|
Michael D. Ramsey Professor of Law, University of San Diego Law School |
|
Constitutional Law I, Spring 2013 Course Webpage |
|
COURSE OVERVIEW
Class Meetings: MW, 10:00 am to 11:50 am: Room 131, Warren Hall
Office Hours: 3:45 pm to 4:45 pm, Monday and Wednesday 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm, Tuesday
Casebook: Kathleen M. Sullivan & Gerald Gunther, Constitutional Law (17th edition, Foundation, 2010). Additional assignments will be made from materials available on-line.
INFORMATION REGARDING COURSE SCHEDULE
Note: This space will be used for announcements regarding class cancellations, make-ups, optional events of interest, and other updates regarding the course schedule.
Writing Assignment No. 3 is available here and is due Tuesday, April 30, at 9 am.
This course will meet on Tuesday, April 30, in its regular time slot. This will be the last meeting of the semester.
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
This space will be used to post assignments for each class meeting; these assignments will also be announced in class. Assignments are keyed to the course Reading List. Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the Reading List are posted below.
Assignment for Monday, April 29, 2013
Reading List Part IX. We will begin with the remaining parts of Part VIII. Note: Writing Assignment #3 is due on Tuesday, April 30, at 9 am.
Assignment for Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Reading List Part VIII C, D, & E (and re-read Part VIII A & B)
Assignment for Monday, April 22, 2013
Reading List Part VII C & D (focus on Pacifica and on the cases in the supplemental reading) Reading List Part VIII A & B Note: We will begin with a brief discussion of the obscenity cases from the prior reading.
Assignment for Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Reading List Part VI and VII A & B.
Assignment for Monday, April 15, 2013
Reading List Part V. Note: this is a short assignment but it covers multiple very important cases (especially Cantwell, Chaplinsky, Cohen and Feiner); it should be read very slowly and carefully, with attention to how the cases relate to each other.
Assignment for Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Reading List Part IV (focus on Brandenburg and the Pentagon Papers case)
Assignment for Monday, April 8, 2013
First Amendment Reading List, Part III (focus on the hypothetical)
Assignment for Wednesday, April 3, 2013
First Amendment Reading List, Part I & II (focus on the Smith and Lukumi cases in Part II; we will cover Part I only briefly)
NO CLASS MEETING Monday, April 1, 2013 (Easter Monday)
NO CLASS MEETING Monday, March 25, 2013 or Wednesday March 27, 2013 (Spring Break)
Assignment for Wednesday, Mar. 20, 2013
No new assignment. We will discuss Writing Assignment #2 and wrap up our unit on federalism. Reminder: Writing Assignment #2 is due at 9:00 am on 3/20.
Assignment for Monday, Mar. 18, 2013
Reading List Part VII; however, we will principally focus on the Hunt and Kassel cases from the previous assignments.
Note: Writing Assignment #2 (available here) is due on Wednesday, March 20, 2013, at 9:00 am.
Assignment for Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2013
Reading List Part VII
Assignment for Monday, Mar. 11, 2013
Reading List Part VI (focus on the supplemental reading [available here] covering the Crosby and Gade cases & related questions).
Assignment for Wednesday, Mar. 6, 2013
Reading List Part IVD (skim) Reading List Part V (focus on Printz and New York v. United States)
Assignment for Monday, Mar. 4, 2013
Federalism Reading List, Part III D (NFIB v. Sebelius, part 1 - Commerce Power) [available here] Federalism Reading List, Part IVA (focus on South Dakota v. Dole) Federalism Reading List, Part IVB (NFIB v. Sebelius, part 2A - Taxing Power [available here] and NFIB v. Sebelius, part 2B - Spending Power [available here]). Federalism Reading List, Part IVC
Addendum to the standing assignments: here is the Court’s opinion in Clapper v. Amnesty International, decided Feb. 26, 2013 and discussed in class on 2/27.
