Paralegal Studies 125

Litigation Specialties

Course Introduction

The world of litigation is fast-paced, complex, and exciting. In this course you will learn about the different types of litigation you might encounter in nontraditional areas of litigation. Individuals working in the areas of law covered in this course are often employees of public interest organizations or nonprofit corporations, or they are court-appointed counsel. Many paralegals find great personal fulfillment in this type of public service work.

Course Objectives

After successfully completing this course you will be able to

• locate the sources of a given region's criminal codes and summarize the various sources of misdemeanor, felony, and federal criminal laws;
• identify which behaviors fall into various categories of crimes and demonstrate this knowledge by completing the self-graded quiz on criminal law;
• demonstrate a working knowledge of how a legal case flows through a court process for each of the specialty areas covered in the course—criminal, dependency, and family law by putting the steps of hypothetical cases in proper procedural order;
• demonstrate an understanding of the constitutional constraints on law enforcement agencies during criminal investigations by drafting a memorandum for one of the cases establishing limits on law enforcement;
• demonstrate a basic understanding of all criminal law concepts presented, including terminology, case flow, and constitutional arguments, by passing a graded quiz;
• articulate the possible basis for a dependency petition and demonstrate this knowledge by drafting an informational memorandum based on a dependency hypothetical ;
• demonstrate a basic understanding of the laws that govern families by completing a self-graded quiz on marriage;
• demonstrate a working knowledge of the issues in divorce/dissolution cases by completing a self-graded quiz on divorce/dissolution;
• demonstrate a working knowledge of the issues presented by children of a marriage facing divorce/dissolution by drafting a parenting plan on a hypothetical set of facts; and
• demonstrate a basic understanding of all family law concepts presented by passing a graded final quiz.

Course Overview

The topics covered in this course are criminal law as it applies to adults, juvenile law as it applies to youthful offenders, dependency law as it applies to the departments of social and health services seeking to intervene in the parent-child relationship, and family law, including marriage, dissolution, and parenting plans.

This course is designed to provide an overview of those litigation specialties that were not covered in detail in the other courses of the certificate program in Paralegal Studies. This analysis of various specialties will broaden your understanding by focusing on several particular specialty areas.

Prerequisites

PARA CP105, Fundamentals of Legal Practice, and PARA CP110, Legal Research and Writing

Technology Requirements and Skills

In addition to the technology requirements and skills noted in the Online Student Handbook for this course you will need to

• read .pdf documents from the Web using the Adobe Reader;
• access documents using your Westlaw password (provided to you in PARA CP 110, Legal Research and Writing); and
• use a word processing program.

Required Reading

Criminal Law

1. Washington Courts, "A Citizen's Guide to Washington Courts," The Administrative Office of the Courts, http://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo//resources/?fa=/newsinfo_jury.brochure_guide&altMenu=Citi (accessed June, 2007).
2. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966).
3. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S. Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968).
4. Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 83 S.Ct. 792, 9 L.Ed.2d 799 (1963).
5. Peter Irons and Stephanie Guitton, May It Please the Court: 23 Live Recordings of Landmark Cases As Argued Before the Supreme Court. (New York: New Press, 1993), pages 199–208 and 213–222.
6. James W.H. McCord and Sandra L. McCord, Criminal Law and Procedure for the Paralegal: A Systems Approach. 2nd ed. (Albany, NY: West/Thomson Learning, 2001), chapters 3 and 11, pages 49–74 and 409–441.

Dependency

1. Jan McCarthy and others, "A Family's Guide to the Child Welfare System," Child Welfare League of America, http://www.cwla.org/childwelfare/fg.pdf (accessed December, 2006).
2. Child Welfare Information Gateway, "What Is Child Abuse and Neglect?" (pdf), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, April, 2006.
3. Brooke Kempner, "No Place to Call Home: Children of Color in Foster Care," ColorsNW, January 2006, http://www.colorsnw.com/adoption.html (accessed December, 2006).
4. National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, "Child Welfare and Race," National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, http://www.nccpr.org/newissues/7.html (accessed December, 2006).

