Constitutional Law I

SLN #: 13110
Course Prefix: LAW-522
Course Section: 002
Credit Hours: 3
Instructor(s): Clinton
Course Books: View List of Books

Course Description:
Constitutional Law I surveys the law surrounding the allocation of governmental power between federal, state, and tribal governments and the distribution of governmental authority within the federal government. It is a pervasive subject in the sense that such constitutional questions can emerge in such disparate areas of legal practice as immigration, corporations and securities, family law, criminal law, banking, and insurance. While the course does not cover individual constitutional rights (the subject matter of Constitutional Law II and Criminal Procedure), questions of Congressional power to enforce various constitutional rights are raised as part of the course coverage. Furthermore, the framers of Constitution did not see the bright line that most law school curriculums currently draw between allocation of power and individual rights questions, since many statements in the Constitutional Convention and the ratification documents suggest that the framers thought that the primary protection of individual liberty should be a constitution appropriately distributing and limiting delegated governmental authority, rather than a listing of rights of the type found in the Bill of Rights.

This course not only seeks to provide a survey of contemporary federal constitutional law, but also provides basic insights into American constitutional and jurisprudential history. The reason for such attention to history involves demonstrating how constitutional law has changed over time, often with the ebb and flow of national intellectual, political, and economic history surrounding prevailing jurisprudential and economic trends and movements. That focus trains students not only how to understand past constitutional developments but how to anticipate future changes in constitutional doctrine in response to national political and intellectual trends. Consequently, the legal, jurisprudential, economic and political history of the United States will play a prominent role in the course.

Additional Information:
Credit Hours: 3
Grading Option: Letter Grade Only
Written Assignment: Yes -- see syllabus
Graduation Writing Requirement: No
Flexible/Upper-Level Writing Requirement: No
Skills Requirement: No
Simulation Course: No
Experiential Learning: No
Seminar: No
Special Withdrawal Course: Yes. Required course -- withdrawals only for cause
Final Exam Given: Yes
Final Exam Type: In-Class - Completely Secure
Mid Term Or Other Exam: Yes -- see syllabus
Paper Or In-Class Presentation: Active class participation expected
Participation Points: Yes -- see syllabus
Attendance Policy: Per Statement Of Student Policies
Additional Attendance Policy: Yes -- see syllabus

* The law school has a policy that is used to calculate credit hours. Please see the Statement of Student Policies.