LAW 927LEC - Advanced Constitutional Law: The Fourteenth Amendment

This course takes an in depth look at the history, initial potential and subsequent development of the Fourteenth Amendment. In addition to reviewing, from a mainstream prospective, the familiar doctrines associated with the Fourteenth Amendment, this course will explore a number of critical approaches to both understanding and interpreting the Amendment on a range of historical and contemporary issues. Course requirements include two in-class quizzes and a re-writing of a Supreme Court decision (or a section of one) of the student’s choice. The aim of the course is to aid students in acquiring a deeper understanding of constitutional law, in preparing for the bar, and in developing critical thinking about various legal and interpretative approaches to constitutional problems. Substantively, students in this course will learn: (1) various techniques of legal argumentation; (2) the meaning of (A) the State Action Doctrine, (B) the Due Process Clause; and (C) the Equal Protection Clause. At the end of the course students should be able to read cases with increased analytical ability and fashion a variety of legal arguments.

Credits: 3