Assignment for Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013
Federalism Reading List, Part III B & C (focus on Gonzales v. Raich & the Commerce Clause Hypotheticals [available here])
Assignment for Monday, Feb. 25, 2013
Federalism Reading List, Part II (read for general information) Federalism Reading List Part IIIA (read with close focus on the Lopez and Morrison cases)
Assignment for Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013
Text pp. 60-76, focus on McCulloch v. Maryland; re-read U.S. Const. Art. I and Amendment X (Note: this is part I of the new Reading List, available below).
Assignment for Monday, Feb. 18, 2013
Reading List Part V F & G (the opinion in the Zivotofsky case is available here). Separation of Powers writing assignment is due at 9:00 am on Monday 2/18 (submit via email or by placing a hard copy in my faculty mailbox). (Writing assignment is available here).
Assignment for Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013
Reading List Part V C, D, & E, focus on the standing hypotheticals (available below), plus the Lujan case from the prior reading.
Assignment for Monday, Feb. 11, 2013
Reading List Part IV, focus on Marbury v. Madison (assignment carried over from the previous class meeting).
Reading List Part V, A & B (focus on Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife).
Assignment for Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013
Reading List Part IV, focus on Marbury v. Madison. However, we will principally focus in class on discussing the Free Enterprise Fund case and the Legislative Power Hypothetical.
Assignment for Monday, Feb. 4, 2013
Reading List Part III C, D, & E. Note: This assignment includes supplemental reading and a discussion hypothetical, both available below. Further note: We will begin class with a discussion of Morrison v. Olson, pp. 322-325 of the casebook.
Assignment for Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013
Reading List, Part III A & B (focus on Chadha, Bowsher and Morrison). Note: the pages assigned for Part III B of this reading should be 315-329 (not 315-322). Please read all the way to p. 329 (to include the Morrison v. Olson case and related notes). This is a correction to the original reading assignment.
Assignment for Monday, Jan. 28, 2013
Reading List, Part II G (focus on U.S. v. Nixon and Clinton v. Jones) We will begin by discussing Hypothetical #1 from the prior reading, and related cases
Assignment for Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013
Reading List, Part II D, E & F (The assignments listed in parts E and F(a) are available below).
Prepare an answer to Hypothetical #1 (part F(a) of the reading list), and be ready to discuss it in class. Note: prepare your answer to the hypothetical before reading Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (part II.F.b of the reading list).
NO CLASS Monday, Jan. 21, 2013 (King Holiday)
Assignment for Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013
Reading List, Part II A, B, & C (focus on the Steel Seizure case)
Assignment for Monday, Jan. 14, 2013 (first class meeting):
(a) Read the text of the Constitution (Appendix A of the casebook) (b) Find and read a brief historical account of the 1787-88 drafting and ratification of the Constitution. (c) Consider and be prepared to discuss the following: Why do we need a Constitution? What purposes does a constitutional system serve, as compared to a system of simple majority rule?
COURSE DOWNLOADS
Assignment for first class meeting (Jan. 14, 2013) Reading List Unit 1 (Separation of Powers)
Supplemental Reading #1 (Historical introduction to executive power) (for 1/16) Supplemental Reading #2 (Medellin v. Texas excerpt) (for 1/23)
Supplemental Reading #3 (cases on legislative power) (for 2/4)
Standing hypotheticals (for 2/13)
Separation of Powers Writing Assignment (for 2/18) Supplemental Reading #3 (Zivotofsky v. Clinton) (for 2/18)
Reading List, Unit 2 (Federalism)
Commerce Clause hypotheticals (for 2/27) NFIB v. Sebelius excerpt, part 1 (Commerce Power) (for 3/4) NFIB v. Sebelius excerpt, part 2A (Taxing Power) (for 3/4) NFIB v. Sebelius excerpt, part 2B (Spending Power) (for 3/4)
Gregory v. Ashcroft excerpt (for 3/6) Supplemental Reading: Preemption (for 3/11)
Writing Assignment #2 (Federalism) (for 3/20)
Reading List, Unit 3 (First Amendment)
Establishment Clause Hypothetical (for 4/8) Supplemental Reading: Recent First Amendment Cases (for 4/22)
|