(1) acquaint students with several substantive areas of American Constitutional Law that deal with constitutional dimensions and issues relating to civil rights and liberties,
(2) teach students analytic skills focusing on logical and other legal modes of reasoning,
(3) develop students’ communication skills, both written and oral , and
(4) provide students with a perspective on the roles played by the United States Supreme Court in American politics.

David O'Brien, Constitutional Law and Politics: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, 6th ed. Vol. II.  (Norton, 2005).  Paperback

Richard Fallon, Jr., The Dynamic Constitution: An Introduction to American Constitutional Law  (Cambridge University Press, 2004).  Paperback.

The text materials required for this course have been ordered only from the University Bookstore.  These texts should be purchased at the outset of the semester.  If students prefer, they are welcome to acquire these materials from another (web) source, such as amazon.com, bn.com or powells.com.  However, they should possess and be able to use these books by the first class – 9 January 2007.

Each student is responsible for:

1) reading the appropriate materials before EACH class meeting,
2) attending  each class, prepared to discuss the cases and the other assigned materials, and
3) preparing the appropriate written materials for submission at each class meeting.

 Class participation will focus on daily, in-class discussions of the assigned materials (particularly the cases covered in the casebook and hypotheticals presented in class).  Each student's responses to questions posed in class will form the basis of this part of the Grade.  The process involves the instructor "calling on," i.e., questioning, individual students a variety of times during (throughout)  the semester.  These discussions will be based on the assigned readings from O'Brien, plus hypotheticals that emerge from the cases or the discussion outlined in the casebook.  The quality of each student's response to those questions will be graded.  Class attendance is required, and each student will be expected to be in class and prepared to discuss assigned class materials every day.  Voluntary questions and comments during class are always welcome when the comments relate to the cases and the materials under discussion.  However, these voluntary contributions WILL NOT be graded for purposes of this part of the Final Grade.

Students will attend class, prepared to discuss the assigned reading materials.  That requires two things of each student: (1) continual, advanced preparation of all the assignments (both reading and writing assignments), and (2) regular and sustained class attendance.  Preparation of assignments may involve using Lexis-Nexis or doing library research as well as reading the cases and other materials in the Casebook (O'Brien).  However, preparation will often require more effort and time than just going through the assigned materials.  First, students are expected to read extra material – additional court opinions, statutory provisions, and the like.  Second, "reading" means understanding, not just looking at the words quickly, or using shortcuts to "get through" the assigned materials..  Understanding the concepts, logical reasoning, and technical materials contained in court opinions, statutory provisions, constitutional provisions will require careful, slow reading.  In addition, it requires THINKING about the materials both as they are read and later.  Lastly, understanding requires remembering what you have mastered is crucial.  Students will be expected to remember cases read at earlier stages of the course, throughout the semester.  Students must be able to recall these materials throughout the course.  This level of mastering materials may be frustrating because it is labor intensive, and time consuming.  However, students must learn these techniques and skills to master the materials for this course successfully.  It is important to begin gaining these skills at the very outset of the semester, so that one does not become “lost” or fall way behind at some later point during the term.  The reading in this course becomes more complicated throughout the semester. 

Class attendance is required for this course and absences from class, whatever the reason for the absence, are NOT excused.  Such absences can be explained, but students remain responsible for all the material covered, presented, or due in class.  That includes announcements and assignments that are made in class.  It is not necessary for students to explain absences to the instructor.  Students should pickup assignments, announcements, and the like from fellow students (or from this website) for those days when they are absent.  The instructor will NOT repeat announcements or discussions for the benefit of students who do not attend class.  Students should make other arrangements for recovering the materials they miss.  No electronic or absentia submissions of daily writing assignments will be accepted.  In addition, all students will be randomly called on in class to discuss case or other legal materials.  As noted clearly above, students are to be prepared on all the materials for all classes so that they can answer questions and follow the class discussion even if they are not called on for a particular question.  Absences from class will be graded if the student is called on at that class session, just as students who are not prepared for class will be graded when called on to answer questions.  That really means that students should attend class prepared every day, and they are responsible for all the materials covered in the class throughout the semester.  Their class participation grade can be seriously damaged by absences from class.

When a student attends class it is presumed that the student is prepared to discuss the material for that day.  Students must not engage in "free-riding."  The lack of preparation by any student, for any day, will cost them.  Even if they are not called on to discuss materials or answer questions, since they will not understand the discussion if they have not prepared.  They will not be able to follow the discussion.  Students who are not prepared for class should not attend class.

