Professor Schnably’s Courses
 


 
Property (B) (Law 014B)
 
Final Grades & Exam Review:    The final grades are available through MyUM. This was the distribution:

Letter
Grade		 Value Number
A 4.00 10
A-3.70 10
B+3.30 17
B 3.00 12
B-2.70 10
C+2.30 10
C 2.00  8
C-1.70  5
D 1.00  0
F 0.00  0
Total82
Average2.971
Median3.000

As you may know, there is a required distribution of grades in first-year substantive courses (other than Spring semester electives). It is described at p. 17 of the Law School Handbook, which sets out the School’s academic policies:

“Students in first-year courses are graded in accordance with the following grade distribution:

 

  “1. The combined total number of A, A- and B+ grades awarded in each course shall equal or exceed 20 percent of the number of students graded in that course; and
“2. The combined total number of grades of B or higher awarded in each course shall equal or exceed 45 percent of the number of students graded in that course.

“The sum of C-, D, and F grades in first-year courses shall not be less than 5 percent nor more than 15 percent of the number of students graded in that course, (subject to waiver for a particular course in unusual circumstances by vote of the Faculty or by the Dean prior to the submission of grades).”
In a class of 82 students, the Handbook would require that there be at least 17 “A,” “A-,” and “B+” grades, and at least 37 “A,” “A-,” “B+,” and “B” grades, and between 5 and 12 grades of “C-” or lower. This required distribution did not affect the grades I gave. I would have given the same grades in the absence of the required distribution.
 

Review of Exam Answers. Under the Law School Handbook, pp. 18-19, students have a right to review their exam answers in case of essay exams. If you want to review them on your own, please contact my assistant, Ms. Andrea Garcia. No appointment is needed simply to review your answers. Ms. Garcia will send you a copy of the exam, sample answers, and your answers.


Feedback on Exams. I will be happy to give you feedback on what you might do on future exams to improve your performance. If you want to schedule a meeting, please e-mail Ms. Garcia and let her know, and she will schedule an appointment. Before your appointment, you should re-read the exam, your answers, and the sample answers, and I will re-read your answers before we meet.

 

Policy on Grade Changes. As you may know, under the Law School Handbook (p. 19), a faculty member cannot change a final grade in a exam course unless there is a mechanical error (such as an error in addition of points) that would affect the grade:

“A final grade submitted to the Registrar cannot be changed by a faculty member, or anyone else, to reflect a re-evaluation of the student’s examination answers or other work. If, however, an arithmetic or transmitting error is discovered, the error will be corrected. No change of grade takes effect without the approval of the Vice Dean. Requests to have such errors corrected must be made by the instructor, and the Vice Dean’s decision communicated to the Registrar before the end of the semester immediately following the semester or summer session in which the error was made.

“There are no grade appeals and no reevaluation exists.”

 

Course Description:   Property is a fascinating subject that will help you learn basic legal concepts and methods of analysis. The wide variety of topics covered makes it especially interesting. Parts of it are conceptual and theoretical. Parts of it relate to everyday problems like landlord-tenant law or the sale of property. You’ll learn a range of skills -- reading cases, applying statutes, and solving problems.
Semester:   Fall 2012
Credits:   4
Meeting Times:   Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 2:00 p.m.-3:20 p.m.
Meeting Room:   Room F108.
Office Hours:   Please check the Office Hours page. You may also contact me by e-mail to request an appointment.
Ground Rules:   Mandatory: You must read the Ground Rules before the first day of class, and observe them at all times.
Dean’s Fellow:   Joshua Plager. You can find the schedule of Dean’s Fellow sessions here.
Casebook / Other Materials:  
  • Dukeminier, Krier, et al., Property (7th ed. 2010)
  • Supplementary materials, which will be posted on the Syllabus page
Assignments:   The Syllabus gives you the page numbers of readings in the casebook and supplementary materials in outline form. The Current Assignments page has the assignment for particular classes, including the first class.
Practice Exam:  

Final Exam:   There will be a closed-book exam at the end of the course, which will be blind-graded. Late in the semester I will post an exam packet with Past Exams and Sample/Model Answers.
Final Grade:   The final grade will be determined by your grade on the final exam, except that class participation may raise your grade (e.g., from a B to a B+), but not lower it. I may, however, lower your grade by half a grade for excessive absences. See the Ground Rules for details.

 

Back to the top

 

 

International Human Rights Law (Law 311A)
 
Exam   
Period  
Questions:		 I have posted some questions I have received, together with my answers, here.
Course Description:   This course will examine international human rights agreements, international and regional human rights courts and tribunals, and international human rights organizations and bodies, both governmental and non-governmental. It will also cover issues relating to the nature of human rights (e.g., civil and political rights, economic and social rights, individual and collective rights). In addition, it will examine the role of international human rights law in domestic law.
Semester:   Fall 2012
Credits:   3
Meeting Times:   Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m.-10:50 a.m.
Meeting Room:   A216B
Office Hours:   Please check the Office Hours page. You may also contact me by e-mail to request an appointment.
Ground Rules:   You must read the Ground Rules before the first day of class, and observe them at all times.
Casebook / Other Materials:  
Assignments:   Please read the Ground Rules before the first class. For the reading assignments for each day (including the first week), see the Schedule. Typically we will focus on the questions at the beginning of each chapter of the casebook (or elsewhere in the text), but for some assignments I will post some additional Questions.
Note that the readings in the Schedule are divided into two columns. The first (“Reading”) has the primary textual readings; you should read all of those pages through, unless they are marked optional). The second (“Treaty Supp.”) sets out relevant treaties or other materials from the Treaty Supplement. You do not need to read through those pages from start to finish, but for any treaty you should look through it to get familiar with its main parts, and of course pay close attention to any provisions that are particularly relevant to the Readings. In some instances, the casebook itself has excerpts of the relevant provisions, which is convenient, but it’s still important to look over the entire treaty if it is listed in this column.
Role-playing Exercise:   The casebook has 5 role-playing exercises. They will be held on the dates indicated on the Schedule. Every student will need to do one such role-playing exercise. No written work will be required. Check the Schedule to see which exercise you will do and when.
Exam:   The final exam will be open-book. You may bring any written materials you wish to the exam. The final grade will be determined by the exam and by class participation. In general, class participation may raise your grade by a half a grade (e.g., from B to B+), but not lower it. In addition, separately from the general class participation component, the in-class exercises may raise your grade by half a grade, but not lower it. Consequently, two “bumps” up are possible. Finally, excessive absences may lower your grade by half a grade. See the Ground Rules for details.
Prior Exams:   You may also want to review prior exams at some point. I would suggest that you wait until later in the semester to look at these old exams.

 

Back to the top

 

 

Constitutional Law I(D) (Law 017A) (Spring 2012)
 

 

Back to the top