Last update: August 6, 2020

Course Schedules

Fall 2020 courses run from August 31 – December 8. Please note that all courses are subject to change. For further information as to courses or scheduling, please contact us.

Notes:  This tentative course schedule is subject to change.

Course Descriptions

This tentative course schedule is subject to change.

Constitutional Law

Professor:  Joe Sasanuma, Corporate Counsel, Amazon Japan G.K

Credit Hours:  3 credits

Day & Time:  Mondays, 18:45-21:30

Judicial review of legislative and executive actions in a constitutional setting, the relationship of the states to the federal government (Federalism), the relationship of the people to government (Bill of Rights) and the powers of the Congress are considered.

Note:  This subject is tested on many U.S. Bar Examinations.

Criminal Procedure I

Professor:  Johnathan McCaskill, Adjunct Professor of Law, Legal Consultant

Credit Hours:  3 credits

Day & Time:  Thursdays, 18:45-21:30

This criminal procedure course deals with the constitutional rules governing police conduct prior to the institution of formal court proceedings. It will focus primarily on the federal constitutional rights and restrictions imposed by the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. Searches and seizures, police interrogation, identification procedures, and the exclusion of evidence obtained in violation of these provisions account for a substantial portion of the course. It will also cover some additional matters, including some aspects of the formal court-connected proceedings and the basic principles of habeas corpus.

Note:  This subject is heavily tested U.S. Bar Examinations.

Introduction to the American Legal System

Professor:  Tina Saunders, Director and Associate Professor, Temple University School of Law, Japan Campus

Credit Hours:  2 credits

Day & Time:  Tuesdays, 18:45-20:45

This course is intended to provide the student from a non-common law background with an introduction to the basic concepts, structures and institutions of the American Legal System. Topics to be covered include: historical origins of the common law system; common law method; the structure of the United States government, Federal and State; the Constitution; judicial review, structure, organization and operations of courts in the United States, civil litigation, case analysis and precedent: the legislative branch: statutes and legislative history; and the executive branch: administrative law.

Guided Research

Professor:  Tina Saunders, Director and Associate Professor, Temple University School of Law, Japan Campus

Credit Hours:  2 or 3 credits

Day & Time:   -

This independent research offers students an opportunity to (1) satisfy the mandated writing requirement, (2) develop research, writing and analytical abilities through producing a single substantive research paper and (3) work with a faculty member in an area of the teacher's interest or expertise. Students have a Faculty member agree to supervise them and must submit a signed Approval form to the Registrar to request participation.

Note:  This course satisfies the advanced writing requirement for all LL.M. Candidates.

Survey of Legal Topics (US Bar Exam Study I: Fundamental Knowledge and Writing)

Professor:  Mason Hester and Tina Saunders

Credit Hours:  3

Day & Time:  Wednesdays, 18:45-21:30

This is a comprehensive course on learning or refreshing knowledge of the law most commonly tested on US bar exams. Knowing and understanding the rule of law being tested on the bar exam is the fundamental first step to success on the exam. This course will teach effective tactics to memorize the law for the bar exam, including identifying key legal terms and making rule statements in your own words. In addition to increasing competency of legal topics on the bar exam, this course will focus on effective American-style legal writing for the MEE essays and MPT performance test. The writing portions of the UBE comprise 50% of the bar exam. It is crucial to learn the mechanics of legal writing; thus, this course will have weekly multi-essay writing exercises with personalized feedback. This course is excellent as a starting point for LL.M. students for bar exam study or if you are retaking the exam and need to return to the basics of good study habits.

Note:  13 weeks, limited enrollment. The class counts as credit toward the US Law LL.M. and Certificate programs but does not satisfy the advanced writing requirement for graduation. If you need to satisfy the advanced writing requirement, take Guided Research or a writing course.

US Bar Exam Study II: Advance Skills Practice

Professor:  Mason Hester, Adjunct Professor of Law

Credit Hours:  Non-credit

Day & Time:  Saturdays, 10:00-13:00 (Online)

New Skills-Focused Approach, New Materials! The TUJ Law U.S. Bar Exam Study Course is a comprehensive lecture series on techniques and strategies to take a U.S. state bar exam. The course is redesignedto focus on skill-building to take a bar exam effectively. Students will learn the mechanics and structure of a bar exam, time management, applying substantive law rules, and problem-solving techniques. The course gives students in-depth practice covering each part of the exam, the multistate/multiple-choice section (“the MBE”), state essays, and the multistate performance test (“MPT”) questions. The course will use multiple resources, including updated materials, doctrinal lectures, classroom discussions, substantive outlines, many practice questions, and individual coaching. In this class, as with the bar exam, what matters most is results, and our goal is to make sure that each of you can use these various inputs to produce successful outcomes. This course is for students wanting to “level up” their exam-taking skills.

Note:  14 weeks, this class has limited enrollment.