As a supplement to the basic text, "Higher Education and the Law," this book briefly describes the American legal system for scholars, students, and administrators in the field of higher education who have had little or no legal training. The following topics are addressed: The United States Courts, the process of judicial review, reading and understanding judicial opinions, state court systems, legislative and statutory sources of law, and administrative rules and regulations as sources of law. A chart of the organization of the U.S. courts is included. The following forms of congressional action are covered: the bill, the joint resolution, the concurrent resolution, and the simple resolution. Rules of procedure in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, presidential action, and the following steps in the enactment of a valid law are described: publication, "slip law," statutes at large, and the United States Code. The text of the United States Constitution and a bibliography are appended. (SW)