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| Preface | |
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| There are no Secret Books: You can Understand the Law | |
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| Constitutional Law and Constitutional Politics: Interpreting and Applying the Constitution | |
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| What is Constitutional law? | |
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| Why do we need constitutional law? | |
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| How does the Supreme Court decide what the Constitution means? | |
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| Where does the Supreme Court get the authority to interpret the Constitution? | |
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| What powers does constitutional law give to the rest of the federal government? | |
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| What powers do the states have under constitutional law? | |
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| First Freedoms: Constitutional Rights | |
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| What rights does constitutional law protect? | |
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| What is due process? | |
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| Does constitutional law require that everyone be treated equally? | |
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| How does the Constitution protect freedom of speech? | |
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| How does the Constitution protect freedom of religion? | |
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| What other rights are protected by the Constitution? | |
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| Your Day in Court: The Litigation Process | |
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| What is civil procedure? | |
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| Why do we need civil litigation and civil procedure? | |
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| Where do court cases come from? | |
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| Where can a lawsuit be brought? | |
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| When can you make a federal case out of it? | |
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| If you can sue in different places, what law will apply in each place? | |
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| How does a lawsuit begin? | |
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| What can the defendant do to respond to a lawsuit? | |
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| What if there are more than two parties to a lawsuit? | |
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| What if there are many parties to a lawsuit? | |
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| How do the parties discover the facts about their case? | |
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| What else happens before the trial? | |
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| What happens at trial? | |
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| What evidence can be presented at trial? | |
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| What about the jury? | |
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| What happens after trial? | |
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| Auto Accidents, Scalding Coffee, and Medical Malpractice: Personal Injuries and Tort Law | |
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| What is tort law? | |
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| Why do we need tort law? | |
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| Is it a tort when you hit someone? | |
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| Is it a tort when you injure someone by not being careful? | |
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| What does the law mean by reasonable care? | |
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| How does a plaintiff prove that a defendant has been negligent? | |
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| What if the victim is partly at fault for an accident? | |
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| Suppose someone does not intend to injure someone else and acts with reasonable care. Can he or she still be liable in tort? | |
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| When is a manufacturer liable for injuries caused by its products? | |
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| What damages can a plaintiff get in a tort case? | |
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| When are damages awarded to punish the defendant? | |
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| When is a Deal a Deal? Businesses, Consumers, and Contract Law | |
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| What is contract law? | |
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| Why do we need contract law? | |
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| How do you make a contract? | |
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| Does a contract have to be in writing to be enforceable? | |
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| Can anyone make a contract? | |
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| Once two people make an agreement, is it always enforceable? | |
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| If a contract is unfair, can a court refuse to enforce it? | |
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| How does the law treat form contracts? | |
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| Once you make a contract, can you ever get out of it? | |
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| What happens if one party's performance depends upon something happening and it doesn't happen? | |
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| Will a court order someone to perform a contract? | |
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| How much does someone have to pay for not keeping a promise? | |
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| You are What You Own: The Law of Property | |
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| What is property law? | |
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| Why do we need property law? | |
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| What kinds of property are there? | |
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| Who owns the Internet? | |
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| How can someone acquire property? | |
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| How is property purchased and sold? | |
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| How is property transferred on death? | |
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| What is a trust? | |
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| How do people own property collectively? | |
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| How else can ownership of property be shared? | |
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| What are the property rights of a landlord and a tenant? | |
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| When can the government take your property? | |
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| From Insanity to in Cold Blood: Criminal Responsibility and Criminal Law | |
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| What is criminal law? | |
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| Why do we need criminal law? | |
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| What is a criminal act? | |
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| Does someone have to mean to commit a crime to be guilty? | |
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| When is self-defense justified? | |
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| In what other circumstances is someone justified in committing a crime? | |
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| Why are criminals allowed to plead insanity as a defense? | |
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| What other defenses are available? | |
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| Can someone be convicted for almost committing a crime? | |
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| What is homicide? | |
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| Why is rape law so controversial? | |
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| Protecting the Innocent, Freeing the Guilty: Criminal Procedure | |
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| What is criminal procedure? | |
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| Why do we need criminal procedure? | |
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| What are the steps in the criminal process? | |
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| When can the police conduct a search and seizure? | |
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| What is the privilege against self-incrimination? | |
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| What happens if police violate a defendant's rights? | |
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| What is plea bargaining? | |
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| Why do we have juries? | |
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| What is the adversary process? | |
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| How does sentencing work? | |
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| What about the death penalty? | |
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| Why does it seem that criminal appeals go on so long? | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Index of Legal Cases | |
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| Index of Subjects | |