Customer Reviews

Civil Procedure, Sixth Edition (Casebook Series)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand it is pretty good for teaching the basics of civil procedure. If that's what you're planning on doing, buy with confidence. On the other hand, if you are hoping to use this as body armor or some sort of fortification you will be disappointed. I can say without reservation that this book will completely fail to stop even 9mm rounds. They went clear through. Predictably, it did even worse against 7.62 NATO rounds. To summarize this book can teach you civ pro but will be of little use in a post-apocalyptic survival scenario.

Yeazell's casebook gets off to a good start with a very well written intro, but after that it is obvious that the first chapter was the only chapter in the book that Yeazell put any effort into. As other reviewers have stated the cases have been edited quite poorly, the Erie doctrine section confuses, more than it helps and the overall flow of the textbook is poor. Also the note sections, which usually serve to help students make sense of the case that was just read, are more often than not filed with unhelpful questions with no guidance on how to answer them or what the answer would be.

I ended up buying the Hornbook by West and that easily became the text that I used (along with the Fed Rules book) to understand Civ Pro.

I fell sorry for you if you have to use this book.

*Note review is for the 6th edition.

When you first pick up the book, you feel exhilirated that you, too will be learning all about Civil Procedure. The case in the introduction is fun, but it is all down hill from there. The cases are important cases, but the editing took out parts of the opinions that should be there so you can understand the rest of the opinion (I could mention Erie, but nobody understands that on a good day either...). It is a necessary evil that we mut struggle through in our attempts at world domination...I mean our attempts to become lawyers...

My review will mirror many of the reviews for this edition of Yeazell's Civil Procedure: Good intros, but difficult explanations to wade through for the rest. Which is where a good Professor/TA comes in.

Here are the best methods in successfully deciphering this book (and in general for law school):

Before class:
-Read Yeazell's intros (they set up the cases well)
-Read each case then read over his notes (if any exist) and any FRCP rules/sections from the Rules supplement
-Do the problems in the notes (take your best shot)
-**Optional** - For the really motivated students, you can look up the cases in law reviews or de minimis for further explanations/context. I never did this, but I've heard it helps when there's confusion.
-Prepare a case-brief while re-reading the case, incorporating the knowledge obtained from the notes
-Review 1/2 hour before class

During class/TA sessions:
-Take detailed notes! Fill in anything you might have missed/misunderstood, and anything else you deem important (especially anything the Prof. puts on the board, or writes on projectors, or asks hypos of, or gives out handouts for)
-Refer to your case-brief, and be courageous in your answer when called upon (the Socratic method is for your benefit, though it may feel like torture)
-Pay attention to how Prof/TA goes over the problems and answers
-Ask questions about anything you might have missed

After class/TA sessions (directly after-wait too long, and this stuff might fly out of your brain):
-Add condensed and important points into outline (which you will use as your study tool for finals)
-Add answers to problems into outline
-Mark up rules/sections in the FRCP Yeazell supplement pertaining to important class discussions
-**Important** - Attend office hours for Professor (or TA - but not as important b/c TA not testing you) and discuss ANYTHING you might be hazy on - Students rarely go to office hours. Those that do, get the top grades. Go figure.
-**Optional, but important** - Form study groups to go over class material/outlines/complain about CivPro
-Review material weekly

After this is complete, rinse and repeat.

Before finals:
-Finish up outline (should be almost finished before end of classes), and read over repeatedly until you're confident with materials
-Take practice exams (especially essays)
-If you have time, go over practice exams with Prof/TA/study group

Law school casebooks like Yeazell's are almost never straightforward so they require all these steps so you actively learn. If most of these steps are not taken, it will probably lead to confusion, panic, just overall bitterness from a nebulous source of education.

---advice from an overachieving 1L

I actually liked my Civil Procedure class, but I hated doing the reading for it because it meant I'd have to use this book. The layout is thus: You read a case, and then you are presented with a series of questions that apparently you're expected to be able to answer on your own - in effect, you have to teach yourself Civil Procedure as you read. Interspersed with the meaningless (at least to the confused 1L reader) questions are little facts and tidbits related to Civil Procedure which aren't that important, but since they're the only information in the discussion section not presented in question form, you glom onto them in the hope that knowing said facts and tidbits will help to clarify Civil Procedure for you. All in all, easily one of the worst textbooks I've ever had.

This was my favorite casebook of my 1L classes. I have no complaints about it. Things I like: Plain English writing style, use of modern cases (Internet, etc.), extensive use of hypos as questions after cases, thought-provoking and difficult questions - many of them with answers or hints. If you can do these, you'll be prepared for whatever issues appear on exams.

I think my title sums it up. If you are a professor deciding on a book to use for your class, PLEASE do not use this one. Thank you.

If you remotely understood the humor in my header than this book is fine for you. The truth is Civil Procedure is not exactly the stuff that made us want to be lawyers, but when we finish law school, who is going to forget Asahi, or Erie!, or World-Wide Volkswagen, or hmm... Gibbs! Yeazell has all the cases you need in here. I do think Semtek in the Erie section is odd because preclusion has not been introduced. And I think it is the odd placement, if you read the book linearly rather than jumped around, that makes some of the reviewers here hate this book. But this is one of the better books. Couple this sucker with Glannon and presto you will be screaming "There ain't no subject matter jurisdiction under 1331--it is all a lie!" In no time. Also, do yourself a favor and remember Kroger v. Owens Electric--it will come to bite you in the you know what if you don't.

I had to get this book for civil proceedure class at law school. I had a copy of the 6th edition form a buddy but it was too different form the required 7th edition so I dropped the $90. School was selling them for $140 so get it here instead. I really wanted to save the $90 and use an older edition as I am doing in torts but the books were just too different and it was not worth it. If you need this book for next year or next semester you might want to wait and get a used copy.
The book is very easy to read and the most similar to my undergrad textbooks.

This was the most confusing subject I've ever endured in my life. Unfortunately, this case book only added to it. There are cases after cases that are supposed to help you understand civil procedure, but there is little discussion of the law itself or about why the court decided the first case the way it did but did the polar opposite in a second, similar case. The questions that are provided after the cases are designed to help you analyze the law, but they are of little help when you have no foundation. Most people will probably need to consult at least one other source to understand civil procedure. If your law library provides a hornbook, make it your best friend. It is too late for me.