Constitutional Law I Course Webpage

Michael D. Ramsey

Professor of Law, University of San Diego Law School

Home

Constitutional Law I Spring 2026 Course Webpage

COURSE OVERVIEW

Class Meetings: Monday & Wednesday, 1:00 pm to 2:20 pm

Office Hours: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Tuesday

3:00 pm to 4:00 pm Monday & Wednesday

Textbook: The required text is Gregory E. Maggs & Peter J. Smith, Constitutional Law: A Contemporary Approach (6th ed., West 2023). Note: earlier editions are not acceptable substitutes.

There will be supplemental readings available for download from this web page.

INFORMATION REGARDING THE COURSE

This space will be used for announcements regarding class cancellations, make-ups, optional events of interest, and other updates regarding the course and the course schedule.

Writing Assignment #3 (available below) is due on Monday, April 27, at 10 am.

No additional asynchronous recording will be needed. This course will meet next week on Monday, April 27, and Tuesday, April 28.

This class will not meet Monday, April 6 (Easter holiday). The class meeting on Wednesday, April 8, is cancelled. It will be made up with an asynchronous recording if necessary.

A new reading list (Unit 3: First Amendment) is available below.

Writing Assignment No. 2 (available below) is due on Monday, March 23, at 10 am.

NO CLASS on Wednesday, March 18, 2026 (class cancelled). A makeup via an asynchronous recording is now posted with the class recordings..

NO CLASS Monday, March 9, 2026 or Wednesday, March 11, 2026 (Spring Break)

A new reading list (unit 2—federalism) is available below.

Writing Assignment No. 1 (available below) is due at 10:00 am on Monday, February 16.

Here is a link to the oral argument in Trump v. Slaughter (the FTC removal case), which I highly recommend.

Here is a link to the oral argument in Learning Resources v. Trump (the tariffs case), which is also of interest although much of the discussion is on statutory interpretation.

Recordings of this class will be available to enrolled students via Panopto. I do not vouch for the quality or usefulness of these recordings and they are not a substitute for attending class. Only students in this course are authorized to view or listen to the recordings. The recordings are only for personal use in connection with this course. Students may not show them to others, post them on the internet or otherwise distribute or provide access to them or any part of them. The recordings will be automatically deleted from Panopto after the final exam and students should not attempt to retain them or any part of them.

The syllabus and readings for Unit 1 of the course are available below.

As stated in the syllabus available below, the final examination in this course will be closed book/notes.

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

This space will be used to post assignments for each class meeting; these assignments will also be announced in class. The Reading Lists for Unit 1 (Separation of Powers), Unit 2 (Federalism) and Unit 3 (Free Speech) are available below.

Assignment for Monday, April 27, 2026

Writing Assignment #3 (available below) is due on Monday, April 27, at 10 am.

Assignment for Wednesday, April 22, 2026

TikTok Inc. v. Garland (U.S. Supreme Court, Jan. 17, 2025), majority opinion Parts II.B. & C, available at this link [revised Unit 3 Reading List, Part VII.D]

Reading list Part VIII, focus on Kokinda (in the supplemental reading available below) and the related set of case notes (available below)

Assignment for Monday, April 20, 2026

Reading List Part VII, focus on Kovacs, Ward, and the case notes [available below].

Assignment for Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Reading List Part VI, focus on Stevens and (especially) Brown in the supplemental reading

Assignment for Monday, April 13, 2026

Reading List Part IV, focus on Roth, Miller, Ferber and the Part 3 case notes [available below]

Reading List Part V, focus on NYT v. Sullivan, Hustler and Alvarez

Optional, but highly recommended: Parts II.A and III of Justice Gorsuch’s majority opinion in Chiles v. Salazar (U.S. Supreme Court, March 31, 2026), available here.

NO CLASS Wednesday, April 8, 2026 (class cancelled)

NO CLASS Monday, April 6, 2026 (Easter holiday)

Assignment for Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Reading List Part III.B, C & D, focus on Snyder, Cohen, and the Part 2 case notes [available below]

Assignment for Monday, March 30, 2026

Reading List Part II.D & E, focus on the case notes [available below]

Reading List Part III.A, focus on Chaplinsky

Assignment for Wednesday, March 25, 2026

New Reading List (Unit 3, First Amendment) [available below], Part I and Part II.A, B & C, focus on Brandenburg v. Ohio and the Pentagon Papers case

Assignment for Monday, March 23, 2026

Reading List Part VIII, focus on Baldwin and Piper

A sample federalism hypothetical (hypo #6) (optional, not to discuss or turn in) is available below.

Writing Assignment No. 2 (available below) is due on Monday, March 17, at 10 am.

Assignment for Wednesday, March 18, 2026 makeup recording.

Reading List Part VII, focus on Hughes v. Oklahoma, Philadelphia v. New Jersey, Kassel v. Consolidated Freightways and the cases in the supplemental reading (Taylor and Hunt)

NO CLASS MEETING on March 18.

