Civil Procedure
I. Logistics
1. Class material will be on class website
2. No laptops
a. Two people per class will take notes on laptops
b. Wait until professor’s powerpoint slide is posted online before sending notes
3. Some new laws don’t appear in Glannon or Field & Kaplan (e.g. Federal Courts
Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011)
4. Can email questions to professor, which might then be posted online on Q&A page with
an answer if others can also benefit from the answer
II. What is Civil Procedure?
1. Law about courts, what people do before courts (not substantive law, which torts is an
example of)
2. The process by which substantive law is vindicated before courts
3. Difference between civil vs. criminal law suit
a. Difference in parties:
i. Criminal action is brought by government
ii. Civil suit can be brought by individual;
1. BUT government (or its agents) can also be a plaintiff or a
defendant in a civil suit
b. Difference in result: Criminal law can involve going to jail; civil suit cannot
i. Usual relief requested in civil suit is damages or injunctive relief (ie
compelling the D to do something)
ii. Examples (among many) of civil suits: tort action, contract action, civil
rights action, antitrust action…
c. Sometimes, the same event can give rise to civil and criminal suit
4. Focus on federal courts
a. Most actions are actually NOT brought before federal courts
b. But there’s a federal court in every state, and federal procedure has strongly
influenced state procedure
c. Litigators and judges in federal courts are (perceived to be) smarter, which makes
for better content for law professors and students
5. Only less than 2% of cases filed in federal court actually go to trial most settle or
resolve through pre-trial motions (e.g. summary judgments as a result of evidence given
in discovery phase)
Docsity.com
