Constitutional Law: The Fourteenth Amendment
Future Offerings
Constitutional Law: The Fourteenth Amendment (7010B): After the Civil War, ratification of the Reconstruction Amendments--including the Fourteenth Amendment--fundamentally transformed the U.S. constitutional framework, eliminating slavery, defining citizenship broadly, and expanding who could participate politically. The Fourteenth Amendment also became a source for the articulation of various rights through its Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses and, in doing so, increased the power of the federal government over the states. Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action and abortion have called into question some of the past half-century of precedents regarding individual rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. Yet many states still constitutionalize rights patterned after these same precedents. At the same time, new theories of where rights could be situated under the Fourteenth Amendment seem to be taking hold. Furthermore, the political elements of sections of the Amendment--such as the Disqualification Clause and Citizenship Clause--are coming into greater prominence again. Considering the current ferment, this course will foreground competing visions of the Fourteenth Amendment both historically and in the present, covering current and emerging doctrine. Elements used in grading: Class participation and exam.
Sections
Past Offerings
Constitutional Law: The Fourteenth Amendment (7010B): This course examines various aspects of the Fourteenth Amendment, with special attention paid to equal protection and substantive due process. We will examine many contested constitutional questions, including, for example: How did gay and lesbian relationships go so quickly from being subject to criminal prohibition to being eligible for marriage? What justifies the Supreme Court's striking down a law mandating segregated schools, when it had upheld an analogous law half a century earlier? Must the law treat all individuals identically, or may and should it grant special protections to members of historically disadvantaged groups? To what sources might (and should) a judge look to give content to vague constitutional terms like "equal protection" and "due process"? How can we distinguish "law" from "politics" in this area? Readings will include judicial opinions and some scholarly commentary. Class discussion will be supplemented with group exercises of various sorts. Elements used in grading: Class participation and exam.
Sections
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2025-2026 WinterSchedule No Longer Available
Constitutional Law: The Fourteenth Amendment (7010B): This course examines various aspects of the Fourteenth Amendment, with special attention paid to equal protection and substantive due process. We will examine many contested constitutional questions, including, for example: How did gay and lesbian relationships go so quickly from being subject to criminal prohibition to being eligible for marriage? What justifies the Supreme Court's striking down a law mandating segregated schools, when it had upheld an analogous law half a century earlier? Must the law treat all individuals identically, or may and should it grant special protections to members of historically disadvantaged groups? To what sources might (and should) a judge look to give content to vague constitutional terms like "equal protection" and "due process"? How can we distinguish "law" from "politics" in this area? Readings will include judicial opinions and some scholarly commentary. Class discussion will be supplemented with group exercises of various sorts. Elements used in grading: Class participation and exam.
Sections
-
2024-2025 WinterSchedule No Longer Available