United States Law/Constitutional

Course Introduction

This course will be an introduction to constitutional law. It will cover the following subjects:

• The structure of the United States government, and the powers granted to it by the Constitution.
• The relationship between the states and the federal government (also known as federalism).
• The role of the judiciary, and the power of judicial review.

This course is a pre-requisite to other constitutional law courses: Constitutional Law II, which will cover individual rights protected by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and Criminal Procedure, which will cover the constitutional rights of criminal defendants.

Week 1: Introduction

Orientation

Use highlighters in the following fashion.

1. Facts Green
2. Rationale Yellow
3. Holding Red
4. Blue important precedents
5. Orange dissenting opinions

The Constitutional Structure of American Government

Assignment

1. Read the Constitution of the United States.

2. Read the Wikipedia article on Constitution.

3. Read Federalist Paper Number 10

4. Read Federalist Paper Number 51

5. Write a brief statement, approximately 250 words, expressing a reaction to either Federalist Number 10 or Federalist Number 51.

Week 2: Introduction to Judicial Review

The Basics of Judicial Review

Assignment

1. Read Federalist Paper Number 78.

2. Read the following cases and brief them in the IRAC format. Make sure you read both the case syllabus and the opinion of the court.

• Marbury v. Madison 5 U.S. 137 (1803) (Listen to the Case)

3. Compare your outline with the following.

• Case Brief
• Case Brief
• Case Brief
• Case Brief
• Case Brief

4.Read the Wikipedia article on Marbury v. Madison

Discussion

When the Supreme Court sees a conflict between the constitution and congressional statue, the Court has the authority to review and declare it unconstitutional. The rationale is that the Congress is not the only one who reviews the constitutionality of the laws. One of the functions of the judiciary is to say what the law is serving the role of the ultimate interpreter. However, this has been subject to some criticism, as the Constitution does not explicitly provide the Supreme Court this power.

Questions

• Thomas Jefferson
• Alexander Hamilton
• Federalist Papers
• Chief Justice Marshall

Week 3: Constraints on Judicial Power

Ex parte McCardle

Assignment

1.Read the following cases and brief them in the IRAC format. Make sure you read both the case syllabus and the opinion of the court.

• Ex parte McCardle

2.Compare your outline with the following.

• Case Brief

3.Read the Wikipedia article on Ex parte McCardle

Discussion

This case is about congressional limits. The Constitution gives Congress the express power to make excpetions to the appellate jurisdiction. Art. III, § 2 states that the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is subject to “such exceptions and conditions as Congress shall make”, thus Congress may limit the appellate jurisdiction (in a broadest interpretation).

Mootness

Assignment

1. Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services 528 U.S. 167 (2000)

Standing

Assignment

1. Standing: Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife

Week 4: Scope of Federal Power

Week 5: The States

The Privileges and Immunities Clause

Assignments

1. Read excerpt from Corfield v. Coryell on Wikipedia