[Epstein] = Epstein, Lee, and Thomas G. Walker. Constitutional Law for a Changing America: A Short Course. 5 ed. CQ Press College, 2011. ISBN: 9781608716975.
[Baum] = Baum, Lawrence. The Supreme Court. 11 ed. CQ Press, 2012. ISBN: 9781452220963.
Readings with an asterisk (*) can be found by registering at the Constitutional Law for a Changing America Resource Center website and visiting the A Short Course archive.
SES # | TOPICS | READINGS |
---|---|---|
I. Introduction | ||
1 | Introduction | No readings |
II. Judicial Review: The What, Who, And How Of Constitutional Interpretation | ||
2 | The Role of Courts in Our Federal System |
[Epstein] Part II: "Institutional Authority." pp. 59–67. [Baum] Chapter 1: "The Court." pp. 1–11. [Baum] Chapter 2: "The Justices." pp. 35–9, and 41–9. [Baum] Chapter 5: "Policy Outputs." pp. 162–7. Hamilton, Alexander. "The Federalist, No. 78: The Judiciary Department." constitution.org. |
3 | Judicial Review I: Origins of Judicial Review |
The Constitution of the United States, Article III, Sections 1 and 2, archives.gov. [Epstein] "Marbury v. Madison." pp. 68–75. Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address, Wikisource.org Optional
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4 | Judicial Review II: Limits on Judicial Review |
[Epstein] "Ex parte McCardle." pp. 75–7.
[Baum] Chapter 6: "The Court’s Impact." pp. 202–12.
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5 | What types of disputes are suitable for Courts? |
[Epstein] Part II: "Institutional Authority." pp. 77–84. Political Questions:Standing: |
6 | The Art of Judicial Interpretation |
[Epstein] Part I: "The U.S. Constitution." pp. 31–51. [Baum] Chapter 4: "Decision Making." pp. 114–31, and 140–8. OptionalSouter, David H. "Text of Justice David Souter’s speech," Harvard Gazette, May 27, 2010. |
III: Nation-State Relations (Federalism) | ||
7 | Principles |
Madison, James. "The Federalist, No. 51: The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments." constitution.org. [Epstein] Part III: "Nation-State Relations." pp. 181–8. [Epstein] "McCulloch v. Maryland." pp. 188–92. [Epstein] "Printz v. United States." pp. 204–9. |
8 | Commerce Clause I: Historical Evolution of Commerce Clause |
[Epstein] Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3, Appendix 1: "Constitution of the United States." pp. 693. [Epstein] Part III: "Nation-State Relations." pp. 211–3. [Epstein] "Gibbons v. Ogden." pp. 211–7. [Epstein] Part III: "Nation-State Relations." pp. 220–3. Fireside Chat on Reorganization of the Judiciary, March 9, 1937, mhric.org.
[Epstein] "National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, and Wickard v. Filburn." pp. 211 –7. [Epstein] "Box 7–4." pp. 217 [Epstein] "Heart of Atlanta v. United States." pp. 247–50. |
9 | Commerce Clause II: Limits on Congress Commerce Clause Power |
[Epstein] "United States v. Lopez." pp. 237–42. [Epstein] "Gonzales v. Raich." pp. 243–7. National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. Optional
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10 | Taxing and Spending Power |
[Epstein] Part III: "Nation-State Relations." pp. 257–62. [Epstein] "South Dakota v. Dole." pp. 270–4. National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius.Adler, Jonathan. "Could The Health Care Decision Hobble The Clean Air Act?" perc.org. |
11 | Power to Enforce Constitutional Rights |
[Epstein] "Amendment XIV, Sections 1, and 5." pp. 699. [Epstein] Part VII: "Civil Rights." pp. 599–602. [Epstein] Part II: "Institutional Authority." pp. 116–7. |
IV: Balance Of Powers Within Federal Government | ||
12 | Introduction |
[Epstein] Part II: "Institutional Authority." pp. 57–62. Madison, James. "The Federalist, No. 51: The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments." constitution.org. |
13 | Legislature I: Legislative Powers |
[Epstein] Part II: "Institutional Authority." pp. 88–90. [Epstein] "McCulloch v. Maryland, and United States v. Comstock." pp. 101–9. |
14 | Legislature II: Separation of Powers |
[Epstein] Part II: "Institutional Authority." pp. 117–8. [Epstein] "Mistretta v. United States." pp. 118–21. [Epstein] "Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha." pp. 121–5.[Epstein] "Clinton v. City of New York." pp. 133–7. |
15 | Executive I: Principles of Executive Power |
[Epstein] Part II: "Institutional Authority." pp. 127–33. [Epstein] "Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer." pp. 165–9. Optional
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16 | Executive II: Appointments and Removal Power |
[Epstein] Part II: "Institutional Authority." pp. 138–41. (Pay careful attention to the description of Buckley v. Valeo.) *Bowsher v. Synar.Optional
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17 | Executive III: Judicial Authority over Executive |
[Epstein] Part II: "Institutional Authority." pp. 141–2. [Epstein] "United States v. Nixon." pp. 142–7. [Epstein] Part II: "Institutional Authority." pp. 147–8. [Epstein] "Clinton v. Jones." pp. 148–52. |
V: Substantive Due Process | ||
18 | Principles | [Epstein] "Amendment XIV, Section 1." pp. 699. |
19 | Economic Liberty |
[Epstein] Part IV: "Economic Liberties." pp. 297–8. [Epstein] "Lochner v. New York." pp. 303–7. [Epstein] "West Coast Hotel v. Parrish." pp. 312–6. |
20 | Personal Liberty & Right to Privacy I: Abortion |
[Epstein] Part V: "Civil Liberties." pp. 489–91. [Epstein] "Griswold v. Connecticut." pp. 491–6. [Epstein] Part V: "Civil Liberties." pp. 497–8. [Epstein] "Roe v. Wade." pp. 498–506. [Epstein] Part V: "Civil Liberties." pp. 506–13. Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania, et al., v. Robert P. Casey, et al. Rosen, Jeffrey. "The Day After Roe," The Atlantic, June 1, 2006. Deprez, Esmé E. "How State Governments Are Regulating Away Abortion," BloombergBusinessweek, January 17, 2013. |
21 | Personal Liberty & Right to Privacy II: Right to Privacy Beyond Abortion |
[Epstein] Part V: "Civil Liberties." pp. 513–4. [Epstein] "Lawrence v. Texas." pp. 515–21. [Epstein] "Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health." pp. 521–7. |
22 | Class exercise: Legal Simulation | No readings |
VI: Equal Protection | ||
23 | Principles |
[Epstein] "Amendment XIV, Section 1." pp. 699.
[Epstein] Part VII: "Civil Rights." pp. 596–9. |
24 | Racial Discrimination I: Historical Evolution |
[Epstein] Part VII: "Civil Rights." pp. 603–4. [Epstein] "Plessy v. Ferguson." pp. 604–8. [Epstein] "Korematsu v. United States." pp. 160–4. |
25 | Racial Discrimination II: Brown v. Board of Education and its aftermath |
[Epstein] "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka." pp. 608–14. Aftermath State resistance: Executive enforcement: "Dwight D. Eisenhower Talks to the Nation about Desegregation in Arkansas," whitehouse.c-span.org. Judicial enforcement: Legislative enforcement: [Baum] Chapter 6: "The Court's Impact." pp. 190–3. |
26 | Racial Discrimination III: Affirmative Action Cases |
Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña. [Epstein] "Grutter v. Bollinger." pp. 633–4, and 638–46. |
27 | Gender Discrimination |
[Epstein] Part VII: "Civil Rights." pp. 614–5. [Epstein] "Craig v. Boren." pp. 618–22. Equal Rights Amendment, now.org |
28 | Economic Discrimination |
[Epstein] Part VII: "Civil Rights." pp. 622. [Epstein] "San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez." pp. 622–7.Did the Court get it right? Sutton, Jeffrey S. "San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez and its Aftermath." Virginia Law Review 94, no. 8 (2008): 1963–86. Epstein, Diana. "Measuring Inequity in School Funding," americanprogress.org, August 3, 2011.
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29 |
Sexual Orientation and Same-Sex Marriage I: Sexual Orientation / Same-Sex Marriage Cases |
[Epstein] "Romer v. Evans." pp. 627–32. Talbot, Margaret. "A Risky Proposal," New Yorker, January 18, 2010.
"Hollingsworth v. Perry: Full Transcript of Oral Arguments On Gay Marriage Released (AUDIO)." Huffington Post, March 26, 2013. |
30a |
Sexual Orientation and Same-Sex Marriage II: Future of same-sex marriage laws at the state level |
Ball, Molly. "A Coming Wave of Gay Marriage Electoral Victories?" The Atlantic, August 7, 2012. Gelman, Andrew, Jeffrey Lax, et al. "Over Time, a Gay Marriage Groundswell." New York Times, August 21, 2010. Brownstein, Ronald. "Leaving Same-Sex Marriage to the States is a Recipe for Confusion." The Atlantic, March 27, 2013. |
30b | Voting |
[Epstein] Part VII: "Civil Rights." pp. 666–9. [Epstein] "Reynolds v. Sims." pp. 669–72.Ansolabehere, Stephen, Alan Gerber, et al. "Equal Votes, Equal Money: Court-Ordered Redistricting and Public Expenditures in the American States." American Political Science Review 96, no. 4 (2002): 767–77. |