POLITICAL SCIENCE 4130: AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW II

Spring 2001

M,W,F 3:30-4:20. Main 326

James R. Harrigan

Office: Old Main, Room 330E. Office Hours: M,W,F 1:30-3:30, and by appointment.

Phone: 797-1339 email: j_r_harrigan@yahoo.com

Course Objectives:

This course, the second of a two-part sequence, examines Individual Rights in light of the American Constitutional regime. We will be examining the Bill of Rights and subsequent Amendments to the United States Constitution in great detail, with particular emphasis on case law concerning freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, gender and racial issues, and criminal law.

The course will treat all of the subjects listed above in as much detail as possible. By the end of the semester you should have a basic understanding of the Court’s treatment of individual liberties under our Constitution. No prior understanding of law or of the Constitution is assumed, and you should expect to cover a significant amount of material in a short period of time.

This course will be conducted in Socratic fashion. I expect students to actively participate in class discussion. The attendance and participation component of your grade will be determined largely by how much you choose to participate. If you choose not to participate, you can expect to receive no credit. It will be virtually impossible to get an A in this class without strong participation.

Required Texts:

Ralph A. Rossum and G. Alan Tarr. American Constitutional Law. Fifth Edition. Volume II. New

York: St Martin's Press, 1999, (hereafter ACL).

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. The Federalist Papers. Ed. Clinton Rossiter.

New York: New American Library, 1999.

Eugene W. Hickok, Jr., ed. The Bill of Rights: Original Meaning and Current Understanding.

Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1991.

Grade Distribution:

First Paper 25%

Second Paper 25%

Final Exam 40%

Class Participation 5%

Case Brief 5%

Because this is a pre-law course, and writing is an essential ingredient in a successful career in

the law, you will be expected to demonstrate competence in the course material in papers rather than

on typical examinations. I urge you to take the assignments seriously. I fully expect your papers to

be grammatically perfect . If it takes me longer to address your spelling and grammar errors than it

takes me to address the quality of your argument, you will not receive a passing grade. Each of

your first two papers will be 5-7 pages in length, and will be a response to a question I give you in

class. You will have at least one week to complete these assignments, and the date on which you

will receive the questions will not be announced. Attendance is thus doubly important.

Your final examination will also be a writing assignment. You will be given a question at roughly

the 2/3 point in the course, sometime immediately following spring break. Your answer to this

question should be quite good given the amount of time that you have to complete it. Furthermore,

I will be happy to read rough drafts until two weeks before the due date of your exam. There is no

excuse for poor performance.

The case brief is both a written and oral presentation. You will be required to present at least one

case during the course of the semester. It is your responsibility to see to it that you satisfy this

requirement. A sample case brief can be found on pages 43-44 in the Rossum and Tarr text (please

don’t even try to pick Texas v. Johnson for your case).

Class attendance and participation is simply expected. If you choose to skip classes, you will not

Receive the participation credit. If you skip habitually, you can expect to lose more than 5%. Poor

attendance can (and will) result in a failing grade.

Course Outline

I. Introduction.

No Readings.

II. Constitutional Interpretation and Adjudication.

ACL Vol. II, Chs. 1-2.

III. Freedom of Speech, Press, and Association.

Readings: J. S. Mill, On Liberty, Chapter II, “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion.” (handout). Hickok: Chs. 7-8, ACL Volume II, Ch. 5. The Bill of Rights, Federalist Nos. 38, 84.

Cases: Gitlow v. New York, Schenck v. United States, Dennis v. United States, Barenblatt v. United States, Brandenburg v. Ohio, Buckley v. Valeo, Texas v. Johnson, R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, New York Times v. United States, Branzburg v. Hayes, New York Times v. Sullivan, Miller v. California, Paris Adult Theater I v. Slaton, Reno v. ACLU. Hill v. Colorado (handout).

IV. Freedom of Religion: Establishment and Free Exercise.

Readings: Hickok: Chs. 4-6, ACL Vol. II, Ch. 6, Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, 1802 (handout).

Cases: Everson v. Board of Education, School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, Lemon v. Kurtzman, Wallace v. Jaffree, Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet, Rosenberger v. University of Virginia, West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, Sherbert v. Verner, Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Production Association, Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, City of Boerne v. Flores, Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. Hialeah (handout), Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (handout).

V. Equal Protection and Racial Discrimination.

Readings: ACL Vol. II, Ch. 8, Federalist No. 54.

Cases: Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education I & II, Bolling v. Sharpe, Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenberg Board of Education, Milliken v. Bradley, Missouri v. Jenkins I (handout) & II, Shelley v. Kraemer, Moose Lodge No. 107 v. Irvis, Palmore v. Sidoti, Wards Cove Packing v. Antonio, The Civil Rights Act of 1991.

VI. Equal Protection and Affirmative Action.

Readings: Ralph Rossum, “Plessy, Brown, and the Reverse Discrimination Cases,” (handout), ACL Vol. II, Ch. 9, Dinesh D’Souza, “Beyond Affirmative Action,” (handout), Wink Twyman, “A Critique of the California Civil Rights Initiative” (handout).

Cases: Bakke v. Regents of the University of California, , Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, Richmond v. Croson Company, Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, Rostker v. Goldberg, United States v. Virginia.

VII. Voting and Representation.

Readings: ACL Vol. 2, Ch. 10.

Cases: Wesberry v. Sanders, Reynolds v. Sims, Thornburg v. Gingles, Shaw v. Reno.

VIII. The Right to Privacy: Abortion, Sexual Orientation, and the Right to Die.

Readings: ACL Volume II, Ch. 11, Andrew Sullivan, from “Virtually Normal,” (handout), James Q. Wilson, from “Against Homosexual Marriage,” (handout).

Cases: Griswold v. Connecticut, Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, Bowers v. Hardwick, Romer v. Evans, Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health, Washington v. Glucksberg, Vacco v. Quill, Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (handout), Stenberg v. Carhart (handout).

IX. Criminal Procedure.

Readings: ACL Volume II, Ch. 7, Hickok: Chs. 11, 13, 14, 19-22.

Cases: Olmstead v. United States, Katz v. United States, Gideon v. Wainwright, Miranda v. Arizona, Nix v. Williams, Gregg v. Georgia, Harmelin v. Michigan.