Master of Arts in Legal Studies

This course focuses on the fundamental principals, concepts, and development of criminal law and the constitutional provisions which govern it. The course further discusses the relationship of the individual to the state and includes an examination of the general framework of criminal law as a means of social control.

This course addresses the specific constitutional rights, including the fourth, fifth and sixth amendments as those that have a direct impact on the defendant and prosecution in the judicial process. The course will review issues of the pre-arrest stage to post conviction remedies, as well as the procedural laws in the criminal justice process and their limits. The parameters of these limits will be analyzed by studying various court decisions.

Part one of this graduate level two-part intensive legal writing program is designed to develop students’ research and writing skills. Students will learn and practice the skills necessary for identifying, locating, and using legal resources, including primary sources of administrative, statutory, and case law; secondary authority; and research reference tools, to include computer research tools, commonly used in the practice of law. Students will also explore the process of legal analysis, incorporating the results of their legal research into correspondence, case briefs, legal memoranda, and motions.

Part two of a two-part graduate level intensive legal writing program is designed to develop students’ research and writing skills. Students will further develop their research, legal analytical, and writing, with emphasis on logical reasoning and clear, concise, and convincing writing. Students will complete several legal writing assignments, which will synthesize research, analytical, and technical writing skills. PREREQUISITE: Methods of Legal Research and Writing I.

Pre Reqs: Methods of Legal Research and Writing I(LSTD504)

This graduate course is an introduction to real property concepts. The course surveys present and future estates in land, ownership, and concurrent ownership. Leasehold interests, gifts and bequests, covenants and servitudes, conveyancing, various land use restrictions, and eminent domain are also considered.

This graduate course is designed to introduce students to the concepts and sources of contract law. This course evaluates the various components of a legally binding agreement or promise and surveys the major issues affecting such enforceable agreements. Students will examine what constitutes breach of contract and the remedies available. The role of contracts in the commercial arena and in society will also be analyzed.

This graduate course will focus on the fundamental principles, concepts, and development of tort and personal injury law, while combining theoretical and practical applications of such principles and concepts. The course presents an overview of the substantive law governing compensation for injuries to property and to the person. Specific areas of study include negligence and defenses to negligence; products liability and strict liability; negligent infliction of emotional distress; injury to property; tort immunities and tort investigations. Students will examine the analytical process used both to understand court opinions and hypothetical problems in this area of the law. The course highlights the public policy objectives and social forces behind the development of tort and personal injury legislation.

This graduate course will explore advanced principles, doctrines and controversies regarding the structure of and division of powers in American government. Specific topics include judicial review, jurisdiction, standing to sue, federalism, federal and state powers and immunities, the separation of powers among the branches of the federal government, the First Amendment, and the Equal Protection Clause.

This course examines the area of business law and applies it to the business environment. Traditional topics covered include: the legal environment of business, contract law, property, sales contracts, commercial paper, agency law, ethics and the regulatory environment. The course also examines the issue of the global economy from the view that the largest companies dominate in the creation of jobs and technological innovation.

A survey of the legal structure that defines and regulates the nonprofit sector and an examination of fundamental governance issues in nonprofit corporations. The focus of the course is on the board of directors (trustees) and the executive director and their fiduciary responsibilities established both by law and by the moral imperatives from actions on behalf of the public interest.

This course identifies the public law, regulation, and associated policy that facilitates and in some cases restricts emergency management planning, recovery, and relief. Topics include national, state, and local issues and examples of public law. The course also covers issues associated with intergovernmental (fire, police, EMS, emergency management, military, etc.) action in emergencies as such action relates to regulation or public law.

This course explores legal, ethical, and political issues governing K-16 education in America and the legal responsibilities, powers of state, and local governing bodies that arise in elementary and secondary schools. Topics include confidentiality, testing, liability for student injury, due process, search and seizure, staff appraisal, employment discrimination, church/state conflicts, control over the curriculum, the expression of controversial views, issues related to the financing and adequacy of state school finance plans, and the schools' authority to make rules governing student and teacher conduct. Issues surrounding in-school and in-district politics will also be discussed. Contracts, dismissals, tenure, retirement, liability of personnel and district, school district boundary changes, and bonding are also explored. Emphasis is given to federal and state statutes and case law affecting due process, liability, equal protection, and the rights of teachers and students in order to better understand the risks in education management and possible strategies to reduce those risks. Prereq: EDUC503

Pre Reqs: The Professional Educator(EDUC503)

This course is a study of the major legal, regulatory, and policy framework that encompasses environmental programs and projects in the United States and with international political, commercial, and non-governmental institutions. The primary learning approach used in this course will be case studies.

This course is a conceptual and functional analysis of the legal framework and principles of employment law, with emphasis on discrimination in the workplace. Primary topics include the employment relationship; discrimination based on race, gender, age, national origin, religion, and disability; sexual harassment; affinity orientation; testing and performance appraisal; labor/management issues; privacy; health, safety, worker's compensation, and employee benefits. Issues are addressed from a management perspective so that students understand how to manage efficiently with a full understanding of the legal ramifications of their decisions. Students are shown how to analyze employment law facts so that they can arrive at good management decisions based on relevant legal considerations.

The course is designed to introduce students to the concepts and sources of international law that evaluate the various components, processes, and functions of the international legal process and consider how international law impacts the laws within the United States. Additionally, the current state of the international legal order is reviewed with legal opinions regarding major philosophies, components and current practices and problems of the field of international law.