Assignment for Monday, March 16, 2026

Reading List Part VI, focus on Crosby and Gade in the supplemental reading [available below] and Silkwood in the text.

NO CLASS Monday, March 9, 2026 or Wednesday, March 11, 2026 (Spring Break)

Assignment for Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Reading List Part V, focus on Gregory and Bond in the supplemental reading [available below] and New York v. U.S. and Printz v. U.S. in the text

A sample federalism hypothetical (optional, not to turn in) is available below.

Assignment for Monday, March 2, 2026

Reading List Part IV.A (taxing power), focus on NFIB v. Sebelius [part 2]

Reading List Part IV.B (spending power), focus on South Dakota v. Dole and NFIB v. Sebelius [part 3]

Assignment for Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Reading List Part III, focus on Lopez, Morrison, Raich, and NFIB v. Sebelius [Part 1]

Assignment for Monday, February 23, 2026

New Reading List Part II.B, C & D, focus on Jones & Laughlin, Wickard, Heart of Atlanta and McClung

Assignment for Wednesday, February 18, 2026

New Reading List [available below], Part I and Part II.A, focus on McCulloch and Gibbons.

Assignment for Monday, February 16, 2026

Reading List Part V.D, E & F, focus on Nixon v. United States and on Zivotofsky v. Clinton in the supplemental reading.

Writing Assignment No. 1 (available below) is due at 10:00 am on Monday, February 16.

Assignment for Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Reading List Part V.A, B & C (standing), focus on Lujan and the Massachusetts v. EPA case in the supplemental reading (available below)

Assignment for Monday, February 9, 2026

Reading List Part IV, focus on Marbury v. Madison

A tariff-related hypothetical essay question, based on Learning Resources v. Trump, is posted below. This is just for practice and is not to turn in or discuss in any detail in class.

Assignment for Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Reading List Part III.F & G, focus on Morrison v. Olson and Seila Law v. CFPB. We will also consider Myers and Humphreys from the previous assignment.

Assignment for Monday, February 2, 2026

Reading List Part III.C, D & E, focus on Lucia and Bowsher

Re-read Article II, Section 2 relating to appointments

A sample multiple choice question relating to executive immunity is posted below (Constitutional Law Hypothetical No. 3). This is just for practice and is not to turn in or discuss in any detail in class.

Assignment for Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Reading List Part III.A & B, focus on Whitman and Chadha, plus Justice Gorsuch’s dissent in Gundy and related notes and comments (in the supplement available below)

Assignment for Monday, January 26, 2026

Reading List Part II.G & H, focus on U.S. v. Nixon, Nixon v. Fitzgerald, Clinton v. Jones and especially Trump v. United States

Reading List Part II.I (summary and review)

Supplemental Reading #3 (Reading List Part II.H, excerpting Trump v. United States) is available below.

A sample multiple choice question relating to executive power is posted below (Constitutional Law Hypothetical No. 2). This is just for practice and is not to turn in or discuss in any detail in class.

Assignment for Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Reading List Part II.D, E & F, focus on Dames & Moore, Zivotofsky and Hamdi. Consider how these cases should be analyzed under the frameworks developed by the different Justices in Youngstown.

Supplemental Reading #2 (Reading List Part II.D, excerpting the Zivotofsky case) is available below.

A Venezuela-related hypothetical is posted below. This is just for practice and is not to turn in or discuss in any detail in class.

NO CLASS Monday, January 19, 2026 (King holiday)

Assignment for Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Reading List Part II.A, B & C, focus on Youngstown Sheet & Tube v. Sawyer (the Steel Seizure case), opinions of Justices Black, Frankfurter, Jackson and Vinson.

Supplemental Reading #1 (Reading List Part II.B) is available below.

Assignment for Monday, January 12, 2026

Text of the Constitution (pages 1571-1589 of the casebook), focus on Articles I, II, III and VI, and Amendment I.

Text, pp. 1-22 (introduction)

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? How is Constitutional Law different from other law? What are the sources of Constitutional Law?

COURSE DOWNLOADS

Syllabus

Reading List -- Unit 1 (separation of powers)

Supplemental Reading #1: Historical Introduction to Executive Power (for 1/14)

Supplemental Reading #2: Zivotofsky v. Kerry (excerpt) (for 1/21)

Constitutional Law hypothetical #1 (presidential power)

Supplemental Reading #3: Trump v. United States (excerpts) (for 1/26)

Constitutional Law hypothetical #2 (presidential power)

Supplemental Reading #4: Gundy v. United States (Gorsuch dissent) (excerpts) (for 1/28)

Constitutional Law hypothetical #3 (presidential immunities)

Constitutional Law hypothetical #4 (delegation)

Supplemental Reading #5: Massachusetts v. EPA and Clapper v. Amnesty International (for 2/11)