I. Introduction/Preliminaries: Legal Technique and Logic Course Outline

Download as docx, pdf, or txt
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 3

LEGAL TECHNIQUE AND LOGIC COURSE OUTLINE

Arellano University School of Law


2nd Semester
School Year 2017-2018

I. Introduction/Preliminaries
a. Logic and Law (Definition)
b. Interplay of Logic and Law
c. Legal Reasoning (definition and importance)
d. Argument as an Expression of Reasoning
Definition and Importance of Argument in the Practice of Law
e. Recognizing Arguments
f. Components of Legal Reasoning
i. ISSUE
ii. RULE
iii. ANALYSIS
g. Evaluating Legal Reasoning

II. Fundamental Concepts in Legal Reasoning


a. Evidence (definition) cross reference Rule 131, Rules of Court
b. Burden of Proof vs. Burden of Evidence
c. Relevance and Admissibility; Rules of Relevancy and Rules on Competency
d. Testimony of Witnesses, Rule 130 Revised Rules on Evidence
e. Expert Testimony
f. Examination
g. Dependence on Precedents

III. Deductive Reasoning in Law


a. Deduction and Induction (definition; distinctions; importance; examples)
b. Syllogisms (definition and importance)
c. Types of Syllogisms
I. Categorical Syllogisms
II. Quantity of the Predicate
a. Parts of a Categorical Syllogisms
b. Rules of Validity of Categorical Syllogisms
c. Hypothetical Syllogisms
d. Conditional Syllogisms
e. Rules for Conditional Syllogisms
f. Enthymemes
g. Polysyllogisms
IV. Inductive Reasoning in Law
a. Inductive Generalizations
b. Evaluating Inductive Generalizations
c. Analogical Arguments
d. Evaluating Analogical Arguments

V. Fallacies in Legal Reasoning


a. Formal and Informal Fallacies
b. Falacies of Ambiguity
c. Equivocation
d. Amphiboly
e. Improper Accent
f. Vicious Abstraction
g. Composition
h. Division
i. Falacies of Irrelevance (definition)
1. Argumentum ad Hominem
2. Argumentum ad Misericordiam
3. Argumentum ad Baculum
4. Petitio Principii
j. Fallacies of Insufficient Evidence
1. Argumentum ad Amtiquum
2. Argumentum ad Vericundiam
3. Accident
4. Hasty Generalization
5. Argumentum ad Ignorantiam
6. False Dillema

VI. Preliminary Examination

VII. Rules of Legal Reasoning


a. Rules of Collision
b. Rules of Interpretation and Construction
c. Rules of Judgment
d. Rules of Procedure

VIII. Midterm Examination

IX. Other Patterns of Legal Reasoning


a. Reasoning from Definition
b. If and Then Reasoning
c. Argument from General Principles of Law
X. Effective Reading Skills
a. Codals and Jurisprudence
b. Read the Materials Repeatedly
c. Look for Import Words, Phrases, and Sentences
d. Read Contextually
e. Context in Chapters
f. The Case About the Facts, Issues, and Rulings
g. Read the Decision of the Trial Court or the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC
h. “FIR” Method in Case Digests
i. Historical Discussions

XI. Examination Questions Analysis


a. Objective and Problem Type Question
b. The “FIR” Pattern in Problem Type Questions
c. Seeing the Syllogism in the Problem
d. Facts to Elements (of law) Correspondence

XII. Argumentative Writing


a. Argumentative Writing Defined
b. The Syllogistic Pattern in Argumentative Writing

XIII. Final Examination

Reference Books:
a. New Code of Judicial Conduct
b. Revised Rules of Court
c. Legal Logic by F.J. Evangelista
d. Basic Techniques in Legal Reasoning by John Dave Vergara

You might also like