This course will examine the fundamental principles governing the enforcement of promises in the legal system. Students will explore topics such as the formation of con- tracts, excuses for performance of contractual obligations, breach of contracts, remedies for breach and the rights of third parties. In the context of contract law, students will develop their analytical skills using the common law, as well as statutory (e.g. the Uniform Commercial Code) and secondary (e.g., the Restatement (Second) of Contracts) authorities.

This course will examine the fundamental principles governing the enforcement of promises in the legal system. Students will explore topics such as the formation of con- tracts, excuses for performance of contractual obligations, breach of contracts, remedies for breach and the rights of third parties. In the context of contract law, students will develop their analytical skills using the common law, as well as statutory (e.g. the Uniform Commercial Code) and secondary (e.g., the Restatement (Second) of Contracts) authorities.

Under the supervision of a faculty member, a student may receive up to two hours of course credit for researching and writing a substantial paper on a topic of the student's own choosing. The student must receive the instructor's per- mission to enroll in this course and must meet periodically with the instructor for discussion, review and evaluation. Each faculty member may supervise the research of no more than five students each semester.

This course will introduce students to the United States Constitution and to the role of courts in interpreting it. Students will examine the governmental structures set up by the Constitution, including the relationship between the federal and state governments and the relationship among branches of the federal government. The course will intro- duce students to the protection of individual rights under the Fourteenth Amendment in areas like racial, sexual and other forms of equality; implied rights of equality in voting; access to the courts; and rights of privacy in mat- ters like marriage, family and sexual activity. Students will develop skills in framing and responding to con- stitutional arguments and in evaluating the role of courts in making policy through constitutional decisions.

This course will consider the answers offered by leading legal philosophers to the question, "What is law?" Students will review the major jurisprudential schools, including natural law, both classical and modern, positivism, and the historical school, the philosophical foundation of English common law and the doctrine of precedent. The course will examine developments in jurisprudence such as legal realism, legal pragmatism, and law and economics. Additionally, students will consider the relationship of religious faith to law and belief in natural rights.

The UST Journal of Law and Public Policy (JLPP) seeks to advance the ideals embodied in the mission statement of the University of St. Thomas School of Law through the exploration of conservative legal thought, public policy, and social justice. JLPP is primarily a symposium-based journal, which promotes meaningful analysis of important policy and legal issues. The symposia also give the law school community a chance to reflect on issues closely connected with the mission and vision of the School of Law and ongoing policy debates. JLPP's Latin subtitle, which translates as “the laws depend not on being read, but on being understood,” is a core foundation of both its symposia and the works it publishes. Students are selected for membership through a write-on competition.

Under the supervision of a faculty member, a student may receive up to two hours of course credit for researching and writing a substantial paper on a topic of the student's own choosing. The student must receive the instructor's per- mission to enroll in this course and must meet periodically with the instructor for discussion, review and evaluation. Each faculty member may supervise the research of no more than five students each semester.