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Michael D. Ramsey Professor of Law, University of San Diego Law School |
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Supreme Court Seminar Fall 2025 Course Webpage |
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COURSE OVERVIEW
Class Meetings: Tuesday & Thursday, 4:00 pm - 5:20 pm
Office Hours: 9:30 am to 11:30 am Tuesday and Thursday 2:30 pm to 3:00 pm Tuesday and Thursday
Textbook: There is no required text. Assignments will be made from materials available on-line or posted on this website.
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.
A final updated course schedule and final updated presentation assignments are posted below. Presentations begin on November 4 and conclude on November 18. There is no class meeting on November 20. To receive written work credit for the course, a rough draft of the long paper must be submitted on the presentation date. Topic assignments for the long paper are posted below.
A revised tentative course schedule is posted below.
Cert memos are due on Tuesday, September 23, at 4 pm. Cert memo presentations begin on September 23.
This course will not meet on Thursday, September 18, 2025. This time is set aside for work on the cert. memos (due Sept. 23).
The first writing assignment (cert. memo) is posted below and is due on September 23, 2025.
A tentative schedule for the course is included in the syllabus available below.
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is permitted without restriction in this course, subject to the following: (a) Use of AI in connection with any written work submitted in this course must be disclosed (b) Be aware that AI is unreliable and all facts and citations obtained through AI must be checked. Errors in facts and citations attributable to AI that could have been corrected by consulting a non-AI source will result in substantial penalties. (c) Ordinary rules of attribution and plagiarism apply. Be aware that AI may copy materials from non-AI sources without attribution. Use of AI in connection with any written work submitted in this course requires taking reasonable steps to detect and correct plagiarism.
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
This space will be used to post assignments for each class meeting; these assignments will also be announced in class.
Assignment for Tuesday, November 18, 2025
We will hear presentations on Pung v. Isabella County, Smith v. Hamm, and West Virginia v. BPJ. Students with “Justice” assignments must be present in class on Tuesday to vote on the cases or must submit their votes and a brief explanation prior to the class meeting.
This will be our final class meeting. There is no class meeting on Thursday, November 20.
Assignment for Thursday, November 13, 2025
We will hear a presentation on Chiles v. Salazar. (Reminder: remaining case presentations will be on Tuesday, November 18; there is no class meeting on Thursday, November 20.) Students with “Justice” assignments must be present in class on Thursday and Tuesday to vote on the cases or must submit their votes and a brief explanation prior to the class meeting.
Overview of the Supreme Court’s OT2025 docket (so far): review the listing of cases at SCOTUSblog under “Oral Argument Docket”, available here
Assignment for Tuesday, November 11, 2025
We will hear presentations on Justices Kavanaugh, Barrett, and KB Jackson
Assignment for Thursday, November 6, 2025
We will hear presentations on Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Gorsuch.
Optional reading:
Erwin Chemerinsky, The tariffs case and whether amicus briefs matter Adam White, President Trump’s tariffs v. the Supreme Court’s duties Anduy Smarick, Being a justice doesn’t make you a policy expert
Assignment for Tuesday, November 4, 2025
No further reading assignment. We will hear presentations on Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas and Alito.
Assignment for Thursday, October 30, 2025
Stare decisis, precedent, historical practice and judicial restraint
Constitution Annotated, Judicial Precedent and Constitutional Interpretation, https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/intro.8-4/ALDE_00001305/
Constitution Annotated: Stare Decisis Factors,https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artIII-S1-7-2-3/ALDE_00013238/ Constitution Annotated, Historical Practices and Constitutional Interpretation,https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/intro.8-9/ALDE_00001310/ Alison LaCroix, Historical Gloss: A Primer, 126 Harvard Law Review Forum 75 (2012) https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1272&context=journal_articles
Michael L. Smith, Thayerian Deference and Constitutional Interpretation, 103 Tex. L. Rev. Online 220 (2025), https://texaslawreview.org/thayerian-deference-and-constitutional-interpretation/
Assignment for Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Alternatives to originalism: pragmatism, moral reasoning and common law constitutionalism
Constitution Annotated, Pragmatism and Constitutional Interpretation, https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/intro-8-5/ALDE_00001306/
Constitution Annotated, Moral Reasoning and Constitutional Interpretation, https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/intro.8-6/ALDE_00001307/
Pamela Karlan, How Should We Interpret the Constitution? (American Constitution Society video, Sept. 17, 2019), https://www.acslaw.org/video/how-should-we-interpret-the-constitution/
David A. Strauss, The Living Constitution (U. Chicago blog, September 27, 2010). https://www.law.uchicago.edu/news/living-constitution
David A. Strauss, Do We Have a Living Constitution?, 59 Drake Law Review 973 (2011), https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3009&context=journal_articles
Assignment for Thursday, October 23, 2025
Originalism and the Roberts Court
Haley Proctor, Are Judges Good Historians? (SCOTUSblog, Oct. 8, 2025), https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/10/are-judges-good-historians/
Eric Segall, How the Roberts Court Killed Originalism (Dorf on Law blog, Feb. 4, 2025), https://www.dorfonlaw.org/2025/02/how-roberts-court-killed-originalism.html
Assignment for Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Theories of decisionmaking: Originalism
Library of Congress, Constitution Annotated: Original Meaning and Constitutional Interpretation, available here Antonin Scalia, Originalism: The Lesser Evil, 57 U. Cin. L. Rev. 849 (1989) (available on Westlaw or Lexis) Maryland v. Craig, 497 U.S. 836 (1990), dissenting opinion of Scalia Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004), majority opinion by Scalia National Constitution Center, For or Against Constitutional Originalism?: A Debate, available here
Assignment for Thursday, October 16, 2025 Amy Howe, Majority of court appears skeptical of Colorado’s “conversion therapy” ban (SCOTUSblog, Oct. 7, 2025)
We will discuss the oral argument in Chiles, and finish the previous discussion assignment.
