse Authorities 98
6.3 Illustration of the Common Law Reasoning 98
6.3.1 Fletcher v. Rylands—The Establishment of the Rule 99
6.3.2 Rylands v. Fletcher—Modification of the Rule 109
6.3.3 Rickards v. Lothian—Exceptions to the Rule 116
6.3.4 Read v. Lyons—Interpretation and Application of the Rule 127
6.3.5 Turner v. Big Lake Oil Co.—The Impact of the Rule on the U.S.Courts 144
6.3.6 Foster v. Preston Mill Co.—A Later Case Decided By a U.S.Court 162
6.3.7 Siegler v. Kuhlman—Adoption of the Rylands Rule 169
6.3.8 Clay v. Missouri Highway＆Transportation Commission—New Development 187
New Words and Expressions 199
Review Questions 210
CHAPTER 7 CASE REPORTING SYSTEMS 212
7.1 Law Reports in England 212
7.1.1 Law Reports 212
7.1.2 Format of a Case in the Law Reports 212
7.2 Case Reporters in the United States 215
7.2.1 Case Reporters 215
7.2.2 Case Digests 217
7.2.3 Format of a Case in the Case Reporters 218
7.3 Case Names and Citations 222
7.3.1 Case Names 223
7.3.2 Case Citations 224
New Words and Expressions 226
Review Questions 229
PART Ⅲ CASE ANALYSIS 233
CHAPTER 8 CASE ANALYSIS 233
8.1 Basic Structure of a Judicial Opinion 233
8.1.1 Different Types of Opinions 234
8.1.2 Common Actions of a Court 236
8.1.3 Essential Elements of an Opinion 238
8.2 Procedural History 242
8.3 Statement of Facts 244
8.4 Issue 247
8.5 Holding 249
8.6 Reasons and Policies 254
8.7 Judgment 255
8.8 Summary 255
8.9 Case Brief Exercises 256
8.9.1 Exercise 1:Katko v. Briney 256
8.9.2 Exercise 2:Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co 266
8.9.3 Exercise 3:Barnes v. Treece 281
8.10 Sample Case Briefs 289
8.10.1 Katko v. Briney 289
8.10.2 Palsgraf v. Long Island R.R. Co 290
8.11 Summary 292
New Words and Expressions 293
Review Questions 300
PART Ⅳ LEGAL DOCUMENT DRAFTING 303
CHAPTER 9 MEMORANDA DR AFTING 303
9.1 Common Law Analyses 303
9.2 Principles of Drafting 305
9.3 Writing Techniques 307
9.4 Elements of a Memorandum 308
9.5 Heading 316
9.6 Questions Presented 316
9.7 Brief Answers 320
9.8 Statement of Facts 321
9.9 Discussion 323
9.10 Conclusion 326
9.11 Summary 328
9.12 Drafting Exercise 329
New Words and Expressions 335
Review Questions 335
REFERENCES 336
APPENDIX 338