Mexico Summer Legal Studies
June 7 - June 29, 2008
Loyola University New Orleans College of Law offers a program of legal studies in Cuernavaca, Mexico, with the beautiful Hotel Posada Jacarandas serving as the campus. Known as the City of Eternal Spring, Cuernavaca has been a resort since the days of Cortes. It is a smaller, more manageable city than the capital, yet is an hour from the attractions of Mexico City on modern, inexpensive buses. All courses offered are ABA approved for transfer credit. They will be taught by faculty from Loyola and other American and foreign law schools. Classroom instruction will be enriched with a series of field trips to many points of cultural interest. Trips to the pyramids of Teotichuacan, Mexico City, and the colonial city of Taxco are included in the program. Some students take a weekend trip to Acapulco on their own.
The law school program is directed by Professor Keith Vetter, Ted & Louanna Frois Distinguished Professor of International Law Studies, and will offer interaction with the Mexican legal community, including optional tours of judicial, legal, and government offices and a mandatory conference with the Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of Morelos. In addition, Loyola College of Law has a relationship with the highly regarded Cuernavaca Language School. Our students are offered, at a substantial discount, a special designed abbreviated immersion course in Spanish. Companions may take a more intensive course, again with a special Loyola discount. Either Spanish course includes optional housing with a Mexican family.
Courses
The curriculum for summer 2008 will consist of Western Legal Tradition (Civil Law), Current Issues in Immigration Law and Comparative Criminal Law and Administration of Criminal Justice. Students under ABA regulations are limited to four hours credit. Each course carries two semester hours of academic credit. A Mexican Legal Systems Externship is also offered to candidates who are completely fluent in Spanish for 1 hour credit; Students who take this course may also apply for a one credit hour Independent Reserarch course. Both of these last two courses are graded on a pass/fail basis.
Student performance is evaluated through final examinations, graded by the alphabetical system of A, B+, B, C+, C, D+, D, and F except in the Externship and Independent Studies course. No student will be given credit for work done in any course in which he or she has failed to attend at least 80 percent of the scheduled classes, except upon a showing of compelling hardship or exceptional circumstances. .
WESTERN LEGAL TRADITION (2 hours) 
Professor Obrad Stanojevic
This course surveys the differences between the civil and common law systems, the two great legal systems of Western Civilization. It highlights the differing historical development and how this divergence contributes to the differences in the systems. Visiting lecturers will emphasize the development of the legal systems of Latin America and Mexico as part of the general pattern.
CURRENT ISSUES IN IMMIGRATION LAW (2 hours)
Professor Molina
This course will survey human rights issues and explore relief provided to individuals inside and outside of the United States under U.S. Immigration law for victims of persecution (refugees and asylees), torture, crime, human trafficking, and natural disasters. In addition, it will explore the effect of natural disasters on the immigrant population in the United States, with particular attention to events during and after Hurricane Katrina.
Discussion includes eligibility for emergency relief and immigrant labor in the recovery and reconstruction efforts of the Gulf region.
COMPARATIVE CRIMINAL LAW & ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL LAW (2 hours)
Judge and Adjunct Professor Calvin Johnson
This course will compare the systems of Criminal law and Administration of Criminal Justice of Mexico and the United States. It will be taught by Adjunct Professor and former Chief Judge of the New Orleans Criminal District Courts, Judge Calvin Johnson. Judge Johnson hosted a delegation of Supreme Court Justices from Cuernavaca and criminal court Justices during their one week visit to Loyola and New Orleans where they observed for a complete day a criminal trial in his courtroom. One of the attending criminal court judges will give lectures on the differences he observed in the two systems.
