We Have Great Students

Posted on January 16, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

I finished my grading the other day. I'm pleased to say that by and large the students in both Internet Law and Jurisprudence did really well. I turned in the highest grades I've given in years, maybe ever. Lots of A's.

Average score on the final for Internet Law was an astounding 3.14 (out of 4.0); by the time I factored in class participation the class average rose to a 3.29. I round down, so that 3.29 became a B, but even so about a quarter — a quarter! — of the class got an A.

The scores were even higher in Jurisprudence (a very small, and thus somewhat self-selected class): The exam average was 3.25 and the final average was 3.38. A third of the class got an A (including one A+ — not that it has any official meaning).

It's possible I just gave easy exams this year, but while I suppose they were a little predictable if you were paying attention, I don't think they were all that easy. We have great students — and they keep getting better.

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6 Responses to We Have Great Students

  1. Matt says:
    January 16, 2007 at 11:48 pm

    What do you cover in the jurisprudence class? I’m interested in what various people teach in such classes (texts, topics, etc.) and so would be very pleased to hear.

  2. michael says:
    January 17, 2007 at 2:24 pm

    This was the plan; reality deviated from it in minor details.

    Jurisprudence 315

    Readings Fall 2006

    I. Introduction [3 classes]

    1. The Case of the Speluncean Explorers
    1. Lon Fuller, The Case of the Speluncean Explorers, 62 Harv. L. Rev. 616 (1949). [ Westlaw version of 62 Harv. L. Rev. 616]   
    2. Anthony D’Amato, The Speluncean Explorers–Further Proceedings, 32 Stan. L. Rev. 467 (1980). (Westlaw version of 32 Stan. L. Rev. 467). 
  3. Australian problems
    1. Rex v. Jack Congo Murrell, (1836) 1 Legge 72.
    2. R. v. Jemmy, (7 Sept. 1860) Argus (Newsp.) (Vic.) (Vic. Sup. Ct. F.C.)
    3. Alex C. Castles, An Australian Legal History 537-39 (1982). 
    4. Marc Gumbert, Neither Justice Nor Reason 10-11, 26-27 (1984). 
    5. Barry Bridges, The Extension of English Law to the Aborigines for Offences Committed Inter Se, 1829-1842, 59 J. Royal Aust. Hist. Soc. 264 (1973). 
  4. What is “law” as a subject?
    1. Lon L. Fuller, Means and Ends, in The Principles of Social Order 47-61 (Kenneth I. Winston ed., 1981). 
    2. Is law a science? (What are scientific laws?) Tests of Truth, The Economist, Nov. 14, 1992, at 106-07. 
    3. Is law a social science? Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue 88-107 (2d ed. 1984). 
    4. What does law do? Karl E. Klare, The Public/Private Distinction in Labor Law, 130 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1358 (1982). 

