OME months ago it became neces- of the large schools of high standing sary to decide whether the American replied. replied. Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, Case Book Series should have a single Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Nebrascollection of cases on pleading, compiled ka, and California may be mentioned as and arranged with the idea that pleading representatives of this class. Many should be and would be taught in one more modest schools sent in answers. course as a single subject, manifesting Their answers were often very valuable. itself in three slightly different, but fun- On the whole, the replies were probably damentally alike, systems, or whether fairly representative of all grades of there should be three collections of cases, schools. Personal acknowledgment of one for common-law, one for equity, these replies was obviously too burdenand one for code pleading. This seem- some to be undertaken. I therefore take ed, on reflection, to be a difficult problem. this opportunity to thank all those who It was finally decided to gather informa- responded to any inquiries. I appreciate tion as to what was being done concern- what a nuisance it is to a busy man to be ing pleading in the law schools of the asked to answer a lot of questions. At country, and to obtain the opinions of the suggestion of Mr. Mason, I have the teacher of pleading on the immediate tabulated the answers received, and the problem and related questions. To that result is this paper. The table, which is end printed questions were prepared and given below, and which states the mailed to seventy-four different law amount of time devoted to the various schools. Replies of some kind were re- branches of pleading and practice work, ceived from thirty-five schools. They is plainly not derived wholly from the came from all grades of schools. Most returns to my circular letter. Those 26 (345) returns have been supplemented by an enormous amount of time to that work. examination of the annual catalogues or Possibly I have erred in my estimates. announcements of many schools. Possibly in some cases the catalogues The title of this article reveals my somewhat overstate, or do not clearly well-founded belief as to the inaccuracy state, what is being done. Enough has of these statistics taken as a whole. For been said to show how difficult it has some schools they are correct; but for been to avoid large errors. It would be many they are only approximately right, a pleasure to me to receive corrections and I fear that for some they are posi- of this table from all schools concerntively wrong. In many cases the work ing whose work the figures are incorrect. on pleading is so mixed with the work If the number of corrections sent in on practice that one can only guess at should warrant it, no doubt this Review the probable division of time between would print them, so that all might have the two. Sometimes the professor in the benefit of the more accurate informacharge of pleading in the school did the tion. guessing for me. He could, of course, A few comments on this table may estimate it more accurately. But in sev- not be amiss. It will have been noticed eral cases the reply to my inquries did that at the end of the table the figures are not separate the two kinds of work. given showing the shortest course, the Then I had to do the guessing myself. average course, and the longest course Also in the case of schools from which in each subject or group of subjects, and I received no reply I had to do the guess- also the number of schools not offering ing. In making my estimates I relied any subject or group at all. The shortmainly upon the contents of the text- est course in common-law pleading is at books used by the school. The hours Albany, the capital of the greatest code spent by the school on pleading and prac- state. Indeed, common-law pleading aptice together were distributed between parently is dealt with there only incidenthe two subjects in approximately the tally as an introduction to code pleadsame proportion as the space allotted to ing. Almost all the schools having short the two subjects in the text-books used. courses in common-law pleading are loIn the case of some schools the time giv- cated in code states. The four schools en to each course is not stated in the having no courses in common-law pleadcatalogue. In such cases I have had to ing are located in New York, Iowa, Caltake the usual number of hours of in- ifornia, and Texas. These are all code struction taken by students in one year states. The longest course in commonand divide it by the number of courses law pleading is given in Illinois, and the which they were supposed to pursue in only other course exceeding 100 hours the year in which the pleading or prac- is given in the District of Columbia. As tice work is scheduled. The quotient I all know, these are common-law jurishave taken as the number of hours de- dictions. But a few schools in code voted to the pleading or practice course. states have rather long courses in com I fully