MEXICAN LEGAL SYSTEM EXTERNSHIP (1 hour)
Professors Vetter and Molina
A limited number of students will be placed as externs with the civil trial courts under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Morelos. Students taking this course are limited to one other 2 hour course and the Independent Study course described after this course. Students generally spend three to four hours a day in the trial courts, observing proceedings, reviewing and sometimes drafting documents, and interacting with judges, court clerks, and attorneys. The course includes a classroom component where lecturers expand on various aspects of the Mexican legal system. Applicants must be completely fluent in Spanish and English and must furnish a resume translated into Spanish. This course requires a written report of activities and is graded on a pass/fail basis. Interested students must contact Professor Molina for pre-approval.
INDEPENDENT STUDY (1 hour)
Professor Vetter
Students who are selected for the Mexican Legal Systems Externship may elect to write a paper of at least 15 pages on a particular part of the Mexican Legal System, which may incorporate some aspect of their experience. An outline must be submitted to Professor Vetter before registration is finally approved.
Last year 21 students participated in the program, 12 from Loyola and 9 from other law schools.
Faculty
Bernard Keith Vetter is the Ted and Louana Frois Distinguished Professor of International Law Studies at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University Law School (emphasis in Civil Law) and the George Washington University Law School (emphasis in Common Law). Professor Vetter teaches Comparative Law, Western Legal Tradition, and Latin American Legal Systems. He has written numerous articles and books and has taught at law schools in France, Lithuania and Brazil and has lectured on comparative law topics at law schools in Brazil, Costa Rica, England (Oxford), France, Holland, Japan, Mexico, Slovenia, and Yugoslavia. He also directs Loyola’s Latin American programs.
Judge and Adjunct Professor Calvin Johnson is a graduate of Loyola College of Law. Soon after graduation he accepted a position in the Public Defender's Office. Judge Johnson then became a member of Loyola's clinical faculty handling criminal cases. He resigned his position in 1990 upon being elected as Judge of the Criminal District Court of New Orleans. He has served as Chief Judge of that court and has continued teaching Administration of Criminal Justice as an Adjunct Professor. He has taught in Mexico and hosted a number of Justices of the State of Morelos Supreme Court, as well as District Court Criminal Judges, who attended a trial in his courtroom during their one week visit to Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and New Orleans to observe the American Judicial System.
Professor Obrad Stanojevic received an LL.B. in 1957 from the University of Belgrade College of Law and a Ph.D. from that same institution in 1957. He has taught at that institution since 1982 and served as Vice-Dean in 1981-82 and Dean in 1991-92. He is Professor of Roman Law and Legal history, Major Legal Systems (Basic Principles of Common Law) at the University of Belgrade College of Law, where his areas of interest have also included Comparative Law, Western Legal Tradition, and International Law. He has been a visiting professor or lecturer at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and at various European universities. He has also been associate director and professor at several summer law-school program of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. He has published over a dozen books and manuscripts, several which dealt with legal history and Roman law. He has published several articles on the same subjects. He speaks English, French, Italian, Russian, and Serbo-Croatian.
Professor Molina first joined the clinical faculty in December 1981 for one year, permanently returning in 1990. She has spent a large part of her practicing years serving the needs of poverty-stricken individuals in the areas of domestic law, children in need of care proceedings, civil rights under Title VII and 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and immigration law. Prior to teaching, she practiced law with a non-profit legal services organization in the areas of public benefits and immigration law, with an emphasis on the right of refugees to asylum and withholding of deportation. She currently works with student practitioners in a labor and employment law practice as part of her Workplace Justice Project. These efforts are assisted by the generous support of the Southern Poverty Law Center. She also directs the Law School's Extern Program, and serves as the faculty responsible for their placement, supervision and instruction. She is involved in various efforts to bring systemic changes to the legal profession, such as the creation of a mandatory statewide child advocacy program. Her areas of interest include justice and law, social justice, ethics and the practical application of clinical education pedagogy.
Class
Schedules
Classes will begin June 9 and end June 26. Final exams will be June 27 and June 28.
