Categories: Constitutional Law
1st Amendment
Course Page for Fall 2011 - Desai, Anuj
This course covers the free-speech jurisprudence of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It is a problem-oriented course, with most class periods spent analyzing specific problems in light of the case law and legal principles and policies. It satisfies the Con Law II requirement.
Recent Offerings of this course by this instructor
20th Century Constitution
Course Page for Spring 2011 - Nourse, Victoria, Snyder, Brad
Twentieth-Century Constitution: This is a course in constitutional history
meeting the constitutional law II requirement. We will
examine the development of constitutional doctrine over the course of the
twentieth century. The course begins with video materials telling a standard
history of the twentieth century constitution. We then return to the original
materials to ask whether the standard history is in fact accurate. Each unit is
introduced by contextual matter aimed at familiarizing the student with the
important issues of the day, whether it be child labor, lynching, the
Depression, or World War II. We will ask how these larger issues are (or are
not) reflected in the constitutional doctrine of the day, from the police power
to the commerce clause to the equal protection clause. Legal issues addressed
include substantive due process, equality, and federalism.
4th, 5th, 6th Amendments
Course Page for Fall 2013 - Berghahn, Marcus
This class will require extensive case reading. Your grade in this class will be based on participation, including leading the class, and a series of written submissions, to include a motion and a post-hearing brief. Students also participate in an in-class evidentiary hearing exercise, but trial advocacy is not required.
Recent Offerings of this course by this instructor
Constitutional Theory Colloquium
Course Page for Fall 2011 - Coan, Andrew
The Constitutional Theory Colloquium provides a unique educational opportunity for students with a strong interest and background in constitutional law. Over the course of the semester, six leading scholars from other institutions will present papers on diverse subjects related to constitutional law. We will spend two weeks on each paper. In the first week, students will meet with Professor Coan in a traditional seminar format to discuss a pre-assigned paper. For each week, two students will have principal responsibility for leading the discussion. In the second week, the scholar who wrote the paper will be present in person for a discussion moderated by Professor Coan. During this week, the students will often be joined by members of the law school faculty. Students will thus have the opportunity to engage in their own critical discussions in a seminar setting and to observe and participate in a high-level academic workshop on presentation weeks. Grades will be based on class participation and weekly response papers.
Recent Offerings of this course by this instructor
First Amendment
Course Page for Spring 2013 - Desai, Anuj
Topics reflect interests of instructor and students.
Institutions in Constitutional Theory & Practice
Course Page for Spring 2013 - Coan, Andrew
This course will focus on the major institutions created by the American Constitution—Congress, the Presidency, the federal courts, and the states—and their role in constitutional theory and practice. At its heart, every constitutional case involves a choice between two or more of these institutions. It is therefore crucial for judges and lawyers to understand the strengths and limitations of each and the complex interactions among them. To that end, this course will equip students with a comprehensive framework for understanding, predicting, and comparing institutional performance. It will then apply that framework to areas of constitutional law ranging from the Commerce Power to the Nondelegation Doctrine to the Takings and Equal Protection Clauses. Grades will be based on class participation and nine weekly response papers. Admission is by consent of instructor.
Politics & Equality
Course Page for Spring 2011 - Greene, Linda
This seminar will focus on the extent to which questions of equality are determined or influenced by political processes such as legislation, initiative processes, or political activism such as demonstrations and advocacy. Have political processes defined the content of equality? Have courts imposed limitations on those political determinations of equality or defer to those determinations? The seminar will focus on politics and equality in three contexts: race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.
We will explore previous contexts that illustrate the interplay between political processes and equality. I will examine this interplay in three contexts, the political activity leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the opposition to equal measures in the initiative and referendum process, the political activity in support of and against women’s reproductive choice and the increasing resort by opponents of reproductive rights to ballot measures to restrict rights; and the political activity leading to the increase rights for gays and lesbians and the use of the initiative process to constrain or preempt those rights, for example gay and lesbian marriage. At every turn, the question arises whether equality should be defined by political majorities, and whether the role of courts in the oversight of these measures is essential or illegitimate.
We will use legal and non legal sources, including film, to explore these issues. What do does the recent presidential election the election say about equality and politics?
Do the candidacies of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, and the ascendancy of Barney Frank in Congress mean that we are heading towards a gender, sexual orientation, and race blind society? Does the election of an increasing number of blacks, women, Hispanics and others to elective offices signal the end of political inequality and a corresponding need for a lesser judicial role in the protection of equality? Against the background of these recent electoral developments, what meaning do we ascribe to the numerous anti-affirmative action measures, anti abortion, and anti gay marriage initiatives on the nation’s ballots.
