新書推薦 | 劉芳：《美國法通識》 | 一本向中國人介紹美國法律體系的著作

美國法通識：十大核心法律課程

為塑造法學學術前沿微信公眾平臺的風格，微信推送的外標題系編輯根據文章理解所加，不代表作者立場。

《美國法通識：十大核心法律課程》

作者 劉芳

出版社 清華大學出版社

出版時間 2026.4

ISBN 9787302710400

編輯推薦

1. 美國密歇根州最高法院前任首席大法官史蒂芬·馬克曼撰寫了推薦序言

2. 系統梳理和總結了美國法學院和美國律師職業考試涵蓋的十大核心法律課程的內容與知識點

3. 實務操作為出發點，結合大量案例講解，理論與實踐相結合

內容簡介

本書以清晰、生動的方式，系統地為中文讀者全面呈現美國法律的核心內容與思維邏輯。緊扣美國法學院教學體系與律師執業資格考試的真實框架，精選十大核心法律領域，系統梳理主要制度理論與關鍵知識要點。同時，通過經典判例解析與大量貼近實務的真實場景，將抽象的法律規則轉化為可理解、可記憶的法律故事，引導讀者在案例分析與規則適用中把握美國法律的運行邏輯。全書實現理論與案例的有機融合，語言通俗而不失嚴謹，既適合初學者系統入門，也具備長期查閱與進階參考價值，并同步提升英文法律表達與實務溝通能力，尤為適合法學院學生、比較法研究者、美國律師資格考試備考者及從事涉外法律業務的實務人士閱讀。

作者簡介

劉芳

中國和美國紐約州、加利福尼亞州、密歇根州及華盛頓特區注冊律師，長期從事中美兩國公司法、跨境投融資并購、私募股權投資、知識產權以及涉外商事訴訟和仲裁法律事務。

1999年本科畢業于北京大學法律系，2009年至2014年就讀于美國西密歇根大學庫利法學院和美國加州大學伯克利法學院，獲得法學碩士（LL.M.）和法學博士（J.D.magna cum laude）學位，并跟隨美國密歇根州最高法院大法官史蒂芬?馬克曼（Stephen Markman）和密歇根州第17巡回法院經濟庭知名法官克里斯多夫?耶茨（Christopher Yates）實習。合著出版《商業知識產權戰略》；翻譯出版《商業秘密：網絡時代的信息資產管理》；在知產林教育平臺和點睛網律師培訓平臺錄制并發行美國法課程系列。

史蒂芬大法官

推薦序

美國大法官推薦中國讀者讀《美國法通識》

本文系美國密歇根州最高法院前任首席大法官史蒂芬·馬克曼為《美國法通識—— 十大核心法律課程》撰寫的序言。史蒂芬·馬克曼大法官在美國密歇根州最高法院任職長達21年，并曾擔任首席大法官。在此之前，他在密歇根州擔任了4年首席聯邦檢察官，在美國參議院司法委員會及其憲法小組委員會擔任顧問7年，在美國司法部工作4年，擔任法律政策助理檢察長，負責為美國總統選拔聯邦法官的遴選程序。此外，馬克曼大法官還教授美國憲法課程近30年。（Justice Stephen Markman served for 21 years as a Justice and for a period as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Michigan; prior to that, he served for four years as the Michigan’s ‘United States Attorney’ or chief federal prosecutor; for seven years as Counsel for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and the U.S. Subcommittee on the Constitution; and for four years as Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy in the U.S. Department of Justice, where he headed the federal judicial selection process for an American President. He has also taught American constitutional law for nearly thirty years.）

譯文

與劉芳第一次見面時，我正在美國密歇根州最高法院任職。密歇根州是美國一個規模較大且工業化程度較高的州。劉芳畢業于北京大學法學院，當時正攻讀美國最大法學院之一的法學學位。我記得她在多門課程中獲得了最高分，正在打破學校的歷史紀錄，這對一位非英語母語的學生而言是非凡的成就。不久之后，她又在美國最負盛名的法學院之一獲得了高等法律學位。相比之下，我甚至連她新書的中文標題都讀不出來，更別提理解其中的內容了。幸運的是，借助某種先進的人工智能，這本書被翻譯成了英文，使我得以閱讀，盡管這項人工智能的翻譯在中文和英文上似乎還略顯生澀。

