About CDTA’s 2nd Year Curriculum
As it provides a wide focus over a four-year period, CDTA’s broad curriculum allows second-year students to focus on three important core subjects for their full second year of law school. CDTA students are introduced to the law of property, specifically real property, and instructed on important components of trial and litigation, evidence and civil procedure.
CDTA’s evening class schedule facilitates the intuitive organization of course materials for study and outline. Traditional schools tend to overwhelm students with multiple core subjects in their first year of law school. Breaking it up into two years strengthens focus and provides more time for those who need more time to learn and study the material.
*Real Property
The course examines acquisition, exclusion, transfer, adverse possession, possessory estates in land, future interests, easements and covenants, trespass and nuisance, zoning, landlord-tenant law, and eminent domain, public and private land use, planning and development, real estate contract, the deed, the recording system and title insurance, restriction of land use through private arrangement and public regulation, and the sale and financing of real estate.
*Civil Procedure
Civil Procedure is the first procedural course students take at CDTA. The course covers the principal elements of the civil litigation process, including the major stages of a lawsuit, pleading, discovery, summary judgment, jury trial, motions for judgment as a matter of law, joinder of parties and claims, claim and issue preclusion, issues of standing and jurisdiction, the effects of prior adjudication, the role of the jury, and alternatives to formal adjudication, constitutional limits on territorial jurisdiction, federal subject-matter jurisdiction, venue and choice of federal vs. state law, and the Erie doctrine.
*Evidence
This course focuses on the Federal Rules of Evidence and the California Evidence Code. It also covers the standard concepts related to the courtroom demonstration of facts in civil and criminal cases. Students study the central concepts of “relevance” and “prejudice,” with further emphasis on the rule against hearsay and its exceptions. The course also addresses privileges, character, credibility, and the impeachment of witnesses.
A range of evidence topics is studied, including the role of the judge and jury, confrontation, form of direct and cross-examination, impeachment, and expert testimony. Evidence is crucial for students who desire to be attorney-advocates.
The California Desert Trial Academy was founded with a progressive vision of legal education. This vision includes the maximum utilization of technology to help students achieve their professional goals. At CDTA, we offer online legal resources that provide convenience, repetition, and hands-on training 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At CDTA, we train, educate, and develop students to be exceptional attorneys and trial advocates. Call us today at (760) 342-0900 or find out more online here.