Civil Procedure: The Federal Rules
Fall 2024
Law 5001 3 credit hours
Monday -Wednesday 1:15 pm - 2:30 pm
First class: Monday, August 19
Classroom 241
Professor Clark D. Cunningham
cdcunningham@gsu.edu
Home page: www.ClarkCunningham.org
Office: Room 210 (2nd floor)
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
What is a case? In your other courses this semester on Torts and Contracts almost all your time will be spent studying decisions made by appellate courts. But how do disputes between people and entities turn into cases that get decided by appellate courts? And what happened in these cases before they got to the appellate court?
This course will take you from the moment a civil case is born – when a complaint is filed in court – up to the moment before trial. Almost all cases are resolved in this period of pretrial litigation – not in trials – not by appellate decisions.
This course is subtitled “The Federal Rules” because The Federal Rules of Civil Procedures control every aspect of pretrial litigation in the federal courts. (Most state courts follow procedures similar to the federal rules.) You will learn how to interpret these complicated pieces of language and how these rules work in the real world. And in the process you will learn how to understand and use the vocabulary of the law: from words that seem familiar – like “complaint” and “motion” – but are used in weird ways in the law to words and phrases that might as well be a magic spell learned at Hogwarts – like “I’m going to file a Rule 12(b)(6) motion.”
Unlike most of your other large class courses, you will not be tested on your ability to write answers to essay questions on an exam. The assessment methods in this course track the assessment methods of the bar examination you will eventually take to become a lawyer. Part of your course grade will be based on multiple choice quizzes you will take on a regular basis, which mirrors one part of the bar exam, the MBE. Most of the rest of the grade will be based on your writing the kinds of documents that lawyers file in court during pretrial litigation, which mirrors another part of the exam, the Multistate Performance Test. The combination of these assessment methods will guide you to understand the rules and know how to use them in practice.
QUIZZES
An important method for learning course content is the system of in-class quizzes. For in-class quizzes each student will be give a TurningPoint Response Card (“clicker”) with the clicker’s ID code tied to the student’s name. Quiz questions are displayed one-at-a-time and students provide a graded answer using their clickers. Cumulative results for the entire class can thus be immediately displayed after each question. At the instructor’s option, students will be given an opportunity to discuss the question in their firms and then take the question again using their clickers. If this option is taken, both the first and second responses count toward the cumulative semester quiz score. The correct answer, often developed through class discussion, is revealed for each question.
Possible quiz questions are posted in advance of class and linked to the syllabus, although there may additional questions in class not posted in advance. Students are permitted to discuss the posted questions before class only with other firm members (see “Firms” below). However, it is an honor code violation to share answers with other firm members or any other student in class on the first round of a quiz question from the time the quiz question is displayed in the classroom until the answer period has closed.
If a student is absent or late when a quiz is given, it is the student's responsibility to notify the instructor promptly (and preferably before class) if the student wishes to take the quiz as a make-up; such a student must provide in writing an explanation of the good cause and make arrangements with the instructor to take the quiz, which must normally be completed before the next class. (See “Attendance” below.)
FIRMS
In the second week of the semester students will be assigned to a team or "firm" of 4-5 students; these teams will then sit together for all classes. On quiz days, after individual responses are tallied online (see Quizzes, above), for some questions the instructor may set aside time for discussion in the firm after which individual students will be able to respond again, and the second answer will be counted along with the first. Studies of team-based-learning indicate that effectively functioning teams will usually outperform individual student scores. Students will also work in their firms to “litigate” two simulated cases, primarily by “filing” the kind of written work that is typical in pretrial civil litigation.
The student’s grade for the semester may include points reflecting the quality of the firm’s work on some of these tasks and may include a component based on the quality of one or more peer assessment exercises for the firm.
ATTENDANCE
Students are expected to attend every class absent good cause for absence. A student may be required to withdraw from the course without credit based upon repeated absence and/or a pattern of being tardy or leaving early without good cause. If a student is absent or late when a quiz is given, it is the student's responsibility to notify the instructor promptly (and preferably before class) if the student wishes to take the quiz as a make-up; such a student must provide in writing an explanation of the good cause (or utilize the GSU Notification process described below) and make arrangements with the instructor to take the quiz, which must normally be completed before the next class. Students will be evaluated on their preparation and contribution to firm work and that evaluation can be factored into the composite quiz score for the semester.
The following information appears on the GSU central administration website, https://deanofstudents.gsu.edu/student-assistance/#professor (Office of the Dean of Students refers to the central administration, not College of Law Associate Dean Tameka Lester):
“The Office of the Dean of Students will provide courtesy verification for professors at the request of students when seeking excused absences for documented medical/health related and other emergency circumstances that result in an extended period of absence (a week or more). Absence policies and all decisions regarding excused absences and coursework related matters are made by the individual professors. The role of the Office of the Dean of Students is to review the submissions and notify professors that we have verified that documentation was submitted and assist with student support related to non-academic impacts of extended absences in which a student is directly impacted. Requests for notification should be submitted as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours of when a student is first impacted, but must be submitted within one week after a student returns from absence. If a student is aware in advance of a need for absence (for example, when a student must have surgery) it is best to notify the Office of the Dean of Students as far in advance as possible. Retroactive notifications for past absences will not be accepted. Please Note: Your submission does not guarantee that you will receive an excused absence. It is always wise to also notify your professors when submitting a form so they can assist you immediately in keeping up with your classwork. All documentation is subject to verification by the Office of the Dean of Students. Students who submit falsified documentation or misrepresented information will be referred for a violation of the Student Code of Conduct.” Link to begin notification process
Accommodation
This course is intended for all academically-eligible Georgia State College of Law students. This includes those with mental, physical, or cognitive disabilities, chronic illness, injuries, impairments, or any other condition that tends to negatively affect one’s equal access to education. Students with disabilities are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a federal anti-discrimination statute. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. For more information about ADA policy, services, and procedures, students may visit https://access.gsu.edu or contact the law school liaison in the GSU Access and Accommodations Center (AACE), Victor Robertson, by phone 770-274-5616 or by email vrobertson2@gsu.edu . If you have a documented disability and would like to request disability accommodations, please follow the instructions and procedures detailed on the GSU AACE website: https://disability.gsu.edu/services/how-to-register/ . Once registered, accommodations will be implemented by the College of Law. If you have questions about accommodations and their implementation, please contact Cody Teague, Director of Student Life at the College of Law, at cody@gsu.edu .
Academic Misconduct
Please refer to the College of Law’s Honor Code for a full discussion of what constitutes academic misconduct and the consequences for failure to comply. The Honor Code is available at
https://law.gsu.edu/student-experience/academics/#honor-code
SYLLABUS
As of 8/16/24
WEEK ONE
CLASS ONE (8/19/24) Readings 1-4 for Class One are online and linked to this syllabus.
Readings
1 Admission to the Bar in Georgia (Supreme Court of Georgia – Office of Bar Admissions)
2. The Multistate Bar Exam
Sample Civil Procedure question
3. Georgia Bar Exam – February 2024 (from https://www.gabaradmissions.org/essay-and-mpt-questions-and-selected-answers)
Sample Georgia Essay Question
Sample Multistate Performance Test
4. The NextGen Bar Exam
7. Simon, Anatomy: The Complaint, pp. 9-17
8. Guide
CLASS THREE (8/26/24)
Possible quiz questions (not yet posted)
Readings
CLASS FOUR (8/28/24)
Possible quiz questions (not yet posted)
Readings
10. Simon, Anatomy: Defendant's Responses, pp. 17-26
11. Guide