在我看來，是什么讓劉芳在申請密歇根州最高法院實習時脫穎而出？也許是她在充滿挑戰的環境中取得的卓越學術成就令我深感欽佩；也許是我對這樣一位成績斐然的學生如何在法庭工作中展現才華充滿好奇；又或許只是她的個人魅力和自信光芒難以忽視。顯然，她并未意識到，對于一名年輕的法律學生而言，司法面試是一項多么嚴肅且充滿壓力的考驗。無論原因如何，劉芳最終獲得了這份實習機會，使她得以深入了解美國司法體系的復雜性和日常運作。隨著時間的推移，我欣慰地看到，劉芳在法院實習中獲得的實踐經驗不僅使她受益良多，也惠及了她的讀者。

在詮釋美國法律體系的核心價值觀時，人們往往可以找到多種解讀方式。作為一名美國法學家，我深信這一體系的價值，并堅信我們所推崇的“法治”理念推動了美國的成長與繁榮，激發了社會創新，保障了公民的自由權利。這些價值觀在本書中可見一斑。

在梳理這些核心價值觀時，我將重點闡述一些對非美國法律從業者尤為重要的基本準則，希望這些原則能獲得他們的認同。在此過程中，我并非意圖將這些準則與中國或其他法律體系進行對比，因為我并未專門學習過其他法律體系。盡管如此，我仍記得曾在幾次交流中與劉芳探討過中國法律在實踐中的具體問題。回想起來，我本該懷著更強烈的求知欲深入探討這些話題，但密歇根州最高法院堆積如山的上訴案件使我不得不將時間和精力集中在美國及密歇根州法律的解釋上，這已經是一份全職的投入。

美國法律體系以一部全國性的憲法為基礎。該憲法不僅界定了政府的權力及其邊界，還確立了235年前以憲法之名制定并記錄的公民個人權利。

美國法律體系基于聯邦制原則，將政府權力在聯邦政府（位于華盛頓特區）與50個州政府（包括密歇根州在內）之間進行分配。因此，美國由51個相對獨立的法律體系組成。這一結構旨在分散權力，從而限制政府權力的行使。

美國法律體系還基于將政府權力分配至立法、行政和司法三個部門的原則。每個部門擁有特定的憲法權力，同時被禁止行使其他部門的權力，并被賦予對其他兩個部門進行“制衡”的職能。這種“分權”體系旨在分散并限制政府權力的行使，并在美國的51個獨立法律體系中得到了類似的體現。

美國法律體系以“法治”為基礎，特別強調平等的“法治”原則。理想狀態下，所有人都應享有平等的權利，并在法律面前承擔同等的責任。

美國法律體系還建立在一個司法系統之上，法官有責任合理且忠實地解釋法律和憲法，并公正地審判被指控違反法律的個人。

大多數人，甚至許多美國人可能都沒有意識到，美國約95%的法律爭議實際上是在五十個州各自獨立的法律體系內得到解決的。每個州依據自身的法律、憲法、法規和程序，以及獨特的法院和法官體系來處理案件。然而，值得注意的是，許多至關重要且影響深遠的案件是在聯邦法律體系框架下審理的，其中，美國最高法院作為憲法的最終解釋者，扮演著舉足輕重的角色。此外，涉及國際因素的案件，例如與中國或其他國家的個人或企業相關的法律糾紛，通常會產生更廣泛的跨州乃至跨國影響，因此更有可能落入聯邦法律體系的司法管轄范圍。當然，這只是一個普遍現象，而非一成不變的原則。

盡管如此，我個人認為，對于年輕的法律從業者或法學院學生來說，沒有比在美國50個州之一的最高法院實習更充實、更全面的體驗了。這些法院處理的案件種類繁多、覆蓋廣泛。在我擔任密歇根州最高法院法官的21年間（由于州法律的年齡限制，我于三年前卸任），我們法院通常每月需審理250至300起上訴案件。這些案件來自密歇根州的初審法院、商事法院和上訴法院，幾乎涵蓋了所有類型的法律糾紛。

民事案件涉及各種可能出現的“案件和爭議”，包括個人、公司、鄰里、政府、制造商、產權所有人、保險公司、大大小小的企業、雇主與雇員、醫生與患者、公共機構與公民，以及納稅人和稅務征收人員之間的糾紛等。

刑事案件涵蓋各種可能的犯罪類型，并涉及相關的審判程序、陪審團選拔、證據規則、量刑指南與懲罰措施，以及對犯罪受害者的賠償等問題。

憲法案件解釋國家和州憲法條款的含義；

條例的含義；

家事案件涉及結婚、離婚、收養、子女撫養以及遺囑和遺產等問題。

普通法案件依循美國數十年乃至數世紀以來發展出的司法判例，確立了美國人在合同、財產和侵權關系領域的慣例和傳統。任何在州法院（或聯邦法院）中擁有豐富經驗的法律從業者，都必須精通普通法及其歷史與發展過程，并理解司法機關在識別和制定普通法中所扮演的獨特角色。

