Concepts and Methods of Federal Civil Procedure

By David Dittfurth

This book contains explanations of topics covered in the beginning law school course in civil procedure. The difficult topics of subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, and the Erie doctrine are covered at length. The book begins with an introduction to law study and an overview of procedure in federal trial courts, covering such topics as standing to sue and the justiciability doctrines. Subsequent chapters discuss pleadings, motions, parties, claims, discovery, and trial.The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure serve as the model procedural code in this book as they do in most civil procedure books. However, before describing the application of various Rules, the author explains the constitutional scope of federal judicial power and details the constraints on any court's jurisdiction over defending parties. The author also stresses the interplay of procedural and substantive law.This book introduces the reader to the complexities of federal jurisdiction and procedure and contains a sufficient wealth of detail to serve as a reference. It explains federal procedure in a way that makes the subject accessible to those who have no background in procedure. The book provides summaries to introduce the reader to the essential rules needed for analysis; in addition, hypothetical problems are posed and answered to show how those rules and case decisions can be used.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0890897387
• ISBN13: 9780890897386
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Carolina Academic Press
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Best basic introduction to civil litigation I have found

This is the best introduction/overview to civil litigation that I have found. In fact, I'm sitting in the NYU Law Library right now where I have just read an aisle full of books about civil procedure during the past month, and this is the best that I have come across. I notice that two of the library's copies are missing, and the one remaining is heavily marked up--more so than any other book on the aisle. This suggests to me that a lot of other readers like the book too. The book is "pedestrian" in the positive sense of being "walkable"--it's easy to get through. But that doesn't mean it's inaccurate or incomplete. To the contrary, Dittfurth has such a clean and total grasp of every facet of civil litigation, both substantive and procedural, that he's able to describe it in short, sharp declarative sentences that are a pleasure to say, not just read. In sparse readabale sentences, the author precisely describes the legal concepts underlying everything from claims to remedies, as well as civil procedure from pre-filing through post-judgment, and he offers practical step-by-step suggestions for doing everything from writing a brief to drafting many specific motions, along with examples of each. Yet this is NOT a "Dummies" book. Great book, Professor Dittfurth. I hope you continue to publish it going forward, although I haven't seen anything yet that needs to be updated. Highly recommended to students and practicing attorneys alike.