Course Syllabus

Course Information

Linda Camp Keith, Ph.D.

PSCI 6301
Graduate Constitutional Law (Fall 2008)
Wed. 7-9:45 pm (Green 3.402)

Office Hours: T/R 3:45-4:45 pm and W 6-7 pm

Professor Contact Information

972-883-6481
linda.keith@utdallas.edu
Green 3.232

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions

This is a graduate course. Students should be enrolled in a graduate program or have

appropriate permissions.

Course Description

This seminar addresses the evolution of the American Constitution. The course will examine
major constitutional concepts that are important to an understanding of American
Government. Additionally, major interpretations of the Constitution and the role of courts in
the American legal system will be explored.

We will use case method and historical interpretation, as well as applying the dominant
theories of judicial decision making to the development of the Court’s jurisprudence. The
course will be taught as a seminar, meaning that directed discussion will be the primary
teaching methodology.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

Upon completing this course, students will be able to fulfill the following objectives:

1. Will understand the development of American constitutionalism across the various Supreme
Court historical eras.

2. Will be able to assess critically and apply concepts of constitutional decision making to the
Supreme Court’s jurisprudence across the various Supreme Court historical eras.

Required Textbooks

Robert McCloskey. 2004. The American Supreme Court. Fourth Ed. Chicago Press.
Brest, Levinson, Balkin, Amar, and Siegel. 2006. Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking:
Cases and Materials. Aspen. 5th ed.

Additional readings will be placed on electronic reserves or will be handed out in class.

GRADING POLICY

GRADING SCALE:

90-100% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
Below 70% = F

GRADING COMPONENTS:

35% Essay Exam One (Pre-Modern Historical Periods)

45% Essay Exam Two (Modern World)
20% Participation

PARTICIPATION: In a graduate course, participation in the class seminar is the core learning
methodology. Students are expected to read all of the assigned readings and to come to class
prepared to contribute significantly to the discussion of these materials.

THREE QUESTIONS WEEKLY: Additionally, each week all students are responsible for writing
three potential discussion questions from the readings. The questions should be thought-
provoking and written to stimulate scholarly conversation in our seminar.

EMAIL BY WED. 12 PM: The questions should be emailed to me as a Word document by noon
on the Wednesday of the assigned readings. I will compile a list that to be used as the class
agenda each night. I will try to post the selected questions on WebCt one hour prior to class
as well. I will bring copies of the questions to class. Students’ participation grade will be
based on their level of substantive contribution to the in-class seminar which includes
discussion and preparation and the quality and timely submission of questions for the class.

MISSED CLASS SESSION/CRITICAL ESSAY: Students may make up one missed class by writing a
critical essay based on the missed week’s readings. The essays should be approximately three
pages, single space in length. These essays should discuss the development of the Court’s
jurisprudence in the particular time period under study that week and assess the
jurisprudence using the approaches we have studied. Critical essays for a missed class are
due at the beginning of the next class. No late papers will be accepted.

EXAMS: The bulk of your grade will come from two essay exams. Exam one will count 10
percent less than exam two. In part this reflects the smaller portion of material but it is also
meant to account for your progress in assessing and writing about the material over time.
The exams will be open book and open note since most of your grade will come from your
ability to integrate the material, to apply the principles and theories we are learning, and to
engage in critical analysis. I will let students offer input on whether they want to write as
take-home exams or to write in class. There are advantages and disadvantages to each that
will discuss.

Course & Instructor Policies

Missed Class: If students have to miss class for a university-accepted reason, they must
prepare a critical review essay on the assigned readings for the class that was missed. See
above. Students should contact me prior to the beginning of the missed class if at all
possible.

WebCT: Students should consult WebCT for announcements and updates to the syllabus. I do
not answer email through WebCt email, chat rooms or discussion boards, but students are
welcome to communicate with each other using these tools. Please contact me by UTD email
or by phone. If you email me, use your UTD email and email me at my address above.

Assignments & Academic Calendar: See below

TOPICS AND READING ASSIGNMENTS:

Below is a tentative schedule of topics and related reading materials. We will be somewhat
flexible as the class interests may pull in somewhat different directions or we may decide to
linger longer over some material than other.

PART ONE: PRE-MODERN HISTORICAL PERIODS

Class One (August 27th) Introduction and Presentation of Judicial Decision Making Approaches
(Lecture and Epstein and Walker, handout)

Class Two (Sept. 3rd)

• Brest et al. Preface, Introduction (Background on the U.S. Constitution) and Chapter
One (The Bank of the United States: A Case Study)
• McCloskey Chapter One (The Genesis and Nature of Judicial Power)
• McCloskey Chapter Two (The Establishment of the Right to Decide)

Class Three (Sept. 10th)

• Brest et al. Chapter Two (The Marshall Court and the Early Republic)
• McCloskey Chapter Three (The Marshall Court and the Shaping of the Nation)

Class Four (Sept. 17th)

• Brest et al. Chapter Three (The Taney Court and the Civil War, 1835-1865)
 • McCloskey Chapter Four (The Court Under Taney: The Natural History of Judicial
Prestige)

Class Five (Sept. 24th)

• Brest et al. Chapter Four (From Reconstruction to the New Deal: 1866-1934) Sections I
and II
• McCloskey Chapter Five (Constitutional Evolution in the Gilded Age: 1865-1990)

Class Six (Oct. 1st)

• Brest et al. Chapter Four (From Reconstruction to the New Deal: 1866-1934) Sections
III, IV, V, and VI
• McCloskey Chapter Six (The Judiciary and the Regulatory State: 1900-1937)

Class Seven (Oct. 8th)

• EXAM ONE TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED (If we end up with carry over material, we may
switch Class 8 and 7. Regardless the midterm will only cover through Brest et al.
Chapter Four and McCloskey Chapter Six)

START CONSTITUTIONAL ADJUDICATION OF MODERN WORLD (and move into an issue-area

treatment of the Court’s jurisprudence)

Class Eight (Oct. 15th) Court in the Post War America and Presidential Power

• Brest et al. Part Two Constitutional Adjudication in the Modern World (Sections I and
II)
• Brest et al. Chapter Five Section V only

Class Nine (Oct. 22nd) Race

• Brest et al. Chapter Six (The Burdens of History: The Constitutional Treatment of
Race) (Section I)
• McCloskey Chapters Eight and Nine (These chapters will relate to all of the following
topics but I am assigning here where the reading is shorter)

Class Ten (Oct. 29th) Race

• Brest et al. Chapter Six (The Burdens of History: The Constitutional Treatment of
Race) (Sections II)
• McCloskey Chapters Eight and Nine (background)

Class Eleven (Nov. 5th) Sex Equality

• Brest Chapter Seven (Sex Equality)

• McCloskey Chapters Eight and Nine (background)

Class Twelve (Nov. 12th) Family and Body: Fundamental Rights Adjudication and
Reproductive Rights

• Brest et al. Chapter Eight (Family and Body: Sections I through V)

 • McCloskey Chapters Eight and Nine (background)

Class Thirteen (Nov. 19th) Family and Body Continued: Sexual Orientation and Death
Issues, Conclusions

• Brest et al. Chapter Eight (Family and Body: Sexual Orientation and Rights in Face of
Death, Sections VI and VII)
• McCloskey Epilogue and Coda

Class Fourteen (Nov. 26th) TBA (online session)

Class Fifteen (Dec.3rd) Exam Two

________________________________________________________________________

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