Maricopa Community Colleges  LAS233   19896-20086 
Official Course Description: MCCCD Approval: 07/22/08
LAS233 19896-20086 LEC 1 Credit(s) 1 Period(s)
Legal Reasoning and Research
Briefing cases, analyzing and synthesizing case law and statutes, researching a legal issue, and preparing a legal argument based on that research.
Prerequisites: LAS225 or permission of Department Chairperson or Program Director.
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MCCCD Official Course Competencies:
 
LAS233   19896-20086 Legal Reasoning and Research
1. Brief a case accurately. (I)
2. Conduct a statutory analysis. (II)
3. Analyze groups of cases. (III)
4. Synthesize groups of cases. (IV)
5. Research a legal issue and prepare a coherent legal argument based on that research. (I-V)
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MCCCD Official Course Outline:
 
LAS233   19896-20086 Legal Reasoning and Research
    I. Briefing a case
        A. Procedural background
        B. Facts
        C. Holding
        D. Rationale
        E. Dicta
      II. Statutory analysis
          A. Reading statutes
          B. Researching statutes
          C. Determining legislative history
          D. Monitoring proposed legislation
          E. Analyzing statutory scheme
        III. Analyzing groups of cases
            A. Organizing common law cases
            B. Organizing statutory cases
            C. Comparing fact patterns
            D. Correlating legal principles and fact patterns
          IV. Synthesizing groups of cases
              A. Purpose of synthesizing cases
              B. Reasoning by analogy
              C. Judicial interpretation of legal rules
              D. Constructing a legal theory to explain groups of judicial decisions
            V. Preparing a legal argument
                A. Identifying the legally significant facts
                B. Framing the legal issues
                C. Identifying the relevant sources of law
                D. Formulating a research plan
                E. Analyzing and synthesizing cases and statutes
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