Legal Studies

Coordinator: Associate Professor Adrienne Fulco (Public Policy and Law)

The legal studies minor introduces students to the complex ways in which law shapes and structures social and economic institutions from the vantage point of several different disciplines. Students will examine how the law affects the distribution of authority, the enforcement of obligations, and the formulation of policy. Students will also learn about the reciprocal interchange between law and broader ideas such as justice, responsibility, and morality.

Students may not apply for admission to the legal studies minor until they have completed LEST 113. Students are expected to enroll in the minor no later than their fourth semester. Students must receive a grade of C- or higher in courses fulfilling the requirements of the legal studies minor. No more than one course taken outside of Trinity may be counted toward the minor. Courses for the minor cannot be taken on a pass/fail basis. Students may double count one course for their major and for the legal studies minor. At least one elective must be at the 300 level.

Course requirements:

Students must take a total of six courses. With the exception of the introductory course, requirements may be fulfilled with substitutions approved by the coordinator. Students must take courses from at least four programs or departments.

• Introductory course—PBPL 113. Introduction to Law. This course traces the development of law as a stabilizing force and instrument of peaceful change from the state of nature through the present day. Among the topics covered are the differences between civil law and common law systems, law and equity, substantive and procedural law, civil and criminal processes, and adversarial and inquisitorial systems. Federal trial and appellate courts, the role of counsel and the judge, and the function of the grand and petit juries are also studied. The doctrine of substantive due process is explored from its beginning through modern times, as are the antecedents and progeny of Griswold v. Connecticut. The Warren Court, and its decisions in Miranda, Escobedo, Massiah, Mapp, Gideon, Gault, Baker, and Brown, are surveyed. Though not a course in constitutional law, the role of the U.S. Constitution as the blueprint of a democratic, federated republic, and as the supreme law of the land, is examined. There is some emphasis on the fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, and 14th amendments. Students are exposed to conflicting views on controversial issues such as capital punishment, gay rights, abortion, and rights of the criminally accused.
• Disciplinary approaches—Three courses from the approved list are required, one from each of three different disciplines or programs, at least one at the 300 or 400 level. The coordinator distributes an updated list of courses each semester to students enrolled in the minor.
• Cross-cultural elective—One course from the approved list that deals principally with the law and society of one or more countries other than the United States. The coordinator distributes an updated list of courses each semester to students enrolled in the minor. Students may fulfill this requirement with a course taken while studying abroad with the approval of the coordinator.
• Integrating exercise—The integrating exercise consists of one course at the 300 or 400 level. Courses are marked by an asterisk in the approved list of courses that is distributed by the coordinator each semester to students enrolled in the minor. Ordinarily, students should not take this course until they have satisfied the first two requirements listed above.