- 8:30 – 10:10 a.m. Current Issues in Immigration Law
- 10:30 - 12:10 a.m. Western Legal Tradition
1:15 – 2:55 p.m. Comparative Criminal Law and Administration of Criminal Justice
Tuition
Application Fee: $25 nonrefundable.
Tuition: $1,600 for four credits ($400 per credit); $1,350 for three credits ($450 per credit); $1,200 for two credits ($600 per credit).
Activities Fee: $175 (covers insurance, trips except meals and hotel costs).
Accomodations
Approximately $33 a day (triple occupancy) covers lodging at the campus site in Mexico. Double and single rooms are also available. Students may elect to arrange their own housing. Students can obtain breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a total of about $20 a day from dozens of restaurants in the neighborhood. Students can anticipate approximately $1,000 in total lodging and food expenses, if they maintain these comfortable budgets.
In Cuernavaca our campus is the Hotel Posada Jacarandas, famed for its beautiful gardens. Students are housed in large triple-occupancy rooms with spacious bathrooms, and ample storage space. The hotel grounds are spectacular, with spacious, beautifully-tended gardens, tennis, handball, volleyball, basketball and soccer courts, and three pools, including a lovely grotto pool. The hotel is located close to downtown Cuernavaca in a neighborhood with restaurants, shopping centers, movie theaters, and more. Please see the web site at: http://www.mexonline.com/jacarandas.htm.
Students who elect to stay at the Jacarandas will pay the full amount (non-refundable) upon registration the first day. Payment can be made by cash, credit card or traveller’s checks. No personal checks. Students may not stay at the hotel for a few days to shop around because if they left the hotel, Loyola would have to pick up their share to keep their roommate’s rate as advertised. STUDENTS WHO WISH TO STAY AT THE HOTEL FOR A FEW DAYS TO LOOK AROUND MUST REGISTER ON THEIR OWN WITHOUT MENTIONING THE LOYOLA GROUP AND PAY REGULAR PRICES. Students enrolled in the Cuernavaca Language School have the additional option of living with a Mexican family. The language school will not arrange lodging with families for persons not enrolled in the language school.
Transportation
Roundtrip airfare to Mexico City for the summer session is approximately $500 for most southern and western cities. Cities in the northeast or far northwest may have a higher fare. Rates are subject to change and less expensive rates exist in some instances. Once you arrive in the Mexico City Airport, you will be able to take a bus from the airport to Cuernavaca. Simple instructions will be provided telling you how to catch the bus at the airport and how to get a taxi to the hotel when you arrive in Cuernavaca.For those students taking the language course and living with Mexican families, transportation to housing in Cuernavaca will be arranged by program personnel once you reach the hotel. The cost of the bus from the airport to Cuernavaca is approximately $10. Taxi-fare from the bus station to the hotel should be approximately $3 to $5 dollars, depending in part on your luggage.
Application Procedures
To apply, please fill out the Secure Online Application Form or the Print Application Form and return it us along with a $25 application fee (nonrefundable) and $100 (nonrefundable) registration deposit. Credit cards are accepted. You are required to have your law school to certify that you are in good standing so the credit earned in this summer program will be accepted by your school. A second payment of $100 will be due January 30, 2008. The remainder of tuition is due April 1, 2008, and because of the advance financial preparations necessary to conduct programs abroad, tuition cannot be refunded after April 1, 2008.
It is unlikely that participation in foreign summer programs may be used to accelerate graduation. Students interested in acceleration should be referred to their home schools to review this issue in light of Standard 305, Interpretation 4 or the ABA Standards.
In the unlikely event of insufficient enrollment or civil unrest which would make it dangerous for students in Mexico, our program could be cancelled. In such a case, students registered in the program will be notified by letter or telephone and all money will be refunded.