 The Class Project will be an extensive research project that requires thinking, writing, and research efforts on the part of each student.  A separate document relating to this assignment will be distributed later in the semester.  Due dates for the project will also be announced later.  The Project will be due late in the semester.

 The Written Assignments will require students to complete a number of short, daily writing efforts throughout the semester.  Students must complete and submit these at the assigned class meetings.  This assignment has two purposes.  These serve to develop the ability of students to write succinctly, directly, and clearly.  In addition, the preparation of these assignments is to insure student preparation for class each day and to develop efficient writing skills on the part of all students.  Students need to learn to write clearly, concisely, and quickly, as well as regularly.  Students will prepare these written assignments as announced in class.  The assignments will involve generally brief, typed documents. LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.  While students may be able to anticipate absences and wish to submit this written work in advance, such submissions will not be accepted.  The key element of these materials is that they are due and useful on the days when they will be discussed in class, not at some other time that is more convenient for students.  It is important that students develop abilities to write clearly, concisely, directly, and analytically, throughout the semester.  These assignments are to be submitted in typed, single-spaced form, with your name on each page of each assignment.

 The sequence of reading assignments in O'Brien are indicated on the Reading Assignment page of this website.  The first few days of the course will be devoted to discussing general materials relating to the Supreme Court, such as those covered in Fallon and in Chapter 2 of O"Brien.  As a result, students are expected to read these two sets of materials completely and immediately, before Thursday, January 11th. After a brief discussion of the legal "context" in which the Supreme Court operates – these preliminary matters – the course will turn to the substantive materials (the cases) in O'Brien.  Daily assignments of these materials will NOT be done in the form of announced reading assignments.  Rather, students will be expected to keep up with the progress of the class.  (The pace of these class meetings will be very slow at least at the outset, but the rate of progress will pick up later in the semester.)  Note that some of the cases listed below are listed with their full citation.  These cases are NOT contained in O'Brien's casebook, or even if contained in O'Brien students should read and master the full opinion in these cases.  That means these cases will need to be read from other sources.  That is, they will be read either in the bound volume of the Supreme Court Reports OR using Lexis-Nexis on the web, which is linked to the frontpage of this website.
 

 Students should note that progress or improvement in the course throughout the semester is a very important indicator of how much and how well the student has learned.  The Midterm Examination is the first, formal indication of student progress.  However, by that point in the term all students will have been called on and asked to participate in class several times.  Students should not be concerned if their early work (written and oral) is not “perfect.”  This course involves a learning process (a “learning curve”) and a new way of thinking and analyzing.  Students are expected to learn a good deal during the semester, rather than to know a great deal at the beginning of the term.  If students do not think they are “learning” during the semester, they should talk with the instructor about this concern.  Students should also talk with the instructor if they do not understand something.  They should expect to engage in any number of informal discussions with the instructor or with other students throughout the semester about the course material.  Learning requires a substantial commitment on the part of the student, and students must be prepared to invest time and effort in this process.  Otherwise, the learning will not be satisfactory but that disappointment can be prevented.
 
 

The Web

The webpage for this course will be used heavily and frequently.  You can reach it by clicking on this link.  You need to select the link for this course – POL 462 –  and then bookmark that url so that you can check it frequently.  You need to consult this website daily for assignments, announcements or other items of importance for this course.   In addition, the material used in previous Spring’s courses is also, separately available at the same website.  That permits students to see the Final Examination, the Class Project, and the like from earlier Spring  Semesters.  Students must pay particular, regular attention at least to the Announcement Page and the assignment pages for the current course.  (There are two assignment pages – Reading and Writing – for this course.)  These should be checked by everyone at least once a day, since they will be updated frequently and students are responsible for getting that information from the “net.”  There are substantial internet research capabilities for this course that will be linked to the page and students should expect to use those materials frequently throughout the course.  The reading and understanding of these course materials require much more than just reading the casebook.  Exploring statutory wording, lower court opinions, or relevant, earlier (or later) Supreme Court decisions (precedent) electronically is essential to mastering the materials for this course.  Students will be expected to explore these on their own, in preparation for class.

There will be other web usage this semester.  These can involve reading other cases and statutory materials.  Student web skills are presumed and if a student lacks that experience or confidence, they should talk with the instructor at the very beginning of the course.  That is because later, when class discussions require it or when the Class Project requires extensive research, students will not be stymied because they are not "intimately familiar" with the internet.

One last but essential portion of the course that students are responsible for understanding at the outset of the semester and following throughout the term is the course and University's policies regarding academic integrity.  Each student is expected to read and understand these materials.  These are also linked to the frontpage of the course website.