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Introduction to the Study of U.S. Law

2nd Edition
Robert H. Klonoff
ISBN: 9781647084141
Subject: Introduction To U.S. Law
Format: Print - Softbound
Page Count: 788
Copyright: 2021 | Status: In Stock
Other Formats Available

This book is designed to introduce students to the highlights of the first-year curriculum at a U.S. law school. The first chapter provides an overview of the U.S. legal system. The seven chapters that follow focus on basic foundational subjects: constitutional law, civil procedure, contracts, torts, property, criminal procedure, and criminal law, each in a separate chapter. Although the first chapter consists entirely of articles and other commentary, the other seven chapters consist mainly of edited court decisions.

All of the chapters contain notes and questions, highlighting important issues for discussion and providing citations to cases, articles, and other materials for more in-depth study.

First, it is designed for international students who are attending a U.S. law school to pursue an LL.M degree or an S.J.D. degree. This book gives such students the opportunity to take an intensive course on U.S. law, thus enabling them to learn the fundamental concepts before taking upper-division courses.

Second, this book is designed for international students who want to learn about U.S. law but who are not planning to attend a U.S. law school. U.S. law professors can teach the course in foreign law schools using this text. Also, foreign professors who have been trained at a U.S. law school can teach U.S. law at their home institutions.

Third, the book is designed for undergraduate students who are considering law school or who otherwise want to learn basic legal concepts. Such a course could be taught by U.S. law professors at their undergraduate institutions.

All such students share a common desire to learn the basics of U.S. law in one course. And all will benefit not only from the substantive materials but also from the experience of learning core subject areas.


Imprint: West Academic Publishing
Series: American Casebook Series
Publication Date: 12/14/2020

Robert H. Klonoff, Lewis & Clark Law School

CasebookPlus™

This title is available in our CasebookPlus format. CasebookPlus provides support beyond your classroom lectures and materials by offering additional digital resources to you and your students. Anchored by faculty-authored formative self-assessments keyed to our most popular casebooks, CasebookPlus allows students to test their understanding of core concepts as they are learning them in class – on their own, outside of the classroom, with no extra work on your part. CasebookPlus combines three important elements:

  • A new print or digital casebook
  • Access to a downloadable eBook with the ability to highlight and add notes
  • 12-month access to a digital Learning Library complete with:
Multiple-choice self-assessment questions, including:
  • Chapter questions keyed to the casebook
  • Black Letter Law questions (available in select subjects)
  • Subject area review questions for end of semester use
Essay and short answer questions with sample answers and expert commentary, in 1L and select upper-level subjects

Leading digital study aids, an outline starter, and audio lectures in select subjects

Students can still utilize CasebookPlus digital resources if they’ve purchased a used book or are renting their text by purchasing the Learning Library at westacademic.com.

With CasebookPlus, you can customize your students’ learning experience and monitor their performance. The quiz editor allows you to create your own custom quiz set, suppress specific quiz questions or quiz sets, and time-release quiz questions. Additionally, the flexible, customized reporting capability helps you evaluate your students’ understanding of the material and can also help your school demonstrate compliance with the new ABA Assessment and Learning Outcomes standards.

  • New section on gun rights (Second Amendment), with new featured case
  • New section on additional resources on US law, with web site links
  • Expanded discussion of death penalty cases, including use of lethal injection
  • Expanded discussion of race discrimination in jury selection
  • Expanded discussion of Fourth Amendment search and seizure issues, including issues of privacy and technology
  • Expanded discussion of abortion rights cases, with discussion of several recent cases
  • New discussion of Supreme Court executive power, presidential immunity, and immigration cases involving the Trump Administration
  • Expanded discussion of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and the intersection of gay rights and religious freedom
  • Expanded discussion of Free Exercise and Establishment Clause protections under the First Amendment, with a discussion of numerous recent cases
  • New discussion of Double Jeopardy Clause and the right to unanimous juries in criminal cases

Learn more in our author video.

Praise for the First Edition:

“Robert Klonoff’s Introduction to the Study of U.S. Law is, without a doubt, the best text currently available to introduce foreign students to the study of the U.S. legal system. Moving from Supreme Court cases, to lower federal and state court opinions, to scholarly articles and current debates, to current practice, it offers a panoramic and truthful overview of a system that continues to inspire scholars, lawyers, judges, and legislators all over the world.”
—Simona Grossi, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles