Monday, April 8, 2019

Syllabus

American Constitutional Law
Spring 2019
Week 1
Introduction

Week 2
Historical Background; Origins of the US Constitution; the Bill of Rights

Week 3
The “Living Constitution”
Justice Antonin Scalia Speech on Constitutional Interpretation
Scalia v Breyer: Part 1  Part 2  Part 3

Week 4
Slavery and the Civil War; 14th Amendment, Due Process and Equal Protection
Christopher Eisgruber, The Story of Dred Scott v Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857)

Week 5
Substantive Due Process; Lochner; The New Deal
Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905)
Muller v Oregon, 208 U.S. 412 (1908)
Meyer v Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923)
West Coast Hotel v Parrish, 300 U.S. 379 (1937)
Carolene Products footnote 4, 304 U.S. 144 (1938)

Week 6
Equal Protection: Race and the Civil Rights Movement
From Plessy to Brown v. Board of Education
Equal Protection and Levels of “Scrutiny”
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)
Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356 (1886)
Korematsu v. US, 323 U.S. 214 (1944)
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967)

Week 7
Equal Protection: Gender
Bradwell v. State of Illinois, 83 U.S. 130 (1872)
Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. 190 (1976)

Week 8
Equal Protection: Affirmative Action

Full cases
Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003)
Fisher v. Texas, 570 U.S. ___ (2013)

Week 9
Due Process: “Privacy” and Abortion
Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
Week 10
Equal Protection/Due Process: Sexual Orientation
Romer v Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996)
Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003)

Week 11
Equal Protection/Due Process/Federalism
US v Windsor, 570 U.S. ___ (2013)

Week 12
Gay Marriage
Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ (2015)

Week 13
Trump Immigration Orders

Week 14
Conclusion and Review

General Resources:


Syllabus

American Constitutional Law Spring 2019 Week 1 Introduction Timeline Week 2 Historical Background; Origins of the  US Constit...