回顧劉芳十年前撰寫的幾份備忘錄，不難看出她的實習經歷在案件類型上具有典型性。我記得有因公共汽車為了避免與汽車相撞而導致的自行車事故而引發的責任糾紛；關于刑事性侵犯案件中被告認罪自愿性的問題；約定排除司法上訴的仲裁協議有效性的問題；關于房主是否履行了保持其財產不對他人構成風險之義務的爭議；保險公司對由于供應商疏忽而導致的公司意外業務損失的賠償義務的范圍問題；關于法律和醫療過失索賠的爭議；關于一艘大型船只的稅務爭議（密歇根是唯一一個被五大湖環繞的州）；以及關于刑事被告人是否適當享有與證人對峙的憲法權利的爭議問題。這些案例只是其中的一部分，但充分展示了劉芳在實習期間接觸到法律問題的廣泛性和多樣性。

在這些案件以及其他許多案件中，劉芳所撰寫的備忘錄——這些是我所剩下可供回顧的材料——展現了她對法律和憲法的深刻理解，以及對我們各自在推動結果公正方面所承擔的專業職責的敏銳洞察。尤其值得一提的是，她認識到我們在審判中適用的必須是法律本身，而非她或我的個人主觀態度。她深知，解釋相關法律條文時必須合理地遵循立法者的初衷和目的。同時她明白，她需要全面而客觀地向我概述爭議各方的主張。此外，她還意識到，在她總結了所有相關觀點、證據和判例之后，還必須準備具有說服力的闡述，向我說明如何在本案中最佳地實現“法律下的正義”，并且準備好回應我的疑問和反駁意見。

劉芳不僅是我最優秀、最出色的法律實習生之一，還與我、我的四位常駐法律助理，以及另外六個司法辦公室的法律助理和實習生緊密合作。所有人都和我一樣，對她充滿欽佩與敬重。無論是在美國還是在她的祖國中國，我都為她在法律領域取得的成就感到驕傲，這些成就最終凝聚在了這本書中。在書中，劉芳對美國法律體系進行了智慧、理性且權威的概述。對于不熟悉美國法律和司法體系的中國法律從業者，這本書將為他們指引正確的方向；而中國的法律學生也能從這本清晰的單卷本參考書中獲益良多。盡管如此綜合的書籍難以涵蓋美國51個司法體系的所有法律，劉芳成功地總結并突出展示了這些法律體系的共性。如果讓我對本書后續版本提出一些優化建議，我希望能夠增加對美國各州憲法的關注。目前，各州憲法正引發廣泛的學術討論，旨在振興司法聯邦主義并重新調整州憲法與聯邦憲法權力的平衡。

最后，我不得不提的是，如果至今還沒有一本類似于劉芳所著的、面向美國從業者和學生的介紹中國法律體系的著作，那么這樣的作品早就應該問世。或許，劉芳會再次肩負起這一重要使命，為我們帶來這樣一部作品。

原文

When I first met Fang Liu, I was serving on the Supreme Court of the State of Michigan, one of the larger and more heavily industrialized states of the American union. Fang at the time was a graduate of the Peking University Law School and then attending what was one of the largest law schools in the United States in pursuit of an American law degree. It is my recollection that Fang was well underway toward winning a school-record number of "prizes" (for having achieved the highest grade in a course), a remarkable achievement for a student for whom English was at best her second language. Soon after her graduation, Fang proceeded to earn an advanced law degree from one of the most highly-regarded law schools in the United States. By contrast, I am unable even to pronounce the Chinese title of Fang’s new book, much less to comprehend its words, sentences, and paragraphs-- but for the good fortune of having had it translated into English through some magical process of ‘artificial intelligence’ that seems fully conversant with neither the English nor the Chinese language.

What did I find most appealing regarding Fang’s application for an externship position in my judicial office? Perhaps, it was because I admired her academic record achieved under hugely challenging circumstances; perhaps, it was because I was curious to see how a student with such a record might be able to contribute to the work of the Court and take the fullest advantage of this opportunity; or perhaps, because it was simply difficult not to be impressed by her personal ebullience and exhilaration of spirit, failing apparently to recognize just how sobering and traumatic the judicial interview process was supposed to be for a young law student. In any case, Fang was hired to assist with the Court’s work, to be immersed in the intricacies and day-to-day operations of the American judicial process. I am content with the passage of time in concluding that the practical education she received at the Court has served both Fang and her reading audience well.

