English Legal History
Eben Moglen
Columbia Law School
Fall 2008
Wiki
My office hours are Tue & Thu 11am-1pm in JG Room 642. If you need an appointment to see me at another time please email moglen@columbia.edu or speak to my assistant Ian Sullivan at +1-212-461-1905.
Following is
a schedule of the required readings. The text referred to is J.H. Baker,
An Introduction to English Legal History (4th ed. 2002). The
compilation of primary sources is J.H. Baker & S.F.C. Milsom,
Sources of English Legal History: Private Law to 1750
(1986). The Sources volume is not obtainable, and we provide
scanned pages online for consultation by those who cannot obtain the
book. The same now seems to be necessary for the textbook as well.
Recommended reading appears at the end of each section in Baker, for
those wishing to supplement the text. Supplementary readings in
primary sources may also appear here from time to time.
- I.
- Institutions
- 1.
- Pre-Norman Roots and the Origin of the Common Law
Baker, chs. 1, 2
- 2.
- Nature of Primary Sources
Baker ch. 11
- 3.
- Development of the Royal Courts
Baker chs. 3, 9
- 4.
- Development of the Legal Profession
Baker ch. 10
- 5.
- Writs and Counts
Baker chs. 4, Appendix I
- 6.
- Pleading
Baker chs. 5, Appendix II
- 7.
- Equity
Baker ch. 6
- 8.
- Legislation
Baker 204-212
- II.
- Land Law
- 1.
- "Feudalism"
Baker 223-247; Baker & Milsom 1-10, 11-36
- 2.
- Uses
Baker 248-257; Baker & Milsom 94-133, 134-176
- 3.
- Estates
Baker 259-279
- 4.
- Settlement
Baker 280-297; Baker & Milsom 37-93
- 5.
- Lesser Interests in Land
Baker 298-316; Baker & Milsom 177-208
- III.
- Contract
- 1.
- Covenant and Debt
Baker 317-328; Baker & Milsom 278-288, 209-263
- 2.
- Assumpsit
Baker 329-361; Baker & Milsom 358-523
- IV.
- Tort
- 1.
- Things: Detinue and Conversion
Baker 379-400; Baker & Milsom 264-277, 524-551
- 2.
- Negligence & Nuisance
Baker 401-435; Baker & Milsom 552-580, 581-610
- 3.
- Defamation
Baker 436-447; Baker & Milsom 623-655
- V.
- Crime
- 1.
- Criminal Procedure to 1650
Baker 500-520
- 2.
- Substantive Criminal Law to 1650
Baker 521-536
- 3.
- Crime & Criminal Procedure in the Eighteenth Century
An
exercise mixing research and evaluative writing refined throughout
the semester using the web will substitute for an examination.