Family Law

1. Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1, 87 S. Ct. 1817, 18 L.Ed. 2d 1010 (1967).
2. Skinner v. Oklahoma, 316 U.S. 535, 62 S.Ct. 1110 (1942).
3. Chapter 12, "Domestic Relations," in David Lee Goodrich, The Basics of Paralegal Studies. 4th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/ Prentice Hall, 2004), pages 387–411.
4. Mimi E. Lyster, Child Custody: Building Parenting Agreements that Work. 3rd ed. (Berkeley, CA: Nolo.com, 2000), chapter 5, pages 5/3–5/50, and Appendix Sample Parenting Agreement, pages 1–20.
5. Roger L. Miller and Mary Meinzinger Urisko, West's Paralegal Today, The Legal Team at Work. 3rd ed. (Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Learning, 2004), chapter 9, pages 301–320.
6. ACLU, "Washington Supreme Court Fails to Uphold Marriage Equality," July 26, 2006, http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/relationships/26246prs20060726.html

About the Online Resources

Your online course offers several advantages to the traditional classroom, including the comprehensive Online Student Handbook, the ability to communicate electronically with students and with your instructor, and links to a rich array of online resources.

Online Student Handbook

This handbook answers questions about your online learning course, such as how to purchase your text, schedule an exam, obtain a transcript, and get technical help if you need it. The handbook also provides additional resources, such as how to order books or journals from the library and how to study for an online course.

Communication with Your Instructor and Student Peers

• Online Discussion Forums, designed by the University of Washington award winning Catalyst team, allow you to communicate with other currently enrolled students and with your instructor. We encourage you to use the discussion forum to exchange ideas, resources, and comments about your course work with other students in this course. This unstructured forum is monitored by your instructor.
• You can use e-mail to ask me a question or preferably post your question on the discussion forum. I will reply to all discussion forum questions on the forum, and to e-mail questions via e-mail.

Online Resources

As an online student, you have access to a wealth of Web resources compiled to provide fast, easy access to information that supports your online learning experience. Organized by subjects, Online Resources link you to sites with help for writing and research, study skills, language learning, and library reference materials. All links have been assessed for credibility and reliability, and they are regularly monitored to ensure their usability.

Organization of the Course

There are nine lessons—three on each of the three areas of law covered in this course—criminal law, dependency, and family law. Lessons One, Two, Four, Five, Seven, and Eight have either a reading or a research assignment. Lessons Three, Six, and Nine each have a graded assignment. In addition Lessons Three and Six each have a graded quiz. There is a graded final quiz after Lesson Nine (see below for more information).

Self-graded Practice exercises accompany the research and reading assignments. These are not to be submitted.

About the Graded Assignments

• Each graded assignment should take two hours, with the exception of the parenting agreement for Lesson Nine, which can take up to four hours.
• You must complete and submit the graded assignment for Lesson Three before submitting the assignment for Lesson Six.
• Deadlines exist in the syllabus in order to ensure that work is completed in a timely manner, thus laying the foundation for moving on to the next area of study. I take off one point per day for late assignments.
• Extra credit assignments are available on a case by case basis, where, in extreme cases of illness or pressing family emergencies students have not met the minimum requirements of the course.

Assignment Submission Instructions

Please submit your assignments per the instructions on the "About Your Instructor" page of your online course syllabus.

Quizzes and the Final Quiz

The online quizzes consist of multiple-choice questions. They occur in Lessons Three and Six. The quizzes are online. They are open book and timed. Once you begin, you must complete each quiz within 15 minutes.

The final quiz has both multiple-choice and short-answer questions. It occurs after Lesson Nine. It covers material in all nine lessons. The quiz is online. It is open book and timed. Once you begin the quiz, you must complete it within 45 minutes.

Evaluation

• Self-graded Practice exercises appear in each lesson and provide you the opportunity to test your level of understanding without being formally assessed. These questions are not graded and you should not confuse them with the graded written assignments found in Lessons Three, Six, and Nine. If you have difficulty completing practice exercises, review the lesson commentary or e-mail your instructor (see the "About Your Instructor" page of your online course syllabus).
• The lesson quizzes and the final quiz are designed to elicit specific understanding of the rules applicable in a given type of case. For example, the dependency court operates under the assumption that certain basic rights are afforded to persons facing dependency proceedings. You should be able to articulate what rights will be afforded to parents when they enter the courtroom.
• The graded assignments in Lessons Three, Six, and Nine are evaluated by the demonstrated level of understanding of the subject matter in each assignment. The criteria are provided in the corresponding lesson.

Self Check

Before submitting your assignments, check to see that they measure up to the standards for legal research and writing—that is, that you "dissect [the] problem, identify the appropriate issues, and present a succinct legal analysis" (Christine G. Mooney, "When Does Help Become a Hindrance: How Much Should We Assist Students with Their Graded Legal Writing Assignments?" Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing 10, no. 2 (2002): 70, http://west.thomson.com/pdf/perspec/Winter%202002/1win02.pdf).

