LEGAL TECHNIQUE AND LOGIC

COURSE OUTLINE
I. Part I:

A. Case/Judicial Decisions and Opinions

1. Studying Law under the Case Method or Case System

2. Parts of a case
3. Determining the Ratio Decidendi of a Case
-‐ Distinction between Obiter Dictum and Ratio Decidendi
-‐ Distinction between issues of law and issues of fact
4. Preparation of a case digest and a case analysis

B. Practical Exercises
 Writing case digests and case analyses

Part II:

A. Introduction to Legal Reasoning

B. Understanding Basic Concepts

1. Logic
2. Arguments, Conclusion, and Premise
3. Statements/Propositions
4. Concepts
5. Non-‐Arguments
a. Reports
b. Unsupported Opinions
c. Conditional Statements
d. Explanations
6. Truth and Soundness

C. Uses and Problems of Language

1. Uses of Language
a. Informative
b. Expressive
c. Directive
2. Vagueness and Ambiguity
3. Verbal Disputes and Genuine Disputes
4. Definitions
a. Denotative Definition (extension)
b. Connotative Definition (intension)

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 c. Errors of Definition
1) Circular
2) Too Broad or Too Narrow
3) Figurative
4) Obscure
5) Negative

D. Formal Logic or Reasoning

1. Deductive Reasoning
a. Concept
b. Syllogism
1) Categorical Syllogism

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 a) Parts
b) Rules and Fallacies
2) Hypothetical Syllogism
a) Conditional
b) Disjunctive
c) Conjunctive

2. Inductive Reasoning
a. Concept
b. Types:
1) Inductive Generalization
2) Argument by Analogy
3) Causal Argument

E. Informal or Practical Reasoning

1. Concept: Distinguished from formal logic

2. Toulmin’s Model of Reasoning
3. Fallacies
a. Fallacies of Ambiguity
b. Fallacies of Relevance
c. Fallacies of Insufficient Evidence