Syllabus

Bill of Rights and Equal Protection
Political Science 365 UMass, Amherst
Spring 2008 T&Th 2:30-3:45 Dickinson 216
Prof. John Brigham Thompson 434
brigham@polsci.umass.edu
Office Hours Tues 1-2:15 and by appointment.

The course will draw from relevant court decisions and supplementary materials in order to examine the nature of constitutional rights, the federal death penalty, racial liberalism, and the concept of governance through crime and the threat of terrorism. The subject of the course will ultimately be what we discuss in class.

While the tradition of constitutional law study in political science examines only Supreme Court opinions we will also look at state and federal appeals courts, news reports, TV, movies and other cultural sources to better understand constitutional practices.

Readings for this course will available in the Textbook Annex and on the Web. Some have been written and prepared by your professor and Professor Christine B. Harrington of New York University for a book titled The Constitution: Law, Politics and Society and consist of essays, cases and materials from Vol. II, Ch.1 Rights, Ch. 2 Freedom, Ch. 4 Due Process and Ch. 6. Equal Protection. These materials are currently available online at “borandep.blogspot”.

We will spend roughly three weeks on each section. Because we are not tied to a text we will be able to explore some areas in greater depth, add new cases and ignore others. While we will conduct some of the class through “Socratic” dialogue we will attempt to minimize the competitive quality characteristic of much American law study. Discussion will be expected to be cooperative and the most appreciated comments will be ones that contribute to collective understanding. Participation will be evaluated accordingly.

For web work we will use Google, “lexis/nexis” through the UMass Library and “findlaw” for Supreme Court Cases. Parts of films will be shown in class and you may wish to borrow or rent them to view on your own.

Rights: A Constitution of the Living
1. Essay: 1Rights, Federalist #84, Barron v. Baltimore, In re Cheney.
2. Marriage Politics and Parking Spaces, Rec: Const of Interests Ch. 1&2.
3. Brigham, “Original Intent and Other Cult Classics,” Dred Scott v. Sandford, Carolene Products Footnote.

Films: The Night of the Living Dead (1968).

Due Process: The Federal Death Penalty
1. Essay: 4Due Process.
2. Military Tribunals and Detention: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld; Const of Interests Ch. 3.
3. The Federal Death Penalty: Brigham, “Unusual Punishment.” Gary Sampson Material; US v. Billy Jo Lara (2004).

Films: Dead Man Walking (1995); Elizabeth Garbus and Jonathan Stack, Final Judgment: The Execution of Antonio James, (1996).

Equality: Beyond Racial Liberalism
1. Essay: 6Equality, Plessy, Weiner Americans W/out Law Intro & Ch. 1.
2. Citizenship: Weiner Ch. 2Rodriguez, Grutter and Legacy Preferences,
3. Emergencies: Weiner Ch. 3 Korematsu, Hamdi
4. Racial Liberalism: Weiner Ch. 4 Brown, Parents Involved

Films: When the Levees Broke Act IV (2006)

Freedom: Pornography and Intolerance
1. Essay: 2Freedom, US v. Amer. Library Assn. (2003); Grokster
2. Sex and Crime, Lawrence v. Texas. Const. of Interests Ch. 5
3. Domestic Surveillance: “governingthroughcrime” (blogspot), Const of Interests Ch. 6

Films: Little Children (2006).

Grading:
There will be a mid-semester exam March 13 and a final. Prior to each exam students will be given a participation grade based on work in class, including discussion, praxis and quizzes. If a student is satisfied with the participation grade there is no need to take the exam.

There is a praxis or “Constitution in the community” dimension of the course. All students are expected to work on constitutional law in the community, engaging in practice relating to the meaning of the Constitution. This will involve roughly 1-2 hours of work a week and it will be worth approximately 1/3 of the grade for the semester. It does not have to be a new thing. It can be something you already do.

Before the midterm you will be required to submit a progress report of 1-2 pages. A final report of 4-5 pages will be due the Thursday before the last week of classes. Grading for this section will be on a 4 pt scale from 0 for no engagement to 4 pts for creative and sustained work.

Examples:
1. Engagement…journal, documentary, etc (Check out www.aidemocracy.org/).
2. Cyberspace…offers widespread opportunities for praxis such as editing Wikipedia.
3. Publication…draft or prepare for submission an article on constitutional law.
4. Casework…Law has been developed in cases for 100 years.
5. Service …1-2 hours per week community service. Consider ARISE, ABC fundraising.
6. Conversation…family or other off campus conversation. Must be fully documented.

Books: At the textbook annex and cheaper used…

Mark Weiner Americans Without Law (NYU Press, 2006).

John Brigham The Constitution of Interests (NYU Press, 1996).