Grading

Note: In order to pass the course, you must complete and pass each assignment and quiz and participate in the online discussion boards.

Your grade for this course will be recorded as Successful Completion or Unsuccessful Completion. (SC/USC). If you receive a Successful Completion for this course, you will earn the appropriate number of Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

There are 110 total possible points in the course.

• Each graded assignment is worth 10 points. There are three graded assignments for a total of 30 points.
• Each graded quiz is worth 20 points. There are two quizzes for a total of 40 points.
• The graded final quiz is worth 30 points.

Class participation points are earned when you post at least three substantive posts throughout the quarter to the online discussion boards.  Class participation points are worth 10 points.

You must earn at least 80 points or 80% of the total possible points in order to receive a grade of Successful Completion for this course.

Hints on How to Study

Engage yourself by reading the assigned materials. Research into local systems of justice is encouraged. Contact your instructor via e-mail (see the "About Your Instructor" page of your online course syllabus) to discuss differences you observe in your local system. A fundamental understanding of how the court resolves disputes that arise in the context of the given areas of laws is desired. To this end, a thorough reading of the case law is indispensable.

About the Lessons

Lesson One—Crimes, Criminals, and Punishments

This lesson provides an introduction to the various sources of laws that provide a basis for criminal prosecution. You learn the various categories of crimes and the fundamental differences in adult and juvenile criminal law.

Lesson Two: Complaint, Arraignment, Pretrial, and Trial—Adults and Juveniles

This lesson covers the procedural course of the criminal case through the court system, from the first hearing to the last hearing, for both adults and juveniles.

Lesson Three—Constitutional Constrictions on the Criminal Process

This lesson covers some of the basic constitutional constraints imposed on law enforcement agents when they interact with citizens in the course of the investigation.

Lesson Four—Overview of Dependency/Child Welfare Law

This lesson provides an overview of the dependency system, also known as the child welfare system. The dependency system provides the court structure that allows the state to intervene in the parent-child relationship when allegations of abuse, neglect, or abandonment are made.

Lesson Five—72 Hour Hearings, Shelter Care, Dependency, and Permanency Planning

This lesson provides a specific look at the court process in dependency actions. Dependencies are a civil process and, therefore, mirror other civil actions.

Lesson Six—Reunification, Termination, or Guardianship

This lesson provides a specific look at the court process in termination actions. As was the case with dependency actions, termination actions are civil.

Lesson Seven—Marriage, the Constitution, and the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996

This lesson provides an overview of the institution of marriage from the legal requirements of marriage to the constitutional limitations on state legislation relating to marriage.

Lesson Eight—Dissolution/Divorce, Community Property, and Prenuptial Agreements

This lesson provides an overview of divorce, with a look at concepts of community property and alimony.

Lesson Nine—Parenting Plans and Orders of Support

This lesson provides a detailed look at the issues that arise in a divorce involving parents. You will draft a sample parenting plan based on a set of hypothetical facts.

About the Developer

In 1994, Brenda Williams obtained a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Washington. In 1997, she earned both a Juris Doctor from the University of Washington School of Law and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington Graduate School of Public Affairs.

Immediately following law school, Brenda began working at the Defender Association providing legal services to indigent persons facing governmental proceedings.

During the more than eight years spent working at the Public Defender's Office, she worked in the misdemeanor division, felony division, juvenile division, dependency division, and the special offender commitment division. In the summer of 2004 she supervised the legal intern program, guiding eight rule nine law students through their first criminal trials.

She serves on the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington, the Washington State Bar Association's Court Rules Committee, the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission's Technical Support Group, and the Initiative for Diversity Governing Council. In 2003 she was recognized by the hosts of the 7th annual National Latina/o Law Student Conference as a contributing founding member of the association. She previously served on the Washington State Bar Association's Civil Rights Committee.

Since 2003 she has been a part-time instructor for the University of Washington Paralegal Studies program. She teaches at both the Seattle and Tacoma branches of the UWEO program, as well as the online certificate program.

Personal Statement

I wanted to develop the online portion of the paralegal course to educate interested persons in the varying world of public defender litigation. Additionally, I hope to demonstrate the need for public service paralegals.

Litigation involving regular people consumes much of the court's daily dockets. Many people do not have the resources to hire a private law firm to represent them on some of the most important cases that happen in our court system—criminal cases where liberty is at stake, dependency cases where one's children are at stake, and juvenile cases where juveniles face criminal prosecution. The work is important, yet fails to receive adequate attention in many arenas.

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