Fall 2023
Professor(s):
Seth Chandler (FACULTY)
Credits: 4
Course Areas: 2nd Year - Part-Time
Time: 5:30p-7:20p MW Location: 220
Course Outline: This course will help you understand the historical development of the Constitution, including the movement away from the Articles of Confederation, the originally narrow interpretation of federal power, the changes created by the Civil War, the modern scope of federal legislative, judicial, executive and administration power, the expansion of federal power during the New Deal era and the modern Constitution, including the evolution of due process and equal protection doctrine. It will help you appreciate, recognize and form your own beliefs regarding the different theories of interpreting the Constitution, textualism vs. non-textualism; static vs. dynamic; pragmatic vs. formalist. With its study of black letter doctrine in federalism, including the commerce clause and the scope of other Congressional powers, separation of powers, and the Civil War amendments, and a sampling of first amendment matters, it will lay the foundations for success on the bar exam and enable you to recognize constitutional law issues as they arise in practice. This course will make significant use of the problem method. Many will involve contemporary events (I think there may be some); others may be set in earlier times but require you to understand the Constitution and litigation strategies in that context. All will involve significant use of tutors to provide guidance in your movement towards solutions. There will be a midterm and a final.
Course Syllabus: Syllabus
Course Notes: (Synchronous Online) The UH registration system instruction mode for this course is listed in parenthesis. After student registration opens, there may be instruction mode changes to this course up through two weeks before the first day of classes for the term, but notice of such changes will be sent to then-registered students. Contrary to the UH information, some student materials may not be available online, such as an assigned casebook. A physical classroom may be assigned for this course to give students a location in the Law Center to join the virtual class sessions. If the course has a final examination, the final and any other assessment for the course, such as a mid-term exam, will be conducted without the need to physically come to the Law Center, such as, for example, via the EBB portal as a take home exam or under remote proctoring.
Prerequisites:
First Day Assignments:
Final Exam Schedule: 12/11/20236-10pm 220
This course will have:
Exam:
Paper:
Satisfies Senior Upper Level Writing Requirement: No
Experiential Course Type: No
Bar Course: No
DistanceEd ABA: Yes
Pass-Fail Student Election: Unavailable (Required Course)
Course Materials
Book(s) Required
Course Materials: Constitutional Law: Cases in Context, Fourth Edition; ISBN: 9781543838787
Free course supplement: https://opencasebook.org/casebooks/4501-constitutional-law/
