msu law fall 2023 first assignments

College of Law

Course selection.

First-year JD students are assigned sections and automatically registered for their first semester courses. In the second semester, with the exception of Advocacy, first-year JD students must register themselves for the first-year required full-time or part-time courses listed on the Schedule of Classes .  JD students requiring an irregular schedule should contact the Assistant Dean for Student and Academic Affairs.

Second Year and Beyond

After the first year, JD students are encouraged to elect courses that will provide a strong foundation in the law. Courses should be in areas of law that are of interest, will provide intellectual value, and/or meet professional objectives for your legal career. JD students should not focus on specializing in one area of law. Legal trends change and law students are expected to be generalists in their legal education and training.

Therefore, students should consider their personal areas of interest within the law and professional objectives when making course selections beyond the required courses for graduation.

Course Descriptions and Requirements

JD students should carefully review course descriptions to determine if pre-requisites are listed or if faculty approval is required. Course requirements will often dictate a student's course schedule. For example: If a student has a strong interest in business law many electives in this area require Business Enterprises. If a student has a strong interest in regulatory law, Administrative Law can provide the background for agency regulations and legislative procedures discussed in regulatory law courses.

Scheduling Electives

Students should also note the course options for electives changes every year as new or visiting faculty join the College of Law and current faculty expand their course offerings. Some of these courses become a regular part of the curriculum while other courses are infrequently offered. Therefore, students are encouraged to take a class when it is offered rather than risk missing the one-time only offering of the course.

Preparing for the Bar Exam

JD students should also begin preparing for the Bar exam when they select courses (see ABA Academic Standard below). Students should review which subjects are tested on the Bar exam in the jurisdiction they will be applying to and check for these in the course schedule. For more information on State Bar requirements please visit www.ncbex.org and click on "Bar Admission Offices."

Professional Responsibility and the MPRE

Students should keep the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) in mind when registering for Professional Responsibility. Verify if the MPRE is required for the jurisdiction where you plan to take the Bar and when you are allowed to register for and take the MPRE. Example: Some jurisdictions have time restrictions as to when bar candidates can take the MPRE, such as within 1 year before or after he/she sits for the Bar exam. Visit the National Conference of Bar Examiners website at www.ncbex.org for more information on State Bar requirements.

Academic advising for JD and LL.M. ALS students is housed in the Office of Student Affairs. Students are encouraged to discuss their academic planning with the academic advisors there. 

Course Selection for Non-JD Students

Graduate students and other non-JD programs (including guest students taking classes within any program managed with the Office for Graduate and International Programs (“OGIP”)) are responsible for enrolling in all classes and are responsible for ensuring that their course selections will maintain adequate progress toward degree or program completion.

Updated: July 20, 2021

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Fall 2023 First Day Assignments

Course schedules and registration information.

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

An assignment has not yet been posted. 

For our first class on Monday, Aug. 14, please read pp. 4-48, 51-64, and 72-78 in John H. Langbein, Renée Lettow Lerner & Bruce P. Smith,  History of the Common Law: Development of Anglo-American Legal Institutions  (Aspen Publishers, 2009).

Hello everyone. I look forward to being with you this semester and teaching immigration law! Your first assignment is to answer the following questions and email me your answers. Please do so no later than the day before our first class.  Your answers can be as short or as long as you want.  

1. Why are you taking this course?

2. What is something about immigration law or policy you find confusing and want to understand better?  

Professor Paul Hunker

[email protected]

The first class will meet on Monday, August 14th.  The two required texts are: (1) Lind, Lathrope and Field, Fundamentals of Federal Income Taxation (20th ed. 2022) and (2) Selected Federal Taxation: Statutes and Regulations 2024 (or 2023) Edition.  BRING BOTH BOOKS TO CLASS as we will be reading and referring to text from each book.  Read chapter 1 and pages 39-56 of chapter 2.  We will focus (i.e., cover in class) on pages 18-32, 39-56.  Work problems 1 and 3 on page 56.  I will pass out a syllabus in class.

Introduction to Class

D. Bradlow and J. Finkelstein, “Negotiating Business Transactions”, CHAPTERS 1, 2, and 6

Please note that I am estimating what we will cover; actual coverage will be based on the pace of the class as we move through the materials.

For the first two classes, please read the Aquinas selection on natural law beginning at page 52 of the required textbook:  Philosophy of Law (9th edition, 2014, edited by Joel Feinberg, Jules Coleman and Christopher Kutz) (“PL”).