appreciate the chances for error mon-law pleading. The University of in this. But it seemed better than to Colorado, Notre Dame, and Syracuse leave such schools out entirely. In the may be mentioned. On the whole, we case of moot court work, my estimates may say that the schools that slight comhave led to some surprising results. mon-law pleading are local schools in Some schools are apparently giving an code states, and that those wliich overTable of Recitation Hours Spent by the Leading American Law Schools in Courses on Pleading and Practice. Name of School Common Equity Code Total Practice Practice Court Total Total Practice Procedure 18 120 144 36 102 198 94 46 45 Albany 10 45 13 18 18 32 30 20 27 54 66 96 50 18 45 30 24 56 48 24 54 30 48 30 36 30 54 80 36 36 36 48 54 27 72 45 40 32 156 60 54 72 114 120 144 74 135 40 72 74 112 72 144 55 112 75 108 65 144 190 126 108 60 108 108 108 144 60 72 84 198 168 120 108 160 180 20 72 70 304 154 36 324 156 97 72 120 120 252 90 150 108 132 216 311 288 144 207 150 191 150 105 266 78 744 2.72 108 354 108 54 270 282 240 252 234 315 60 144 144 416 226 180 379 268 172 180 185 234 382 285 504 110 300 198 144 198 135 152 96 100 2.50 423 197 216 288 183 154 150 162 216 396 18 288 144 36 324 108 43 36 25 16 20 90 192 50 36 36 54 36 54 48 87 396 50 84 18 36 105 36 54 54 72 27 54 60 80 159 50 24 45 30 98 54 54 70 180 108 108 72 108 72 30 72 30 150 63 44 78 118 75 37 60 90 144 114 35 45 emphasize it are local schools in com- a couple of courses in practice, Massamon-law states. chusetts Practice and New York PracOf the schools omitting equity plead- tice, which are extra courses not counting, all but two, Dickinson and Harvard, ing toward a degree. And Denver ofare in code states. Harvard's omission fers training in practice through its Leis probably temporary. It has been gal Aid Dispensary. Each student is taught there in the past. Dickinson, no compelled to work in this dispensary. doubt, has some training in equity plead- Cases of poor persons are carried ing in its elaborate practice court sys- through the entire litigation by the stutem. The shortest courses in equity dent, under the supervision of an atpleading are in code states. But most of torney and with the advice of the faculthe long courses in equity pleading are ty. This is surely real laboratory work. also in code states. Of course, equity Practice work, then, in some form, is pleading is important in the federal well-nigh universal. It is far beyond the courts in all states. It is, therefore, scope of this paper to discuss its value. more a matter of chance as to where the The largest amount of time devoted long courses are found. But, on the to practice courses is at Pennsylvania. whole, the states having equity pleading This is due to the fact that they teach as a part of their state practice give the the local practice of Pennsylvania, New subject a fuller treatment. Jersey, Delaware, and New York in sepOf the nineteen schools which omit arate courses. Yale is second in amount code pleading entirely, not one is located of time given to practice courses, and in a code state. The shortest course is for much the same reason. The schools given at Tulane, in Louisiana. The that give a small amount of time to longest course is given at the Universi- practice courses generally lay considerty of Indiana. The second longest is able stress on their practice court work. at the University of Wisconsin. In gen- In the Dickinson Law School, if the eral, then, we may say that code pleading catalogue is to be trusted, 576 hours or is slighted in the common-law states. more are devoted to moot court work. Chicago and Northwestern, though lo- At least, there are this number of sescated in a common-law state, each have sions of their court. Possibly some of full courses in code pleading. This is the sessions are shorter than an hour. no doubt due to the fact that they draw Surely some must be longer. Possibly many students from neighboring, and the six sessions a week for first-year even more distant, code states. students and the like number for secIt was practically impossible to dis- ond-year students may be combined in tinguish between the three systems, com- some way. Certainly the time apparentmon-law, equity and code, when it came ly given to this work seems disproporto practice work. Though fourteen tionate. The next largest amount of schools have no practice courses, and time given to practice court work is at seventeen have no practice court work, the National Law School of Washingyet all but two, Denver and Harvard, ton. Dean Carusi deems this work of have one or the other form of practice very great importance. The number of work. Dean Ames writes for Harvard hours is 324. Michigan is third, spendthat “this school deems it unwise to ing approximately 288 hours on moot attempt to teach practice in a law court work. Professor Sunderland deschool." However, Harvard does offer votes his entire time to the practice |
Get this book in print
0 Reviews Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified Write review |