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What is the best way to attack the cases? Does substance matter or should I exclusively focus on procedural issues? Have a great semester everyone!

i dunno, but i opened my casebook today to do the reading and i see pennoyer staring at me for tomorrow's reading. given the amount of individual threads dedicated to this case, im not looking forward to it.

it is kind of strange, though, reading the cases. i have to train myself all over again on how to read the material - all the stuff i would skip over last semester for torts, Ks, etc. i now have to pay the most attention to. ive had to reread a number of paragraphs thinking "oh yeah, that shit kind of matters now..."

traehekat wrote:i dunno, but i opened my casebook today to do the reading and i see pennoyer staring at me for tomorrow's reading. given the amount of individual threads dedicated to this case, im not looking forward to it.

it is kind of strange, though, reading the cases. i have to train myself all over again on how to read the material - all the stuff i would skip over last semester for torts, Ks, etc. i now have to pay the most attention to. ive had to reread a number of paragraphs thinking "oh yeah, that shit kind of matters now..."

Wait so for civ pro the cases are really important?

thecilent wrote:

traehekat wrote:i dunno, but i opened my casebook today to do the reading and i see pennoyer staring at me for tomorrow's reading. given the amount of individual threads dedicated to this case, im not looking forward to it.

it is kind of strange, though, reading the cases. i have to train myself all over again on how to read the material - all the stuff i would skip over last semester for torts, Ks, etc. i now have to pay the most attention to. ive had to reread a number of paragraphs thinking "oh yeah, that shit kind of matters now..."

Wait so for civ pro the cases are really important?

Yes. Are you a 0L?

Yes

E&E FTW. The take away from Pennoyer is actually pretty simple. Its the rest of the Personal Jurisdiction cases that get somewhat confusing. However, I don't think PJ by itself is that confusing. Get the newest E&E for civ pro, pay attention in class and you'll be fine.

And, lastly, IMO substance>>>>>>>>>>>>cases, in civ pro. At least for my professor.

There are some cases that are pretty important because they really shaped the way that the court deals with certain procedural issues. My professors focused on those and supplemented with other cases as examples of the law being used. Also, the BarBri lectures are a great help and pretty much taught me the entire course last semester, so if you can get access, I would really suggest listening to them as you cover the material.

Good luck!

Supplements, especially the EE, will be a godsend for civ pro. My civ pro prof was an old fossil that spoke in overly convoluted legalese. I would leave each lecture scratching my head on half the things he said. Then, i started to read the EE and it just tied everything from the lectures and cases together so well. I still remember the day i left class and everything from the cases and lectures actually made sense, thanks to reading the pertinent section in the EE the night before. Glannon guide is awesome too. If your civ pro exam has ANY multiple choice at all, buying the Glannon guide is a must.

2L here. I'd just like to throw in a word of caution about supplements in civ pro (or really any course where you're dealing with a lot of Supreme Court cases). Substituting the E&E for actually knowing the cases may be enough to understand the material, but it is NOT enough for good exam performance. As someone mentioned, some cases ARE the law of civil procedure, so you MUST know them, e.g., Byrd v. Blue Ridge and Hanna v. Plumer. Moreover, you must know the cases if your professor cares a lot about analogizing. Just ask him during office hours. Finally, it helps to read the applicable Federal Rule of Civ Pro before you tackle a given case. Good luck.

I think the above warning against using supplements as a crutch is valid, but is much less of a concern for classes like Civ Pro. There are several defining cases that must be understood in depth (such as the eerie line) but if a case has such great importance, the EE will thoroughly analyze the facts and issues in detail. I am not advocating substituting the EE for actual case reading. In fact, you shouldn't substitute the EE for anything. But in the role of reinforcing and clarifying your understanding of the law, i find that supplements are particularly effective in Civ Pro.

This depends, like everything in law school, on how your professor teaches Civ Pro. Our final required a very good understanding of the Federal Rules more than anything else and for me, the E&E and the Glannon Guide were very very helpful in learning the rules. But what do I know, we'll see how well this approach worked once grades come in. Then again, I did also read almost every case.

http://www.amazon.com/Aspen-Audio-Guide ... 855&sr=1-1

Just add things that changed recently and put in class actions.