    II. Where does one find the law? (Sources of “law”)

    1. Nature [two classes]
    1. “Natural law”.
    1. John Locke, Second Treatise on Goverment: Chapters 2, 5 & 16 (1821). 
  5. Natural rights
    1. The Declaration of Independence (U.S. 1776) 
    2. President Woodrow Wilson’s Address to Congress Regarding Fourteen Conditions of Peace (January 8, 1918). 
    3. Fla. Const. pmbl.,  I. 
    4. Slavery. Stephen E. Gottlieb, Jurisprudence: Cases & Materials 10-17 (1993). 
  6. Biology. A Critique of Pure Reason, The Economist, July 4, 1992, at 73. 
  7. Social Relations (Game Theory). Robert C. Ellickson, Order Without Law 158-66 (1991). 
  8. Social contracts [one class] 
    1. John Locke, Second Treatise on Goverment: Chapter 8 (1821). 
    2. Plato, The Crito. 
    3. Jon Elster, Ulysses and the Sirens 36-47, 88-103 (1979). 
  9. Humans. (Positivism and (some of) its critics.) [four classes]
    1. HLA Hart
    1. Howard Davies & David Holdcroft, Jurisprudence: Texts and Commentary 34-47 (1991). 
    2. Barry Hoffmaster, Professor Hart on Legal Obligation, 11 Ga. L. Rev. 1309-14 (1977).
  10. The problem of “evil legal systems”
    1. Nuremburg. Stephen E. Gottlieb, Jurisprudence: Cases and Materials 81-95 (1993) 
    2. David Dyzenhaus, Hard Cases in Wicked Legal Systems 15-18, 21-31 (1991). 
    3. The Case of the Grudge Informer. Anthony D’Amato, Jurisprudence: A Descriptive and Normative Analysis of Law 46-55 (1984). 
  11. Positivism and adjudication. Howard Davies & David Holdcroft, Jurisprudence: Texts and Commentary 69-84, 107-08 (1991). 
  12. Problems with Humans: Legal Realism [one class]
    1. E. Adamson Hoebel, The Law of Primitive Man 18-28 (1970). 
    2. Anthony D’Amato, Jurisprudence: A Descriptive and Normative Analysis of Law 5-35, 41-45 (1984) 
    3. Joseph C. Hutcheson, Jr., The Judgment Intuitive: The Function of the “Hunch” in Judicial Decision, 14 Cornell L. Q. 274-276, 280, 282, 284-87 (1929). 
    4. Felix S. Cohen, Transcendental Nonsense and the Functional Approach, 35 Colum. L. Rev. 809-814, 835-38, 842-47 (1935). 
    5. John M. Conley & William M. O’Barr, Fundamentals of Jurisprudence: An Ethnography of Judicial Decision Making in Informal Courts, 66 N. C. L. Rev. 467 (1988). 
  13. Common Law – Written or unwritten? [one class]
    1. Bruce L. Benson, The Enterprise of Law 21-30 (1990) 
    2. Act of Nov. 6, 1829 
    3. 1 Fla. Stat. 2.01 (1991) 
    4. 1 Fla. Stat. Ann. 2.01 (West 1991) (Historical Note)
    5. Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Common Law 1-2 (1949) 
  14. Written Sources [four classes]
    1. Constitutions
    1. U.S. Const. preface, art. V 
    2. Restatement of Foreign Relations Law of the United States (Revised) 102 (1986) 
  15. Legislation  
    1. Lon L. Fuller, The Morality of Law 33-41 (2d ed. 1969) 
    2. Lon L. Fuller, The Implicit Laws of Lawmaking, in The Principles of Social Order 158-168 (Kenneth I. Winston ed. 1981) 
  16. Formalized Precedent  
    1. Weber v. Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp., 611 F.2d 133 (5th Cir. 1980) (Gee, J.) 
    2. Jawish v. Morlet, 86 A.2d 96 (D.C. 1952) 
    3. Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 112 S. Ct. 2791 (1992) 
  17. Problems with texts/rules  
    1. P.S. Atiyah & R.S. Summers, Form and Substance in Anglo-American Law 88-95 (1987) 
    2. Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304, 306-07 (1892) 
    3. Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 143 U.S. 457 (1891) 
    4. David L. Shapiro, The Death of the Up/Down Distinction, 36 Stan. L. Rev. 465 (1984) 
  18. “Law and Society” (Law on the Ground)
    1. International [two classes]
    1. W. Michael Reisman, Law From the Policy Perspective, in International Law Essays 1-14 (Myres S. McDougal & W. Michael Reisman eds., 1981) 
    2. Jon Elster, Local Justice: How Institutions Allocate Scarce Goods and Necessary Burdens 132-34 (1992) 
    3. United States v. Tiede, 86 F.R.D. 227 (D. Berlin, 1979)
    4. United States v. Alvarez-Machain, 112 S. Ct. 2188 (1992) 
    5. Mexican Doctor Files $20 Million Suit Against U.S. Drug Agents, UPI, July 9, 1993 
    6. Two Kinds of Federal Kidnapping, The Plain Dealer, July 2, 1993 
    7. Syllabus from Sos v. Alvarez-Machain, 542 US 692 (2004)
  19. Domestic [two classes]
    1. Brandt Goldstein, Panhandling in New Haven: A Study of the Limits of the Law, Yale Law Report 2-5, 17 (Spring 1993) 
    2. Stephen J. Adler & Wade Lambert, Just About Everyone Violates Some Laws, Even Model Citizens, Wall St. J., Mar. 12, 1993, at A1 
    3. Jon Elster, Ulysses and the Sirens 141-46 (1979) 
    4. Robert C. Ellickson, Of Coase and Cattle: Dispute Resolution Among Neighbors in Shasta County, 38 Stan. L. Rev. 623 (1986) [ Note: read Parts I, IV & V; skim parts II & III ] 
    5. Robert C. Ellickson, Order Without Law 147-55, 280-86 (1991) 
    6. Problems in identifying custom – international
    1. Review the U.N. Charter, Art. 38 [above at II.E.1.b] and the Restatement of Foreign Relations Law of the United States (Revised) 102 [above at II.E.1.c].
    2. Louis Henkin et al., International Law: Cases and Materials 37-45, 64-69 (2d ed. 1987) 527
    3. Lex mercatoria. Ole Lando, The Lex Mercatoria In International Commercial Arbitration, 34 Int’l & Comp. L.Q. 747, 748-55 (1985) 542

    III. Is international law different from municipal law?

    1. H.L.A. Hart

      2. H.L.A. Hart, The Concept of Law 208-31 (1961). 547

    2. Kant [two classes]
    1. Immanuel Kant, Perpetual Peace (subject to copyright clearances).
    2. Fernando Teon, The Kantian Theory of International Law, 92 Colum. L. Rev. 53-74, 84-93, 99-102 (1992) 559
    3. Janna Thompson, Justice & World Order, Chapters 2 & 4 (1992).

    IV. Community

    1. What is the community? [three classes]
    1. Janna Thompson, Justice & World Order, Chapters 6, 7 & 8 (1992).
    2. Regina v. Jackson, [1956] R. & N.L.R. 66 (high court Nyasaland) 594
    3. The Attorney-General For Nyasaland v. Jackson, [1957] R. & N.L.R. 433 (Federal Supreme Court) 595
    4. Sanford Levinson, Constituting Communities Through Words That Bind: Reflections on Loyalty Oaths, 84 Mich. L. Rev. 1440 (1986) 597
    5. Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue 244-55 (2d ed. 1984) 613
    6. Lon L. Fuller, Two Principles of Human Association, in The Principles of Social Order 67-85 (Kenneth I. Winston ed., 1981) 619
  20. Robert Cover on Communities [two classes]
    1. Robert Cover, Foreword: Nomos and Narrative, 97 Harv. L. Rev. 4 (1983) 629
    2. Robert Cover, Violence and the Word, 95 Yale L.J. 1601 (1986) 694

    V.  Reprise [one class]

    1. Karebn Pringle, Customary Law – One Law for All? (summarzing Denis Walker v The State of New South Wales, (1994) 69 AIAR 111)
    2. Smith v. United States, 507 U.S. 197 (1993) (Westlaw version)
    3. Arnett v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 126 T.C. No. 5, 2006 WL 177410, (2006)