Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Class Date
1
01/14
Content
Introduction:
Course Content and Explanation [NL & QM]
Student Pairings and Client Pairings [NL & QM]
Substantive:
Introduction and Overview of Enforcing the Constitution [NL]
State Sovereign Immunity and the Eleventh Amendment [NL]
42 U.S.C. 1983 [NL]
Reading Assignment:
Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. 419 (1793)
Alden v. Maine, 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
42 U.S.C. 1983
Monell v. Dept of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
01/17
01/21
Substantive:
Absolute Immunity [NL]
Qualified Immunity [NL & QM]
Introduction to the Fact Pattern [NL & QM]
Guest:
Transitioning Successfully from Law School to Civil Rights Practice: What You
Should Be Doing Now [Aaron Belzer]
01/28
Assignment Due:
Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349 (1978)
Connick v. Thompson, 131 S. Ct. 1350 (2011)
Radley Balko, Seventh Circuit Pokes a Hole in Prosecutorial Immunity, Washington
Post, Jan. 30, 2014
Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1981)
Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194 (2001)
Pearson v. Callahan, 129 S. Ct. 808 (2009)
Substantive:
Qualified Immunity [NL & QM]
First and Fourth Amendment Litigation [NL & QM]
Skills:
Fact Pattern Analysis [QM]
Defending depositions and Client Preparation [Siddhartha Rathod & Sean T. Olson]
Reading Assignment:
Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511 (1985)
Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304 (1995)
Shroff v. Spellman, 604 F.3d 1179 (10th Cir. 2010)
02/04
02/11
Substantive:
Indemnification [NL]
Governmental Liability [NL]
Civil Procedure Dispositive Motions [QM]
Skills:
Objections and Exhibit Usage in a Deposition [QM]
Notices of Deposition and Subpoena Duces Tecum [QM]
Guest:
Hindsight is 20/20 Making a Life or Death Split Second Decision [Commander
Paul Pazen, Denver Police Department]
Reading Assignment:
Monell v. Dept of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978) (reread)
Karen M. Blum, Making Out the Monell Claim Under Section 1983, 25 TOURO L.
REV. 829 (2009)
Joanna Schwartz, Police Indemnification, 89 N.Y.U. L. REV. 885 (2014)
Find and read Colorado public employee indemnification statute
02/18
Skills:
Common Stylistic and Grammatical Issues [NL]
Thinking like a Federal Clerk when Drafting a Motion & Response [Arash Jahanian
& Matthew Cron]
Guest:
Court Reporters and the Record [Judy Stevens, Stevens-Koenig Reporting]
02/25
03/04
03/11 Substantive:
Motions for Summary Judgment Standard of Review, Statement of Facts and
Responses, & Argument [NL & QM]
Guest:
What Judges Look for in Written Motions and Oral Argument
Practicing in Federal Court [Judge: TBD]
Draft Motion for Summary Judgment and Response Due
03/18
03/25 Substantive:
Governmental Liability [NL & QM]
Guest:
Defending the Castle: Representing the Government in Civil Rights Cases [Guests and
Moderators: A panel of experienced city and county attorneys who practice in civil
rights defense.]
Skills:
Individual conferences regarding draft motions for summary judgment will be scheduled
this week.
9
04/01 Substantive:
Damages [NL & QM]
Attorneys Fees Under 42 U.S.C. 1983 [NL & QM]
Settlement [NL & QM]
Skills:
Techniques for Oral Argument [QM & Professor Justin Pidot]
Motion for Summary Judgment Due
10 04/08 Substantive:
Municipal Liability [NL & QM]
Guests:
How to Pursue a Career as a Civil Rights Litigator and Starting and Managing a Plaintiffs
Side Law Firm [David Lane, John Holland, Siddhartha Rathod, Tim Fox, Amy
Robertson]
Response to Motion for Summary Judgment Due
11 04/15
12
04/22
TBD
Substantive:
Final Exam Review [NL & QM]
*** Final Exam ***