The required books for the course are Craver, Crain & Hayden, Labor Relations Law: Cases and Materials (14th ed. 2021), and Craver, Crain & Hayden, Selected Federal Statutes and Sample Bargaining Agreement (14th ed. 2021). There will also be an electronic casebook supplement that I'll send around when it becomes available.

For the first week of classes, please read pages 3-43 in the casebook. I'll pass out the syllabus on the first day of class.

Before our first class, you must:

(1) Log on and make sure you can access the MPT Matrix course site. You'll receive an email from Matrix with log-in information by Monday, August 14.

(2) Review the course syllabus posted on the MPT Matrix course under "Resources"

(3) Respond to the questions provided in my welcome e-mail, which you'll receive Monday, August 14.

Please watch these two brief videos:  http://bit.ly/OffshoreOilGas (Links to an external site.) ;  http://bit.ly/FrackingOilGas (Links to an external site.)

Please read: pp. 1-44 from the Lowe Oil and Gas Textbook (8 th Edition).

Please read: Coleman,  Third Age of Oil & Gas Law : pp.389-93, 407-410, 418-19, https://bit.ly/ThirdAgeOilGasLaw

All assignments are available on the course website on Canvas.

Welcome back! For our first class, (1) sign up for the course website on Canvas; (2) using the course website, access and review the Syllabus and Reading Assignments documents using the links on the course home page; and (3) read pages 1- 21 from Craig Allen Nard,  The Law of Patents  (Aspen, 6 th ed. 202 2 ). See you Monday.

1. American Law, Chapter 3 (handout on Canvas) 2. Keeping Faith with the Constitution 1-12 3. Law in the United States Chapter 1, page 3-14

Thursday August 17

Textbook, Securities Regulation (8th edition 2022)

pages 3-29 (skim), 31-58, 64-92

Tuesday August 15

pages 3-29 (skim), 31-58

Please read in your casebook PP. 1-21 and read/view the following supplemental materials.  Also check the Canvas page for additional information.

• The Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing
• ABA Standards for Criminal Justice, Sentencing 18- 2.1 (3d Ed. 1994) and Commentary
• 18 U.S.C. § 3553
• Tennessee Code, § 40-35-102
• Notes: 1-7 (pp.7-13)
• Notes: 1-5 (pp. 15-21)
• Von Hirsch, A. (1992), Proportionality in the Philosophy of Punishment , Crime and Justice, 16, 55–98.  Read PP. 55-75
• U.S. v. Ferguson (SDNY) Government’s Sentencing Memorandum
• U.S. v. Ferguson (SDNY) Defense Sentencing Memorandum
• Madoff Sentencing: (379) Applause For Madoff Sentencing - YouTube
• Murdaugh Sentencing: (379) Alex Murdaugh sentenced to two consecutive life sentences - YouTube
• Vaught Sentencing: (382) Nurse Sentenced for Giving Fatal Dose of Wrong Drug in Error - YouTube
• Webster Sentencing: (382) Convicted killer laughs as victim's sister addresses court at sentencing - YouTube

Welcome to the Texas Pretrial Procedure course. I look forward to seeing you next week. As you are aware, we will be using the newest edition of the Dorsaneo book (2022-2023 edition) as well as the Texas Rules of Court. We will begin with Chapter 3. For the first class, please read pages 91- 123 and any Rules referenced in the reading. I will discuss the Syllabus and give you a copy of it on the first day of class.

Please read (1) the syllabus (to be posted on Canvas shortly before the start of classes); and (2) Farnsworth & Grady (Third Edition) pp. xxvii-xxxix (the introduction) and pp. 1-3.

Mon., 8/14: Read casebook* pp. 3-17. Read syllabus on Canvas/Simple Syllabus.

Tue., 8/15: Read pp, 19-27, 31-39.

Thu., 8/17: Read pp. 40-56

* Torts & Compensation

Subtitle:  Personal Accountability and Social Responsibility for Injury

ISBN:  9781685614058

Authors:  Dan B. Dobbs, Paul T. Hayden, Ellen M. Bublick

Publisher:  West Academic

Publication Date:  2022

Edition:  Concise 9th edition (don't buy an earlier edition)

***NOTE THE ISBN :  9781685614058.  It’s important to purchase the version with this ISBN, not a different one (for the same casebook but without access to CasebookPlus). I use Casebook Plus for most of the quizzes you will take throughout the semester. If you buy a different version of the 9th edition, you will need to purchase a separate Casebook Plus account. It won't break the bank, but getting the "bundled" version of casebook + Casebook Plus will save you a little money.

For our first class meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 15, please carefully read pages 1-22 and 34-40 in Sitkoff & Dukeminier, Wills, Trusts & Estates (Eleventh Edition).

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