Penn State Dickinson Law Electives (LWELB)

The course provides students with a substantive review of selected material routinely tested on the bar exam, primarily through problems and exercises in a bar exam format designed to familiarize students with the exam and techniques for answering multiple choice questions. Individualized feedback is provided every week to assist each student identify areas of strength and weakness. The goal is to enhance student ability to prepare for the bar exam and is intended to supplement, not replace, commercial bar preparation courses. This course is not focused on any particular state, so all students will benefit regardless of where they are sitting for the bar exam.

The course examines how the rise of AI is challenging the law, while also exploring how law might shape AI. The course is intended for all students who anticipate having corporate, start up, or artistic clients, as well as for students interested in becoming AI specialists.

This course examines the multifaceted concept of homeland security and the legal authorities governing the protection of the homeland. This course will be divided into three components. The first will examine the most significant threats to homeland security, whether natural or manmade, including terrorism, cyber activities, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, power outages, hazardous materials spills, pandemic health threats, and others. The second component will provide an overview of the organization of homeland security institutions, and examine the division of homeland security responsibilities and jurisdictions between federal, state and local governments, and the private sector. This section will also consider the appropriate level of interagency and intergovernmental coordination. The third and most significant component, will explore the legal architecture governing how the public and private sectors identify, prepare for and respond to threats to homeland security. This section will also consider how political decision-making structures influence the development of homeland security laws, and the appropriate balance between security and civil rights and libe1ties. By the end of this course, students will have a solid understanding of the complex set of actors, institutions and processes that make up the homeland security infrastructure, a strong working knowledge of the governing legal authorities, and an appreciation for the most significant and persistent controversies in the field.

Today's business bankruptcy practice seldom centers around one debtor filing one case in a single nation's bankruptcy court. Most corporations of any size have operations and assets in more than one country. In addition, many troubled corporations are part of a "corporate group" that includes affiliated entities operating in numerous countries, many of which will file their own insolvency proceedings in their countries of incorporation. The most obvious example of this trend is the Lehman Brothers group of companies: approximately 80 Lehman affiliates commenced insolvency proceedings in 16 countries. The International Bankruptcy is a course designed to deal with this world of multi-jurisdictional business insolvency.

This course will examine American Indian law, with emphasis on contemporary Indian Country issues such as constitutional challenges to federal laws, treaty application, civil and criminal jurisdiction, child welfare, gaming, and cultural and religious protection. It will review foundational legal principles governing the unique relationship between Native Nations and the United States. The course will then shift to specific challenges facing Indian Country today, how federal laws and Supreme Court decisions help or further those challenges, and the solutions pursued to address them. The focus is on current law and current challenges. Topics include treaty rights; the tribal right of self-government under federal law, including the civil and criminal jurisdiction authority of tribes; the status and importance of tribal lands; tribal sovereign immunity; the Indian Child Welfare Act; the management of tribal natural resources, including water; religious and cultural resource protection; and environmental law and tribes.

This course examines the military justice system, essentially military procedural and substantive criminal law. Students will learn about the statutes, policies, principles, standards, and rules governing the military justice process and jurisdiction from investigation through trial (including sentencing such as death penalty) and the appellate process. The course will begin with an overview of the military justice system. It will then address military criminal procedure. Next, will be a review of substantive criminal law, focusing on crimes and defenses specific to the military.

This course introduces you to current "hot-button" issues in technology policy and law through the eyes of policymakers, asking you to advance their conversations. The early weeks of the course introduce you to the substantive legal, technical, and policy background around these issues. The later weeks shift toward problem solving and building concrete, public-facing projects, working in interdisciplinary teams. The projects in this class are tailored to meet the current research needs of particular federal and state lawmakers and agencies based on their legislative and regulatory agendas for the year. Possible policy coverage and project areas include connected health; consumer/ investor protection in security and privacy; disinformation, governance, and tech literacy; internet availability and net neutrality; sustainability and ethics in computing design; the Internet of Things and the right to repair; machine learning/ AI suitability; tech competition; computing history; and tech workforce development. Successful projects will be shared with the policymakers whose work they advance.

