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Hey all,

I'm an undergraduate and there is a class called judicial behavior, its basically a study of how judges interpret law (textualism, originalist, etc.). I was wondering if taking this subject would be overkill if i'm going to law school. (basically I don't want to wate my undergraduate education on something I'll do in law school).

Sounds like an interesting class.

HyeMart wrote:Hey all,

I'm an undergraduate and there is a class called judicial behavior, its basically a study of how judges interpret law (textualism, originalist, etc.). I was wondering if taking this subject would be overkill if i'm going to law school. (basically I don't want to wate my undergraduate education on something I'll do in law school).

Question: Are you interested in the class?

If yes --> go for it!
If no --> you probably wouldn't have asked the question, but don't take it.

But in all seriousness, you won't be wasting time on something you'll do in law school, if for no other reason than the fact that the law school process will be completely bizarre and foreign to you, even if the substance matches up. Besides, it might be a nice introduction to the field or a warning to stay far away from law. I say take the class.

yes it sounds interesting, but i'm having a hard time deciding between this and another class that sounds interesting. So i figure if ill go deep into this in law school, I can take the other class instead.

when I ask if this stuff is in law school, I don't mean in a specific class, but would I already learn all this in law school just by taking the regular classes.

If you think you will get an A then take it, otherwise take a class you can get an A in.

I think you should take it, even if the class isn't like a law school class at all. Just reading a casebook (in ug) made me wonder if I would actually enjoy law school. If you take the class and don't like it, no big deal. If you go to law school and hate it, the consequences are a bit greater.

Teoeo wrote:If you think you will get an A then take it, otherwise take a class you can get an A in.

+1.

Unless you're worried that law school might not be for you - then this class could (I guess) help you with the decision. If you're completely certain you want to go to law school though, then take a class you can get an A in. Or an A+, if your school hands those out.

kazu wrote:

Teoeo wrote:If you think you will get an A then take it, otherwise take a class you can get an A in.

+1.

Unless you're worried that law school might not be for you - then this class could (I guess) help you with the decision. If you're completely certain you want to go to law school though, then take a class you can get an A in. Or an A+, if your school hands those out.

I think even if he is certain he wants to go to law school, he should take the class. The class might not be exactly like a law school class, but it can introduce to him/her to things he may or may not know or like about law.

maybe ill rephrase what im trying to ask here...

does everyone learn judicial behavior in law school? Or do people learn judicial behavior in law school if they take a course that focus' on it.

The answer is yes and no. One doesn't generally study that formally, but it kind of emerges from everything else.

HyeMart wrote:Hey all,

I'm an undergraduate and there is a class called judicial behavior, its basically a study of how judges interpret law (textualism, originalist, etc.). I was wondering if taking this subject would be overkill if i'm going to law school. (basically I don't want to wate my undergraduate education on something I'll do in law school).

For what it's worth, I took a class called Judicial Process in undergrad that sounds very similar and I loved it. I don't know if it'll help in law school, other than maybe giving me some quasi-policy background, but I've heard some things in class that echo back to what I learned in JP in just the first week.

Grades are important before you apply, so work on those first. If you think you'll do fine, then it's probably a good class to get your feet wet learning about the legal world.

Vegas_Rebel wrote:I don't know if it'll help in law school, other than maybe giving me some quasi-policy background.

This is about the most you could ask for out of that class. Personally, I wouldn't take this class for the same reason I didn't do 0L prep. I wouldn't want to clutter my head with some UG prof's blathering about the law, which may or may not color my thinking about the stuff I learn in 1L.