Marquette’s Original Law School Curriculum

The students who enter Marquette University Law School this year will take a first-year course load consisting of one-semester courses in Torts, Contracts, Civil Procedure, Property, Criminal Law, and Constitutional Law, and a year-long course in Legal Research and Writing.  After the first year, the curriculum is largely elective, although the diploma privilege makes Evidence, Professional Responsibility, and Trusts and Estates upper-level required courses.

The students who enrolled in the inaugural class at the new day division of the Marquette Law School in the fall of 1908 faced a much different situation.  All classes were required, and there was no flexibility as to when a particular class could be taken.  In addition to the regular classes, law students were also required to attend special lectures by prominent lawyers and judges on topics outside the regular curriculum, and there was a practice court where students learned the nuts and bolts of civil and criminal law practice.

Marquette Law School has a long tradition of tinkering with its curriculum and that was true even in 1908 and 1909.  However, from what can be extracted from the catalogs for 1908-1912, the following appears to have been the original day division curriculum.

Fall—Year 1
Common Law Pleading (1)
Contracts (2)
Torts (2)
Real Property (1)
Criminal Law & Procedure (1)
Agency (2)
Domestics Relations (2)		 Spring—Year 1
Common Law Pleading (1)
Contracts (3)
Torts (2)
Real Property (1)
Criminal Law & Procedure (1)
Partnership (2)
Bailments & Carriers (2)
Fall—Year 2
Real Property (2)
Private Corporations (2)
Equity Jurisprudence (2)
Code Pleading & Practice (2)
Personal Property & Sales (2)
Negotiable Paper (2)		 Spring—Year 2
Real Property (2)
Private Corporations (2)
Equity Jurisprudence (2)
Code Pleading & Practice (1)
Evidence (2)
Municipal Corporations (2)
Courts & Jurisdiction (1)
Fall—Year 3
Equity Jurisprudence & Trusts (2)
Constitutional Law (1)
Real Property (2)
Wills (2)
Evidence (2)
Municipal Corporations/Utilities (2)
Insurance (1)
Surety and Guaranty (1)		 Spring—Year 3
Equity Jurisprudence & Trusts (2)
Constitutional Law (1)
Federal Courts, Admiralty, Bankruptcy, Patents, Trademark (2)
Probate Law & Practice (2)
Equity Pleading (2)
Extraordinary Legal Remedies (1)
Damages (1)
Taxation & Public Revenues (1)

For more information on the experiences of the first law students, see the earlier post on Joseph Tierney L’11.

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Best of the Blogs

Time for a new feature here at the Marquette University Faculty Blog.  From time to time the editors of the blog will share links to some of the more interesting recent law-related posts appearing on the blogosphere.  I will get things started.

Over at Scotusblog, Tom Goldstein has an excellent round up of the recently concluded Supreme Court term.  It is commonplace to read broad generalizations about the Roberts Court in the media lately, for example during the hearings on the nomination of Elena Kagan.  Is this an activist Court, rejecting precedent and beholden to corporate interests?  Or has the Court found its moorings once again after years of drifting along according to the whims of Justice Kennedy?  Tom takes a cold hard look at the evidence, and his conclusions may surprise you.  You can read his post here.

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Memories of Sensenbrenner Hall (Part 5)

As the faculty prepares for a move to the spacious and spectacular Eckstein Hall, my thoughts go back to my first day as a faculty member on October 15, 1946.  I was one of three new faculty members, all in their late 20’s, that joined a seasoned faculty that had kept the School intact during World War II.

I shared an office with one of my new colleagues and thus began my teaching career.  As we became adjusted to faculty life, we looked for an increase in the social opportunities among faculty members.  We decided to begin meeting for coffee at an agreeable hour on a daily basis.  We had difficulty in finding a location, facilities or equipment.  We located a room in the southeast corner of the basement.

The room was filled with donated law books that were not needed or essential for the library.  Some where on shelves, but many were piled on the floor.  We cleaned out a corner of the room, scrounged a table, some chairs, a coffee pot and a hot plate.  The faculty coffee (no tea) hour was in business.

Continue ReadingMemories of Sensenbrenner Hall (Part 5)