Foundations of the Law of the United States is designed to introduce individuals to the basic structure of the American legal/political system, with contrasts to the civil law system: 1) The adversarial approach; 2) Sources and Interpretation of American law (with emphasis on customary law and the role of judicial precedent); 3) Fact finding (in particular the jury); 4) Structure of American government, and 5) Relationship between governments and individuals. The materials emphasize the primary source of American law - published decisions from American courts.

About the author:

Mack A. Player is Professor of Law at Santa Clara University, where he teaches Introduction to United States Law and Employment Discrimination Law. Professor Player served as Dean of the Law School at Santa Clara University from 1994-2003 after which he served as the Director of Santa Clara Center for Global Law and Policy. Professor Player has held chaired professorships at the University of Georgia and at Florida State University. He has taught courses in United States Law at the Universities of Vienna, St. Gallen (Switzerland), and Gent (Belgium). He has published casebooks, a text, and nutshells¬ on Employment Discrimination.