Assignment for Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Chiles v. Salazar, No. 24-539: prepare for oral argument
Merits brief of petitioner Kaley Chiles, pp. 2-25 (Introduction, Statement of the Case and Summary of Argument)
Merits brief of respondents Patty Salazar et al., pp. 1-17 (Introduction, Statement of the Case and Summary of Argument)
These briefs can be found either through the Supreme Court website by searching on the docket number (under “Docket search”), or at the SCOTUSblog website by searching on the case name to find the case page and then scrolling down to the filings
Assignment for Thursday, October 9, 2025
No new assignment We will complete the discussion topics from previous assignments
Assignment for Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Discussion topic: Other famous Justices Discussion assignments are posted below.
Prepare a brief report on your assigned Justice.
Assignment for Thursday, October 2, 2025
Discussion topic: Chief Justices through history. Discussion assignments are posted below.
Prepare a brief report on your assigned Chief Justice.
Long paper assignments will be made in class.
Assignment for Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Discussion topic: The Office of Chief Justice
Briefly research the powers and duties of the Chief Justice and be prepared to share some of them in class. We will consider whether or not the Chief Justice is a powerful position.
No individualized discussion assignments.
Assignment for Thursday, September 25, 2025
No additional assignment Cert presentations will continue (schedule available below)
Assignment for Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Cert memos are due September 23 at 4 pm Cert presentations begin September 23 (schedule available below)
No additional assignment
NO CLASS MEETING on September 18, 2025
Assignment for Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Discussion topic: Reforming the Court? Discussion assignments are posted below.
Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court, Final Report (2021), available here, pp. 67-84 (size of the Court), 111-128 (term limits), and 152-154 & 169-178 (supermajority rule)
Assignment for Thursday, September 11, 2025
Discussion topic: emergency docket (part 3) No further discussion assignments. Read the following short articles:
Jack Goldsmith, Supreme Court Emergency Orders and Trump 2.0
Erwin Chemerinsky, Why the shadow docket should concern us all
Alicia Bannon, Supreme Court Must Explain Why It Keeps Ruling in Trump’s Favor
Josh Blackman, The Failed Lower Court Revolt
Consider: how should the Court change its approach to the emergency docket (if at all)?
Assignment for Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Discussion topic: emergency docket (part 2) Discussion assignments are posted below.
Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court, Final Report (2021), pp. 202-215, available here.
Find and read two short recent articles, one of which identifies substantial problems with the emergency docket, and the other of which argues that there are not substantial problems (or that the problems are exaggerated). Assignment for Thursday, September 4, 2025
Discussion topic: emergency docket (introduction) Discussion assignments are posted below.
Find and read a short article on the emergency docket.
Look at the SCOTUSblog website under “Emergency Docket 2025-2026” and “Emergency Docket 2024-2025” to get a sense of the kinds of cases on the emergency docket. Assignment for Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Discussion topic: alternatives to cert. Discussion assignments are posted below.
We will begin with the parts of the previous assignment not covered on Thursday.
The instructions for the first writing assignment are posted below (directions and case assignments)
Assignment for Thursday, August 28, 2025
Discussion topic: the cert process (part 2) Discussion assignments are posted below
Stewart Baker, A Practical Guide to Certiorari, pp. 611-621, available here
Cisco Systems Inc. v. Doe, No. 24-856, petition for a writ of certiorari and response (skim, but with attention to format and principal arguments for and against certiorari) Supreme Court filings for a case can be found by using the docket search function at the Supreme Court’s website, searching for the docket number Alternatively, for cases profiled on SCOTUSblog, the filings can be found by search on the case name and going to the SCOTUSblog page for that case Assignment for Tuesday, August 26, 2025
Discussion topic: the cert process (part 1) Discussion assignments are posted below
Legal Information Institute: Writ of Certiorari SCOTUSblog: The certiorari process Rules of the Supreme Court, Rules 10 – 16
Assignment for Thursday, August 21, 2025
Discussion topic: the lower courts (state and federal) Discussion leader assignments posted below.
Assignment for Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Read the U.S. Constitution, Article III, with attention to what it says (and does not say) about the U.S. Supreme Court and other U.S .federal courts.
Look at the U.S. Supreme Court’s website (https://www.supremecourt.gov/), especially the “about” tab.
Look at some other on-line resource to find some interesting facts about the Court.
COURSE DOWNLOADS
Discussion topics: the lower courts (for 8/21) Discussion topics: the cert process (for 8/26) Discussion topics: the cert process, part 2 (for 8/28) Discussion topics: alternatives to cert. (for 9/2)
Cert memo writing assignment: description and instructions Cert memo writing assignment: case assignments
Discussion topics: the emergency docket (part 1) (for 9/4) Discussion topics: the emergency docket (part 2) (for 9/9) Discussion topics: Reforming the Court? (for 9/16)
Cert memo presentations schedule (for 9/23 and 9/25)
Discussion topics: Chief Justices (for 10/2) Discussion topics: Other Famous Justices (for 10/7)
Topic assignments for the long paper
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