This Independent Study is an opportunity for Legal Studies graduate students to pursue an independent research project under the mentorship and discretion of a faculty member. The course requires a major research paper; there will be no examination. Students will submit a request to take the independent study to the Registrar and will include the name of a faculty with whom they have coordinated. Prior to registering, students should first contact the professor with whom they wish to mentor their independent study, coordinate an agreement on the grading requirements, and then NOTIFY their academic advisor with the name of their professor. The final approval to take the independent study will be made by the Program Director.

This graduate course focuses on the procedural and substantive law surrounding immigration. Emphasis is given to legal changes enacted in the field since September 11, 2001, as well as current events. It provides students with the background, processes, and tools necessary for a working knowledge of immigration issues. Important topics such as immigrant status, citizenship, refugees, and asylum seekers will be explored. Students will analyze immigration law and policy.

This graduate course focuses on the procedural and substantive law that influences the media field. Recent developments in this area will be addressed. Emphasis is given to constitutional issues such as privacy and freedom of speech, as well as regulation of the industry and intellectual property rights. It provides students with an overview of problems affecting speech across the print, broadcast, cable and Internet media. Important topics such as defamation, invasion of privacy, copyright and the Freedom of Information act will also be explored.

Ships carry 90 percent of the world’s 5.1 billion tons per year of international trade. In addition, coastwise shipping between US ports transports over one billion tons of cargo annually. This massive international and domestic trade includes a U.S.-flag cargo fleet made up of more than 40,000 vessels that represent over $48 billion in private investment. To facilitate this commerce, federal courts and Congress have created a comprehensive body of uniform admiralty law that governs navigation and shipping. This course will examine that body of law. Topics will include jurisdiction, maritime liens, charter parties, bills of lading, remedies for injury and wrongful death, sovereign immunity, collisions, limitations on liability, and salvage.

This course is provides an understanding of the structure of homeland security law and policy. This course will familiarize students with the extensive and complex legal codes that come under the heading of Homeland Security. The course will cover statutes, policy papers, presidential directives, and other documents related to homeland security allowing for an in-depth examination of the foundations of homeland security. The course will provide the student with important legal guidance allowing the student to accurately interpret, understand, and apply homeland security law and policy. The course provides a detailed overview of the subject of homeland security and includes definitions of homeland security, terrorism, the related law, and its development. The course discusses homeland security in other countries as well i.e. Europe, China, Japan.

This course focuses on the ways that law, ethics and cybersecurity overlap and intersect. Besides laws related to cybersecurity, the course examines laws related to intellectual property, civil litigation, criminal prosecutions, and privacy. This examination will provide the means to identify and analyze the policies reflected in those laws. Those policies could guide the creation of policies on a business-level, using qualitative risk assessment and planning. An exploration of ethics and cybersecurity, as well as of workplace ethics, will involve the use of an ethical framework.

This graduate course will examine the rules governing the admission, exclusion, and presentation of evidence in judicial proceedings. The law of evidence governs the proof of facts and the inferences flowing from such facts during the trial of civil and criminal lawsuits. Topics to be covered in this course include relevance; authentication; categorical rules of exclusion; character and habit evidence; witness qualification, competency, and examination; privileges; the “Best Evidence” rule; the hearsay rule and its exceptions; judicial notice; burdens of proof and presumptions; impeachment and rehabilitation of witnesses; and appellate review of evidentiary rulings.

This course is an introduction to sports-related legal issues and concepts. Its focus is on providing an overview of the major legal issues associated with sports, sports management, and the sports industry. Students will conduct research, read, and write on issues associated with the sports legal industry. Topics include but are not limited to discrimination, legislation, regulation and rights, competition, contract, labor, tort and trademark law, and administrative, antitrust and constitutional law.

This course critically examines the complex and ongoing role of courts in the public policy process. With renewed emphasis on economic stability, financial and non-financial regulation, decentralization, downsizing and re-engineering, there is an increasing awareness that public policy, and the administrative law system that manages it, are subject to intense political and cultural pressures. The attempt to address social concerns with new laws and regulations has created increased pressure on the administrative law process in the courts and legislative chambers. This course examines the sources, influences, operation and consequences of law and public policy formation, and analyzes public policy initiatives from political and legal aspects as to their intentions, achievable aims, and intended and unintended outcomes.

This course introduces students to the role of the judiciary in American politics and policymaking and explores the questions asked and the methods employed by political scientists studying courts and the legal system. An equally important objective of this course is to familiarize students with the seminal works in judicial research, with particular emphasis on Supreme Court cases. Students will study the judicial process in the United States from a variety of perspectives in order to examine the role of law and courts in the larger political arena and social environment.

This course examines space law from its origins at the commencement of space exploration to current day activities, including civilian, commercial and military/governmental issues/rulings. The Outer Space Treaty, Registration Convention, Rescue and Return Agreement, Liability Convention, and the Moon Treaty will be covered in detail, as will several other past, standing and pending legal works. Prereq: SPST500 and SPST501

Pre Reqs: Research Methods in Space Studies(SPST500),Introduction to Space Studies(SPST501)

Preparation for the Legal Studies Master’s Thesis Seminar begins on day one of a student's graduate program of study. The theories, research methods and analytical skills, and substantive knowledge obtained through their Masters curriculum provide the basis for the Master’s thesis. Students will support the thesis effort, including gathering bibliographic and reference materials on the thesis topic including developing individual course research papers that may become sections of the final Master’s thesis. Students will address the requirements as described in the syllabus and classroom assignments. The Master’s thesis proposal shall be prepared in accordance with the standards of the academic discipline. The Master’s thesis proposal must provide a clear and lucid description of a legal issue and a proposed method of analyzing of the problem. Guidance on the format of the research seminar proposal and a sample proposal are contained in the APUS Thesis Manual. PREREQUISITE: Students may only take the research seminar after all other course completions.