This course describes the substantive law relevant to the field of information security or "infosec" law, commonly known to policymakers as "cybersecurity." It examines how courts, legislatures, and regulators confront the major legal issues that information security presents. The course includes three types of 'readings' - one set introduces you to a key aspect of the history and culture of information security; the second set introduces technical and policy standards; the third consists of statutes and caselaw. The early weeks in this class introduce you to the state of the law of information security and assist you in acquiring technical competence in the terms of art of the field. The later weeks in the course identify and frame current legal debates in Congress, state legislatures, regulatory agencies, and the business community on matters of information security.

This course covers federal and state election law and will examine the constitutional basis for the regulation of elections, the development of the law in this area over the last 30 years, as well as criminal and civil enforcement of the law, the role of the Federal Election Commission, the formation and regulation of political action committees, as well as related federal tax law provisions impacting operation of political committees and advocacy organizations. The course will also examine the intersection of the election law with congressional ethics rules, lobbying regulations and representation of political candidates and entities in election law matters.

Public health issues are in the news every day. This course is a survey of the constitutional, statutory, administrative, and common law that govern the field of public health in the United States. We will explore the legal and policy aspects of addressing public health problems such as new disease epidemics, drug overdoses, mass shootings, drunk driving, hospital patient injuries, contaminated food and water, and others.

This course examines the history, values and function of free expression, advocacy of illegal action, expression that provokes a hostile audience reaction, defamation, commercial advertising, obscenity, hate speech and pornography, expression in public places, symbolic speech, campaign finance laws, and speech in restricted environments.

This course is designed for students with intermediate to advanced Spanish proficiency who seek to develop the linguistic and cultural competencies necessary for effective legal communication in Spanish-speaking contexts. Conducted primarily in Spanish, the course integrates language development with substantive legal content drawn from U.S. practice and the civil law traditions of Latin America and Spain. Students will build and refine specialized legal vocabulary in areas such as immigration, family law, and criminal law, while also gaining exposure to foundational principles of civil law systems. The curriculum is organized around realistic legal scenarios, including client interviews, document preparation, and local codes and regulations. Through simulations, structured discussions, drafting assignments, and listening exercises, students will strengthen their oral advocacy, written precision, and translation skills differences among Spanish-speaking jurisdictions.

This course examines the federal tax consequences of wealth transfers under the unified federal estate and gift tax regime. The treatment of transfers involving trusts is a recurring focus. Limited attention is devoted to the generation-skipping transfer tax.

This course encompasses the many areas of law and jurisprudence that apply to the relationship between humans and animals. In addition to gaining an appreciation for the historical development of legal principles applicable to animals, students will become familiar with issues of criminal law, tort law, and property law that comprise the fundamental elements of Animal Law. Specific areas of Animal Law that will be explored include animal cruelty; damages and valuation relating to animals; veterinary malpractice; legal protections for animals involved in research, farm animals, and wildlife; regulation of emotional support and service animals; and estate planning related primarily to companion animals. The course also will include a review of various local, state, national, and international rules and regulations applicable to the sale, import, and export of domesticated and wild animals. Jurisprudential facets of Animal Law to be considered include the evolving concept of animals as tangible property and comparing and contrasting the concepts of animal welfare and animal rights.

This course examines the income tax consequences of the formation, operation, and liquidation of a partnership, the classification of an entity as a partnership, distributions by a partnership, and sales of partnership interests.

This course examines the aviation industry from a legal lens. The course will cover the regulatory function of the United States government as well as the influence of International Law on the governance and operation of the aviation industry. The course will cover a broad range of reported and unreported aviation cases to provide students with an understanding of the various legal processes related to aviation law. Students will learn how to engage aviation authorities in a responsible manner utilizing the administrative law system. The course will cover the latest Supreme Court cases, developments, and technological advances that impact aviation law.