American Law: An Introductory Survey of Some Principles; Cases and Text

Designed as a case book on the model of those in common use in law schools in the United States, this book is aimed at giving persons untrained in the law and law students in other countries an understanding of some of the basic concepts of American law. It contains a wide selection of cases and applicable significant statutes enriched with other materials and comments by the editors. It is a book which would find ideal use in a one- or two-semester course in American Law offered to American undergraduates or to law students in a civil law country.

An introductory law course for liberal arts college students is a growing trend in the United States. Many institutions now offer such introductory courses and there is a growing impetus for more colleges to include a survey of the law in their curriculums-although suitable textbooks have not been available. The authors of the present volume became aware of this need while teaching courses on American law at European law schools. Here also they found a great interest in the study of the laws of the United States despite the absence of suitable teaching materials.

To provide the necessary teaching tool, the authors have collected the most significant cases in the fields of Constitutional Law, Conflict of Laws, Domestic Relations, Contracts, Torts, Procedure, and Criminal Law, among others. These cases were edited so as not to destroy the impact or distort the meaning of the cases or the style of the judges, but cutting out all extraneous matter. A few important statutes are included to show the working of legislation and excerpts from outstanding legal writing are included. The authors have also added text to link cases together, introductory chapters on Common Law and Stare Decisis, and a chapter on Legal Research.