Past Courses
The Supreme Court
This course focuses on the United States Supreme Court, emphasizing the forces and factors that shaped the Court’s decision-making over the years. Special attention is paid to changes in the Court’s composition and the views and personalities of individual justices, as well as the Court’s changing role in our political system.
Introduction to Legal Research and Writing
Weekly sessions develop critical written communication skills fundamental to legal education and law practice. Small class sizes permit personal attention to each student's progress.
The Elements of Law
This overview of the legal process maps out the interactions among legal institutions and the sources of law. A legal case is analyzed from multiple perspectives, from the underlying facts and its progress toward resolution, to philosophical, economic and policy angles. Students prepare legal documents such as client advice letters and practice case analysis.
First Amendment
This course examines the history of the First Amendment and its effect in a number of arenas, including public forums, educational institutions, obscenity, defamation, privacy, commercial speech and trial publicity.
The Death Penalty
This course examines the death penalty from a variety of perspecitives including historical, moral, constitutional, jurisprudential, criminological and practical.
The Family and the Constitution
This course examines the changing definition and nature of the family in the United States and how constitutionally protected rights are applied to different members of the modern family. Issues include constitutional aspects of new reproductive technology and same sex marriage.
Constitutional Interpretation
A selection of the theories of constitutional interpretation are examined and discussed, including literalism, originalism, foundationalism and "the living Constitution."