There are many ways by which to define the broadest values of the American legal system. It will come as little surprise as an American jurist that I think highly of this system and believe that our ‘rule of law’ has contributed enormously to the growth, the prosperity, the innovativeness and the freedoms of the American nation. These values are each, more or less, on display in the present book.

In summarizing these values, I would emphasize the following overarching principles that must each be recognized by the foreign practitioner. In so doing, I do not purport to compare or to contrast these principles with those of the Chinese or any other legal system because I do not purport to be a student of these other legal systems, although I do recall on several occasions engaging Fang on specific aspects of the Chinese practice of law. I wish I had inquired more often out of sheer curiosity, but it was full-time work giving reasonable meaning to the law of the United States and Michigan amidst the steady and heavy flow of appeals coming before the Michigan Supreme Court.

(1) The American legal system is predicated upon a national constitution that defines the authority, and the limits upon that authority, of government, and thus serves also to define the individual rights of the people in whose name that constitution was written and ratified 235 years ago.

(2) The American legal system is predicated upon a ‘federalist’ system in which governmental authority is apportioned between the national government (in Washington DC) and the fifty state governments of the Union (including that of Michigan). Thus, there are 51 separate legal systems that form the American nation, a structure designed to disperse and thus to limit the exercise of governmental power.

(3) The American legal system is also predicated upon governmental authority apportioned among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Each branch possesses certain specified constitutional powers, is denied other powers, and is authorized to exercise certain ‘checks and balances’ against abuses of power by the other two branches. This system of ‘separated powers’ is also designed to disperse and thus to limit the exercise of governmental power and is reflected similarly within each of our 51 legal systems.

(4) The American legal system is predicated upon the ‘rule of law,’ in particular the equal ‘rule of law,’ in which, ideally, all persons enjoy equal rights and are subject to equal responsibilities under the law.

(5) And the American legal system is predicated upon a judicial system in which judges carry out the obligation of reasonably and faithfully giving meaning to the law and constitution and fairly judging the conduct of those who are accused of acting in their breach.

It is not commonly recognized, even by many Americans themselves, that approximately 95% of all legal disputes in the United States are resolved within the fifty state legal systems, each with their own laws, constitutions, rules and procedures, and system of courts and judges. However, many of our most important and far-reaching disputes are addressed within the federal legal system, especially by the United States Supreme Court which is the final arbiter of the meaning of the national Constitution. Furthermore, it should be understood that disputes involving individuals and businesses of other nations, such as China, will tend to have a broader interstate and international impact and thus be more likely to implicate the jurisdiction of the federal legal system. But that is only a general proposition rather than an inflexible rule.

Still, in my own judgment, there is no more satisfying and better-rounded externship experience for a young lawyer or law student than that undertaken within the fifty state supreme courts of America, with their breadth and variety of cases. During my 21 years on the Michigan Supreme Court (ending three years ago on account of age limitations that I will not mention imposed by our state constitution), my Court often considered as many as 250-300 appeals each month brought from the decisions of state trial courts, business courts, and intermediate appellate courts. These appeals typically implicated the fullest range of litigation:

(a) civil cases, involving every conceivable type of ‘case and controversy’ arising between individuals, corporations, neighbors, governments, manufacturers, property owners, insurors, small and large businesses, employers and employees, doctors and patients, public agencies and citizens, taxpayers and tax collectors, etc.

(b) criminal cases, involving every conceivable type of criminal offense, including adjacent issues of trial procedures, jury selection, rules of evidence, sentencing guidelines and punishments, and the restitution of victims of crime;

(c) constitutional cases, assessing the meaning of provisions of both the national and the state constitutions;

(d) statutory and administrative cases, resolving the meaning of laws, rules, and regulations enacted by federal, state, and local legislatures and administrative authorities;

(e) domestic cases, involving issues of marriage, divorce, adoption, child support, and wills and estates; and

(f) common law cases, drawing upon judicial precedents that have developed in America over decades and centuries, identifying the customary practices and traditions of the American people in the realm of contract, property, and tort relationships. It is necessary that any accomplished legal practitioner in state court (and often in federal court as well) be well-versed in the common law, its history and development, and the distinctive role played by the judiciary in its identification and formulation.

Reviewing several of Fang’s written memorandums of a decade ago, it is clear that her externship experience was a typical one in its range of cases. I am reminded of a liability dispute arising from a bicycle accident caused by a public bus seeking to avoid a collision with an automobile; an issue of the voluntariness of a guilty plea in a criminal sexual conduct case; the validity of an arbitration agreement precluding access to a judicial appeal; a question of a homeowner’s compliance with his obligation to maintain his property free of hazards posing risks to others; the extent of an insuror’s obligations to reimburse a corporation suffering unexpected business harms from the negligence of a supplier; the merits of legal and medical malpractice claims; a tax controversy surrounding a large marine vessel (Michigan is the only state surrounded by each of five Great Lakes); and a dispute surrounding whether the constitutional right of confrontation with a witness have properly been afforded a criminal defendant. To name only a few cases at random.

