Spring 2024
Professor(s):
Seth Chandler (FACULTY)
Credits: 3
Course Areas: Constitutional Law
Time: 2:30p-4:00p MW Location: 222
Course Outline: In this writing seminar, students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of constitutional law, exploring both standard and frequently overlooked areas within the field. The course emphasizes rigorous analytical thinking and meticulous writing. It also introduces students to the effective use of modern AI tools for research and editing purposes. Participants will be required to develop a law-review quality paper on a doctrinal topic negotiated during the seminar, with the goal of enhancing both their understanding of constitutional law and their writing skills. The instructor prefers topics drawn from contemporary debates though historical perspectives are also fair game. The curriculum covers established areas such as federalism, the post-Civil War amendments, and the Bill of Rights, while also expanding to include topics often omitted from standard courses, such as Indian law, immigration law, territories, and voting rights. The instructor welcomes students with diverse ideologies and backgrounds and sees class as providing a forum for the safe and respectful exploration of ideas.
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:
This course will have:
Exam:
Paper:
Satisfies Senior Upper Level Writing Requirement: Yes
Experiential Course Type: No
Bar Course: No
DistanceEd ABA: Yes
Pass-Fail Student Election: Unavailable (Instructor Preference)
Course Materials
Book(s) Required
Course Materials: Eugene Volokh, Academic Legal Writing: Law Review Articles, Student Notes, Seminar Papers, and Getting on Law Review, 5th Edition (2016); ISBN-13 9781634598880
