Handouts 2-6

Are available in the handout racks outside the South Faculty Office Suite in the Library.

Hornbook Reading

Fishing Pier at Sandbridge Beach, Virginia, July 2008 (photo by Becca Duncan)

Just a brief word about the assigned reading in the Hornbook. Normally, our class discussion will focus on the cases and problems that we read in the casebook. The purpose of the readings in the Hornbook is to help you understand the concepts and black letter rules that arise in the cases. We will usually not discuss the Hornbook in class, but hopefully what you read in the Hornbook will help you better understand the cases we discuss.

A few years ago I noticed that students were not mastering all of the rules that govern the caselaw. They were often purchasing "study aids" like property "flash cards" and such that are sometimes wrong and usually overly simplistic. Sometimes they would come to me the day before the exam and ask me to go over all the rules with them, an impossible task given that it took us an entire year to cover them the first time. So I decided to assign a good secondary source to help students get a clearer grasp of the rules and the reasons animating the rules, something that is written well and is always there for you to read and re-read. The Stoebuck & Whitman book is the best hornbook out there on Property.

I hope this helps you understand how the assignments are structured--you should always read the casebook assignments before class, because that is what our class discussion will be about. You should read the Hornbook assignments--and you are "responsible" for reading them--but it is not essential that you do this reading before any particular class.

Anderson V. Gouldberg Limerick

From Lawmericks Blog:

 

Anderson v. Gouldberg

Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1892
53 N.W. 636
Property

The plaintiffs had stolen some wood,
And defendants took more than they should.
"The last wrongful getter
Has title no better,"
And the court for the plaintiffs so stood.

As between two thieves, Thief No. 1 and Thief No. 2 (who steals from Thief No. 1), who has the better claim to possession?

Baseball and Movie Day

This Thursday (September 5) our class will begin at 12:10 AM (i.e. fifty minutes early) so we can watch a great documentary about the Barry Bonds' baseball case involving two would-be first possessors.

Popcorn and Milkduds are permitted, but not required.