Host
Country and Program Features
While lower cost compared to Europe is certainly a consideration, we feel the main feature of our program is the opportunity to be exposed to the fascinating foreign experience of Mexico. Mexican culture is a mixture of Spanish European civilization with pre-Colombian Indian cultures that still have a strong impact today. We will explore Mexican culture by taking optional weekend trips to cultural sites. These trips, except for hotel and meals, are included in the program cost. They are enjoyable and add to the camaraderie that develops in a shared foreign experience. We will visit both pre-Colombian and Spanish colonial sites. The first weekend is spent in Mexico City, where we will experience the pre-Hispanic pyramids of Teotihuacan, larger in volume than the Egyptian pyramids, the Shrine of Guadalupe, as well as the attractions of the second largest city in the world. The second weekend we will visit the Indian ruins of Xochicalco or the natural caves of the area, and experience colonial Mexico by visiting Taxco, probably the most beautiful of Mexico's colonial cities. Both trips include an optional weekend stay. All transportation (not including hotel and meals) is included in the program cost. Some students take an optional weekend trip to Acapulco on their own.
The Optional Spanish Language Program
In keeping with our program’s philosophy of providing a full cultural experience, we have arranged with the Cuernavaca Language School to offer a special discount price for a course especially designed for our students. This course involves a reduced spanish immersion course arranged around the students’ schedule. The cost for this course is $470.00 for three weeks.
Part of the language program is optional placement with selected Mexican families for a cost of $30 a day, including meals. The Language School places only students enrolled in its course with Mexican families. Students in this program will be expected to attend two 50-minute periods of class per day, Monday through Friday – and ninety minutes of cultural class, if possible. Students in the short course may schedule 4 hours of law school classes. Please see the language school web site at: http://www.mexonline.com/cls.htm
In addition, family members and friends accompanying our students may enroll in the full immersion course , which involves more classroom hours, as well as cultural activities. They will receive a special Loyola discount of $587 for 3 weeks, and may continue at the reduced price if they wish. This also involves living with a Mexican family if the student and companion so desire.We will accept registrations for the school if you inform us that you or a companion wish to schedule one of the courses.Please remember: students in the law school program may take only the reduced course;companions may take the full immersion course if they wish to. If you wish for us to reserve a place for you, please send us the application and accommodations form in the language school brochure. If a companion registers for the full course with the language school,be sure to mention that you are with the Loyola program in order to receive the discounted price.
Students who elect to take language classes should be aware that demands on their time will be great and should not enroll unless they are really dedicated to learning Spanish and devoting the extra time necessary to do so. Students who have this attitude have profited from the course in past years. Unfortunately, the language school offers no refunds, except for emergencies, so it is not possible to try the course and then drop out. Students who elect to take the course contract directly with the Language School on registration day and deal only with them once the course has started. Loyola has no responsibility for the Language School contract. The Language School is located in a beautiful facility, approximately 30 to 45 minutes by bus from the hotel, or 10 to 15 minutes by taxis that are very inexpensive, especially if students ride together. Homes of the Mexican families are located close to the hotel campus site, usually within walking distance.
Cancellation Policies
Loyola does not anticipate the need to cancel the program. However, ABA regulations require a disclosure that certain events such as war, natural disaster, or insufficient enrollment could cause cancellation. Should this occur, all deposits and funds paid for the program would be refunded. Furthermore, Loyola would make every effort to find you a comparable program sponsored by another law school.
Also, should any changes occur in the course offerings or other significant aspects of the program, applicants who have paid a deposit for the program will be given the opportunity to obtain a full refund of all fees paid.
Disabilities
Persons with disabilities are encouraged to attend as the law school and hotels are modern, but interested students who request special accommodations should contact program coordinator Judy Corcoran to discuss availability. This measure is taken to ensure that facilities comparable to those in the United States are available for the disabled.
For
More Information Contact:
Judy Corcoran
International Programs Coordinator
Loyola University College of Law, Box 901
New Orleans, LA 70118
Tel. (504) 861-5563
FAX (504) 861-5480
E-mail address: corcoran@loyno.edu
