welcome-spring2013

Welcome to Law 34 - Legal Research - Section #0326    Spring 2013

I am your online instructor. My contact information is located at http://lamission.edu/~jordandc
my email is abogado@pacbell.net and my cell phone is 818-415-2015

I am also the Director of the Paralegal Studies Program and webmaster for the law classes, so please contact me about the class, about the program, and if there are any broken links.

Here are legal notes which will help with your legal research
http://www.profj.us/legalnotes/

Case Law Research Tutorial

In this tutorial, you will learn how to find judicial opinions, use digests and update cases.

1. Structure of the Court System & Introduction to the Concept of Precedent
2. Anatomy of a Case, Case Citation, and the Case Law Reporter System
3. How to Find Cases
4. Using Headnotes to Find Cases
5. Updating Cases Using Shepard's and KeyCite

and here is more information on legal citations
http://abogado.pbworks.com/w/page/55394021/legal-citations%20freedom%20law
 

Here is a screencast which will help you use google scholar to find cases
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpjX_ZtbMr8
 
There is a final research paper in the class 
Here is the format for the paper
http://profjordan.pbworks.com/w/page/18854421/format

Here is the grading rubric for the paper
http://missionparalegal.pbworks.com/w/page/23169347/rubric%20finalpaper

Here are some past papers to give you an idea of what is expected
http://legalwriting.pbworks.com/w/page/16131592/past-papers

Our paralegal program (Law 17 and Law 34) will be participating in a online tutoring pilot project. More information will be forwarded to you at the beginning of the semester. Students will receive extra credit for consulting a tutor at least one 30 minute session during the semester.
 
Please bookmark the following website for use during the semester - http://duedates.pbworks.com

Here is information you need to carefully read and understand:

1. Extensive welcome information message to all students - http://welcome.pbworks.com
2. Online study guide - http://abogado.pbworks.com/w/page/27895293/study%20guide
3. Check in Policies - http://abogado.pbworks.com/w/page/28267655/policies
4. How your online classes work - http://abogado.pbworks.com/w/page/1245731/how-to
5. Dear Online Student Letter -http://missionparalegal.pbworks.com/w/page/27637059/dear%20online%20student 2. Calendar activities for class
6.Syllabus with a course description
7. Textbook for the class -  (some classes use online/internet materials) - checkhttp://lamission.edu/law/textbooks
8. Where to start

You cannot login to our moodle class until Sunday evening @ 6 pm 2/3/13 -
you can then login at http://moodle.lamission.edu and scroll to  your law class

Your username = your student ID - 881234567  (no dashes-no spaces) and your passcode is your mmdd of birth (eg. June 5th is 0605)
 
Welcome aboard, and nice having you as students.

Here are general ground rules about posting to the online  discussion forums. 
    •    Be constructive and productive
    •    Do not gripe or whine
    •    Ask questions
    •    Contribute replies
    •    Expect to be misunderstood and to misunderstand
    •    Don't take things personally
    •    Be supportive
    •    Remember that mistakes are learning opportunities
    •    Have BIG FUN! 
General Rules for Management:
    •    Keep your posts short -  2-5 paragraphs
    •    Keep one topic per post - don't mix topics.
    •    Keep your posts concise - 2-5 paragraphs.
    •    It is normal to feel lost. ASK lots of questions.
    •     How does that sound? I think we can handle this. Did we forget anything?
    •    
Tell us - and let the journey begin!

 Prof Jordan  
    •    call or email Prof Jordan if you have any questions about the program - cell phone is 818-415-2015 - email abogado@pacbell.net
    •    for broken links, email Prof Jordan directly, since he is webmaster for the law classes
Prof J.
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