American Law [KHO3105 (Alt 11, 12)]
Semester Course
Prerequisite: None
Open to Grades 11 and 12.
“We, the jury, find the defendant…” Are you guilty of not knowing how our justice system works? Are you guilty of taking your rights for granted? You need to know and understand your rights in order to exercise and defend them. Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General stated it best, “If you don’t know your rights, you don’t have any rights.”
American Law is a one-semester course that is designed to provide students with an understanding of their legal rights and responsibilities, a knowledge of legal institutions and practices, and the ability to critically analyze legal issues.
Each student’s understanding of the U.S. Constitution will be deepened by a thorough review of the functions and organization of the U.S. government and the rights protected by the Constitution. The course will provide an in-depth look at our country’s legal institutions and their proceedings and familiarize students with the basics of criminal, forensic, business, family and constitutional law. The course will emphasize historical content as precedent-setting cases will provide the foundation for the study of today’s legal issues.
Students will develop the ability to formulate logical arguments and communicate those arguments effectively in numerous essays. Students will also learn to do research using legal references and be required to write papers on various legal issues. The student will develop a higher level of critical thinking skills by learning legal reasoning through the process of briefing actual court cases.
This class is academic in nature and does not substitute for professional legal advice. Also, parents and students should be aware that some topics covered in class may be sensitive.