THOMAS JEFFERSON SCHOOL OF LAW CONSTITUTIONAL LAW I Professor Ken Vandevelde Fall 2017 SYLLABUS Description of the Course Constitutional Law is the study of the interpretation and application of selected provisions of the U.S. Constitution by the U.S. Supreme Court. More specifically, the course focuses on provisions that confer power on the federal government, provisions that allocate federal power among the three branches of the federal government, and provisions that impose limitations on the exercise of federal and/or state power. Goals of the Course This course is designed to teach students the following: General organization and content of the text of the U.S. Constitution, as amended Basic understanding of the considerations that led to the adoption of the U.S. Constitution in place of the Articles of Confederation and the adoption of selected amendments to the Constitution The principal theories of constitutional interpretation The legal doctrine, as articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court, interpreting and applying selected provisions of the U. S. Constitution and its amendments, including, but not limited to, those provisions commonly tested on the bar exam of California and other U.S. jurisdictions Techniques of reading, analyzing and briefing the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court such that the holding, rationale and significance of the decisions are understood Techniques of synthesizing decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court in such a way that the relationships among them, including consistencies and inconsistencies, are understood Techniques of constructing arguments with respect to the way in which a court should apply legal doctrine to resolve disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the U.S. Constitution Course Policies Text: The required texts are Varat, Amar and Cohen, Constitutional Law 15 th edition (2017). The assigned cases are identified on the syllabus by the name of a party (usually the petitioner) and by the page number on which the case begins. Course Grade: The course grade will be based on four components. First, a midterm exam will count as 10 percent of the course grade. Second, a final exam will count as 90 percent of the course grade. Third, all students will be required to complete a set of eight very short 1
written assignments that will be distributed in class. They must make a good faith effort to complete each assignment correctly and they must submit all of them by the deadlines. Any student who does not do so will have his or her course grade lowered by 0.1 for each assignment that is not satisfactorily completed and submitted by the deadline. Fourth, those students who score in the bottom half of the class on the midterm must complete and submit by a deadline to be announced in class a self-assessment of their performance. Students who are required to submit a self-assessment and do not do so satisfactorily and by the deadline will have their course grade lowered by 0.3. Students who score in the top half of the class on the midterm are not required to complete the self-assessment. Attendance and Preparedness: The law school s attendance and preparedness policies apply in this course. If you are unprepared, please leave a note on the lectern prior to the beginning of class. The note should include your name legibly written, the date, and the word unprepared. Contact Information: Office: Room 763. E-mail address: kennethv@tjsl.edu. Office phone number: 619 961 4348. Home phone number: 858 538-6840. Cellular phone number: 858 414 1602. Student Meetings: I strongly encourage you to see me any time that you are encountering difficulty with the course material. No appointment is necessary, although I prefer, when possible, not to meet with students during the last half hour before class begins. If you wish to make an appointment, please contact me in the classroom, by e-mail or by telephone. TWEN Site: You are required to register for the TWEN site for this course. I will use that site to send you class related announcement and to distribute useful supplementary materials. You are responsible for all announcements and materials posted on, or sent via, the site. Assignments Please take note that the assignments are organized in outline form. The outline will assist you in identifying the topics to be covered and in understanding the relationships among the topics, which provides a foundation for understanding the relationship among the cases and thus in synthesizing the cases into a body of legal doctrine. This outline provides a framework for the outline that you will prepare for your own use. Introduction: Interpreting the Constitution 8/15 A. What does the Constitution say? The Constitution of the United States of America 3 8/17 B. Who Interprets the Constitution and How Is It Interpreted? Marbury - 26 2
I. Powers of the Federal Government 8/22 A. Necessary and Proper Clause McCulloch 110; Comstock -- 118 B. Commerce Power Gibbons - 125 8/24 Heart of Atlanta 146; Morrison 149; Raich - 160 National Federation 171 8/29 C. Taxing Power Sonzinsky 186; National Federation 189 D. Spending Power Dole 198; National Federation 199. 8/31 E. War Power Curtiss-Wright - 204; Woods - 205 F. Treaty Power Holland 208 G. Immigration Power Kleindeinst - 216 9/5 H. Enabling Clauses of the 13th-15th Amendments Civil Rights Cases - 1065; Jones - 1118 II. Separation of Powers Within the Federal Government 9/7 Mistretta 375; Youngstown - 331; Hamdan - 336; Boumediene 351; Zivotofsky 341; 9/12 Nixon - 395; Clinton v. Jones 398; Clinton v. N.Y. - 362; Chadha 370; Morrison 377; Noel Canning 388 3
III. Limitations on the Power of Government A. Limitations Only on State Power 9/14 1. Supremacy Clause Arizona 321 2. Dormant Commerce Clause New Energy - 254; Philadelphia - 280; West Lynn Creamery - 273 9/19 Pike - 275; C & A Carbone 276; United Haulers 277; Reeves - 293; White 298; South-Central Timber - 299 9/21 3. Contracts Clause United States Trust Co 486 4. Privileges & Immunities Clause (Art. IV) United Building - 305 9/26 5. Privileges & Immunities Clause (14 th Amendment) Slaughter-House Cases - 414 B. Limitations on State and Federal Power 1. Due Process Clause a. Substantive Due Process (1) Economic Rights Lochner - 468 9/28 Williamson 480; Carolene Products - 477; 10/3 MIDTERM EXAM (2) Noneconomic Rights Griswold - 537 10/5 Roe - 584; Casey - 594; Carhart 609; Whole Woman s Health 617 10/10 Moore - 544; Michael H. 572 Glucksberg - 638; Lawrence 628 Obergefell 555 4
10/12 b. Procedural Due Process Roth 1028 c. Incorporation Palko - 427 2. Equal Protection 10/17 a. Economic Regulations Railway Express - 669 b. Regulations that Expressly Classify Individuals (1) According to Race (a) Disfavoring Racial Minorities Plessy - 694; Korematsu 690; Brown - 696; Bolling 699; Loving - 683; Palmore - 687 10/19 (b) Favoring Racial Minorities Grutter - 807; Parents 837; Fisher 822, 826 10/24 (2) According to Sex Craig - 723; Michael M. - 731; Mississippi University - 739; Virginia - 743 10/26 (3) According to Alienage Graham - 850; Matthews - 856; Bernal- 853 (4) According to Other Characteristics City of Cleburne - 866; Romer 872; Windsor 879 10/31 c. Regulations that Discriminate in Impact Washington - 756; Arlington Heights - 762; Feeney - 765 d. Regulations that Burden a Fundamental Right 11/2 (1) Voting Harper 938; Reynolds - 891; Evenwel 901; Miller 910; Alabama Legislative Black Caucus 925; Note on Bush v. Gore - 946 5
11/7 (2) Travel Shapiro - 955; Zobel 966; Saenz 975 11/9 (3) Privacy Zablocki - 550; Harris - 995 (4) Education Rodriguez - 1007; Plyer - 1015 11/14 SYNTHESIS AND APPLICATION 11/16 SYNTHESIS AND APPLICATION 11/21 SYNTHESIS AND APPLICATION 6