Constitutional Law
Professor Jamal Greene
July 15-18, 2013
This is a shortened version of the basic course in constitutional law, which is a
foundational course in American law schools. The course explores the basic structure of the
Constitution and the constitutional limitations on state and national governments. One important
difference between the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China
is that federal judges in the United States are empowered to review the constitutionality of
government actions and, if necessary, invalidate those actions. This power, called “judicial
review,” is not written into the Constitution, but it is nonetheless central to the American
constitutional tradition. This course pays particular attention to the origin and scope of the
power of judicial review. Accordingly, many of the assigned readings are opinions of the
Supreme Court of the United States, which is the highest court in the federal system. Reading
Supreme Court opinions will give you a good idea of how constitutional analysis is conducted in
U.S. courts.
The following recommended readings provide background about the American form of
government and the origins and structure of the U.S. Constitution:
ABOUT AMERICA: HOW THE UNITED STATES IS GOVERNED (2005), available at:
http://www.america.gov/publications/books/us_governed.html
ABOUT AMERICA: THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (2004), available at:
http://www.america.gov/publications/books/the-constitution-of-the-united-states-of-americawith-explanatory-notes.html
The syllabus that follows indicates which readings are assigned for each of our four days
of class. You are expected to complete the assigned readings prior to each class day.
Monday, July 15: U.S. Constitutional Structure and Judicial Review
U.S. Constitution & Bill of Rights, Chemerinsky pp. xxxix – xlviii
Marbury v. Madison (1803), Chemerinsky pp. 1-9
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) (part I), Chemerinsky pp. 100-107
Tuesday, July 16: Separation of Powers
Federalist No. 51 (handout)
Standing
Political question doctrine
“Horizontal” Separation of Powers
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952), Chemerinsky pp. 271-280
“Vertical” Separation of Powers
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) (part II), Chemerinsky pp. 107-109
United States v. Lopez (1995), Chemerinsky pp. 184-189
Wednesday, July 17: Discrimination and Due Process
The Civil War & the Reconstruction Amendments, Chemerinsky pp. xlix – liv, 646-48, 652-53
Discrimination
Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Chemerinsky pp. 666-671
Brown II (1955) and Massive Resistance, Chemerinsky pp. 692-696
Plyler v. Doe (1982), Chemerinsky pp. 799-804
Due Process
Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), Chemerinsky 867-878
Lawrence v. Texas (2003), Chemerinsky pp. 920-925
Thursday, July 18: The First Amendment
Speech
Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), Chemerinsky pp. 1171-1172
Bridges v. California (1941), Stone pp. 1104-1105
NY Times v. Sullivan (1964), Chemerinsky pp. 1284-1287
Religion
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, (1943), Chemerinsky pp. 1129-1131
Engel v. Vitale (1962), Chemerinsky pp. 1514-1517
Lee v. Weisman (1992), TBA