In each of these cases and in many others, Fang’s written memorandums— all that I have left to review— reflect sophisticated understandings of the law and constitution and a nuanced appreciation of both her, and my, professional obligations in furthering a just outcome. In particular, Fang recognizes that it is the law that must be applied, not her, or my, personal attitude. She is cognizant that relevant provisions of the law must reasonably be understood in accordance with the intentions and purposes of their framers; and she understands that she must present me with a thorough and fair-minded summation of what has been asserted by all sides in a dispute. And she appreciates as well that, after she has summoned and presented all of the relevant arguments, evidence, and precedents, she must then be prepared to explain persuasively how ‘justice under law’ can best be obtained in the case and equally prepared to address my concerns and contrary arguments.

Fang Liu was one of my finest and most accomplished legal externs and worked closely with myself, my four permanent law clerks, and the law clerks and legal externs of six other judicial offices, all of whom shared my admiration and regard. I have since been made proud of her accomplishments in the law, both in the United States and back home in China, culminating in the present book. Here, Fang has offered an intelligent and reasoned and authoritative overview of the American legal system. The Chinese legal practitioner, otherwise unfamiliar with the American legal and judicial systems, will be pointed in the right direction in gaining his or her bearings and the Chinese law student will gain much in having access to a clear single-volume reference. Although it is impossible in such a work to summarize the law of fifty-one separate jurisdictions, Fang undertakes an impressive effort to emphasize what is possessed in common by these distinctive systems of law. If there is any matter to be given greater attention in a later edition, I hope it will be a greater focus upon America’s state constitutions, which at the present are the subject of considerable intellectual ferment in an effort to revitalize judicial federalism and recalibrate the balance of state and federal constitutional authority.

I must finally conclude by observing that, if there is not yet a comparable work to Fang’s on the Chinese legal system intended to be accessible for the American practitioner and student, it is overdue and Fang may again be called upon to carry out such a task.

作者和史蒂芬的合影

目錄

第一章 合同法

背景介紹

一、合同法概述

二、要約與承諾（Offer & Acceptance）

三、合同對價（Consideration）

四、合同成立的抗辯因素（Defenses to Formation）

五、違約救濟（Remedies）

第二章 侵權法

背景介紹

一、故意侵權（Intentional Torts）

二、過失侵權（Negligence）

三、嚴格責任（Strict Liability）

四、其他常見侵權責任

第三章 憲法

背景介紹

一、聯邦政府的權力（Powers of the Federal Government）

二、聯邦體系（The Federal System）

三、個人權利（Individual Rights）

第四章 刑法

背景介紹

一、刑法的基本原則（General Principles）

二、刑法中的主要犯罪類型（Major Crimes）

三、不完全犯罪（Inchoate Crimes）

四、抗辯理由（Defenses）

第五章 刑事訴訟法

背景介紹

一、美國聯邦刑事訴訟審前程序、審理程序和審后程序

二、基于憲法第四修正案確立的刑事訴訟制度

三、基于憲法第五修正案確立的刑事訴訟制度

四、基于憲法第六修正案確立的刑事訴訟制度

第六章 民事訴訟法

背景介紹

一、美國聯邦法院的管轄權

二、美國聯邦民事訴訟的幾個主要階段

三、合并審理（Joinder）

第七章 證據法

背景介紹

一、證據法的基本原則（General Principles of Evidence）

二、品格證據（Character Evidence）

三、傳聞（Hearsay）證據

四、基于特權和公共政策的證據排除（Privileges and Policy Exclusion）

第八章 企業組織法

背景介紹

一、代理制度（Agency）

二、個人獨資企業法和合伙企業法

三、公司法

第九章 不動產法

背景介紹

一、不動產所有權（wnership）

二、不動產交易（The Land Transaction）

三、產權登記（Recordation）

四、不動產所有權人與承租人的關系（Landlord & Tenant）

五、關于不動產權屬的爭議（Disputes on Ownership in Land）

第十章 婚姻家庭、遺囑與信托法

一、婚姻家庭法（Family Law）

二、遺囑與無遺囑繼承（Wills & Intestacy）

三、信托（Trust）

（本文僅代表作者觀點，不代表知產力立場）