Course Title: Legal 400, US Legal System, A Critical Study 

Prerequisite: None

Instructor: Antoinette Babinsack

Credits:  3

So these lawyers that everyone loves to talk about. Are they good for us, or bad? The topic is highly debated. On one hand, holding persons and companies up to some standard of care and responsibility is a good thing, without a doubt. But on the other hand, frivolous lawsuits are becoming one of the biggest downfalls of our society. In whatever sector you’d care to delve into, lawsuits create a black cloud over them all. From healthcare to education, everyone is on guard. So what does this do for society at large. This course will help the student to recognize the pros and (mostly) cons of the American legal system and will introduce some theories on why and how the system should change.

Reading materials for this course are: Liability: The Legal Revolution and its consequences by Peter W. Huber; The Collapse of Common Good: How America’s Lawsuit Culture Undermines Our Freedom By Philip K. Howard; and The Case Against Lawyers By Catherine Crier.

In 1988, Peter W. Huber published Liability: The Legal Revolution and its Consequences. The book introduces a theory of a legal liability crisis in the United States. It describes how American legal system invented the field of product liability, what the predictable consequences were, and why we continue to suffer a hangover from it. Huber adds historical cases and anecdotes to keep the interest of his reader.

Philip K. Howard, a lawyer and the author of The Death of Common Sense (Student are encouraged but not required to read this one as well) tries for another success with The Collapse of the Common Good: How America’s Lawsuit Culture Undermines out Freedom. The later being similar to the former with its same storytelling style and supreme reasonableness. The book contains many thought-provoking stories. Howard uses examples that many Americans will recognize from their fame in the main-stream media. Remember the victim of the hot McDonald’s coffee? He tells you about her and a few other ridiculous verdicts and events which occurred in our very own country, most specifically in education and civil service.

Consider this book, The Case Against Lawyers, an insight into Attorney-hood, straight from the horse’s mouth. Catherine Crier, a lawyer turned district attorney turned Judge, tells all. She opines on how the American Judicial system really works, how it’s broken and gives a few ideas on how to fix it. Crier leaves no lawyer unturned. She comments on trial lawyers, corporate lawyers, even government lawyers and details how they are ruining the United States. If you’re a lawyer, you may want to pass this one up. If not, be forewarned, you’re probably going to get angry.