What power does Congress possess to define equality, and has the Supreme Court imposed constraints on its role? In this seminar, we will return time and again to an over arching questions-What is the appropriate role of legislatures, the people, and the courts in defining and protecting Equality. You may begin to think about the issues in the course by reading the following articles on the same sex marriage debate before the beginning of the semester.
Klarman, “Brown and Lawrence and Goodridge” 104 Mich. L. Rev. 431 (2005); and Mary Bonauto, “Goodridge in Context,” 40 Harv. CR-CL 1 (2005).
I will be in touch again to let you know about other course materials and with a tentative seminar syllabus. I look forward to these discussions! Each Student will choose a topic and write a paper which will count for 70% of the grade. The remaining 30% will be based upon class participation and several short (1-2) page writing assignments. Class Participation and Attendance are required and No Pass-Fail grades will be permitted.
Recent Offerings of this course by this instructor
Politics & Equality
Course Page for Fall 2012 - Greene, Linda
This seminar will focus on the extent to which questions of equality are determined or influenced by political processes such as legislation, initiative processes, or political activism such as demonstrations and advocacy. Have political processes defined the content of equality? Have courts imposed limitations on those political determinations of equality or defer to those determinations? The seminar will focus on politics and equality in three contexts: race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.
We will explore previous contexts that illustrate the interplay between political processes and equality. I will examine this interplay in three contexts, the political activity leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the opposition to equal measures in the initiative and referendum process, the political activity in support of and against women’s reproductive choice and the increasing resort by opponents of reproductive rights to ballot measures to restrict rights; and the political activity leading to the increase rights for gays and lesbians and the use of the initiative process to constrain or preempt those rights, for example gay and lesbian marriage. At every turn, the question arises whether equality should be defined by political majorities, and whether the role of courts in the oversight of these measures is essential or illegitimate.
We will use legal and non legal sources, including film, to explore these issues. What do does the recent presidential election the election say about equality and politics?
Do the candidacies of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, and the ascendancy of Barney Frank in Congress mean that we are heading towards a gender, sexual orientation, and race blind society? Does the election of an increasing number of blacks, women, Hispanics and others to elective offices signal the end of political inequality and a corresponding need for a lesser judicial role in the protection of equality? Against the background of these recent electoral developments, what meaning do we ascribe to the numerous anti-affirmative action measures, anti abortion, and anti gay marriage initiatives on the nation’s ballots.
What power does Congress possess to define equality, and has the Supreme Court imposed constraints on its role? In this seminar, we will return time and again to an over arching questions-What is the appropriate role of legislatures, the people, and the courts in defining and protecting Equality. You may begin to think about the issues in the course by reading the following articles on the same sex marriage debate before the beginning of the semester.
Klarman, “Brown and Lawrence and Goodridge” 104 Mich. L. Rev. 431 (2005); and Mary Bonauto, “Goodridge in Context,” 40 Harv. CR-CL 1 (2005).
I will be in touch again to let you know about other course materials and with a tentative seminar syllabus. I look forward to these discussions! Each Student will choose a topic and write a paper which will count for 70% of the grade. The remaining 30% will be based upon class participation and several short (1-2) page writing assignments. Class Participation and Attendance are required and No Pass-Fail grades will be permitted.
Recent Offerings of this course by this instructor
Supreme Court Seminar
Course Page for Spring 2013 - Church, Larry, Paff, Fredericka
Selected Problems in Constitutioonal Law--Supreme Court Seminar: Profs. Paff and Church
This three- credit seminar takes as its subject matter the current docket of the United States Supreme Court. Each week, two or more students argue to the class a case currently pending before the Court. (Occasionally, a case that might reasonably be expected to come before the Court in the near future may be selected.) Prior to this argument, the advocates jointly prepare and distribute a short written summary of the case, including a jointly edited version of the opinion(s) below and the most important of their arguments? a mini-brief. Neither the mini-brief nor the class presentation will be graded.
Each student will also be asked to assume the persona of an actual Justice now on the Court, and to maintain that identity throughout the semester, asking questions as that Justice might be expected to ask, during presentations. At the end of the presentation, each ?Justice? will predict how the actual justice may be expected to vote in the case and why. Finally, each student will also cast a vote personally, for one side or the other, explaining why, briefly. (Because this aspect of the course cannot well succeed if attendance is sparse, regular class attendance will be required.)
At the end of the semester, each student will be asked to submit an individual paper of twenty pages or more, on any Constitutional Law subject he or she desires. This paper will be graded on a letter grade basis; that grade will be the grade for the course. The paper will be due on the last day of exams.
Constitutional Law I is a prerequisite for the course. The course satisfies the Wisconsin Bar requirements for Constitutional Law II. (At the beginning of the course, there will be lectures offering an overview of Constitutional Law II. A student seeking Constitutional Law II credit for the course must also present to the class and write his or her paper on cases or questions dealing with Constitutional Law II issues.)