Teaching the Law School Curriculum - Institute for Law Teaching ...

382 Torts
(Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and U.S.S. Enterprise are Registered Trademarks of Paramount Pictures
Corporation. There are many assumptions about the 24th-century legal system, the role of law, and the
kind of civil and criminal liability that exist at that time reflected in the various episodes of Star Trek: The Next
Generation. For a good discussion about some of these assumptions, see Paul Joseph and Sharon Carton, The
Law of the Federation: Images of Law, Lawyers and the Legal System in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, 24 U.
Toledo L.Rev. 43, 83 (1992).)
Okianer Christian Dark, Howard University School of Law
Exercises
Teaching Torts with Puzzles, Props, and Productions
I teach first-year Torts. Although many students find torts inherently interesting, I try to increase their enjoyment
— and enhance their learning — by adding some innovative class exercises throughout the year.
I start the course in the fall by having the students do a crossword puzzle encompassing some of the new vocabulary
they encounter in their first assignment in the textbook (Marc A. Franklin and Robert L. Rabin, Tort
Law and Alternatives (Foundation Press (2001)). At the beginning of the first class I give a prize to the first student
who has turned in a crossword puzzle that contains all the correct answers. The students always applaud
loudly for the winning student and it seems to start the year off on a high note.
At the start of each class, I pass out what I call “board notes,” which are summaries of the key points I would
like the students to learn from the reading and from my lecture. I believe that this approach enables the students
to participate more fully in the class discussion without worrying as much about missing something if they are
not typing every word verbatim into their computers. I frequently attach additional pertinent information to the
board notes, such as sections of the Restatement that correspond with their reading or other related material.
Since Torts is what I call a “newspaper class,” I often include very recent newspaper and magazine articles to update
their material. I encourage the students to bring print or email articles to me so I can share them with the
class.
I also make extensive use of skits and props throughout the year. This process starts with the case of Brown v.
Kendall, 6 Cush. (60 Mass.) 292, involving a dog fight and a plaintiff who was accused of being contributorily
negligent in trying to separate two dogs with a four-foot-long stick. I bring two stuffed animal dogs to class, along
with a four-foot stick, and we reenact the case. Not only do the students seem to enjoy the exercise (I have actually
had students pleading to be cast as one of the dogs) but watching the reenactment allows the students to visualize
why the plaintiff was not acting unreasonably.
About a week later, the students read two slip-and-fall cases regarding constructive notice of a dangerous condition
(Negri v. Stop and Shop, Inc., 65 N.Y. 2d 625, 480 N.E. 2d 740, 491 N.Y.S. 2d 151 (1985), and Gordon v.
American Museum of Natural History, 67 N.Y. 2d 836. 492 N.E. 2d 774, 501 N.Y.S. 2d 646 (1986)). I help the students
understand how circumstantial evidence can aid in establishing constructive notice by taking two brown
paper bags to class. I tell the class that the bags contain evidence regarding two slip-and-fall cases. I ask the students
to determine which case they would prefer to handle if they represented the plaintiff. The first bag contains
a very clean banana peel. The second bag contains a very dirty, scuffed up banana peel. (This class exercise
was originated by my husband, Santa Clara University Law Professor Eric Wright.)
When we discuss joint and several liability, I distribute varying amounts of fake money to several student-defendants.
Other students act as plaintiffs and very quickly understand the economic advantage to a plaintiff of
joint and several liability and the problems faced by a plaintiff if one of the defendants is insolvent and several
liability is imposed.