Constitutional Law I – Spring 2012
Professor Fenton
Syllabus
Week of: Jan. 17
Introduction to Judicial Decision-making
Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940) (handout)
West Va. Bd. Ed. v. Barnette (1943) (handout)
Henderson, Gobitis and Barnette (handout)
p. 3-11* (Bill of Rights)
The Constitution
Iroquois Constitution (circa 1450-1500 AD) (handouts – 2 links):
http://tuscaroras.com/pages/history/about_iroquois_constitution.html
http://tuscaroras.com/pages/history/iroquois_constitution_1.html
Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) (handout – link):
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/print_friendly.html?page=declaration_transcript_conte
nt.html&title=NARA%20%7C%20The%20Declaration%20of%20Independence%3A%20A%20
Transcription
The Constitution of the United States (1787) (handout)
p. 1-3
Week of: Jan. 23
Judicial Review
Appendix 2: p. 26-28 (Federalist No. 78 (Hamilton, 1787))
Bickel, The Least Dangerous Branch, Ch 1(handout)
p. 12-15; 92-100 (Marbury v. Madison(1803))
p.16-19
Missouri Compromise (1850) (handout – link):
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Missouri.html
Frederick Douglass, speech (July 4, 1852) (handout – link):
http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/douglass.htm
Dred Scot v. Sanford (1857) (handout)
p. 19-25
[Jan. 26 class cancelled]
*
Unless indicated otherwise, page references are to Farber, Eskridge, Frickey, Constitutional Law (4 th ed.
2009).
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Week of: Jan. 30
Judicial Decision-Making
p. 64-91 (Plessy(1896), Brown (1954), Bolling(1954))
p. 136-142; 166-178.
Week of: Feb.6
Intro to Federalism
p.814-834 (McCulloch v. Md (1819))
Intro to Separation of Powers
Federalist No. 48 (Madison) (handout – link): http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed48.asp
p. 1051-1065; 1190-1197 (ExParte McCardle (1869))
Constitutional Crises. . .
[Marbury,][Dred Scot]
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) (handout); Worcester v. Georgia (1832) (handout);
Excerpts from Getches et al. (handout)
Week of: Feb. 13
Ex parte Merryman(1861) (handout)
p. 100 -105 (Cooper v. Aaron (1958))
Standing
Elk Grove School Dist. v. Newdow (2004) (handout)
City of Los Angeles v. Lyons (1983) (handout)
Ripeness and Mootness (Standing /cont.)
p. 1268-1273; 552-556 (Poe v. Ullman(1961)); U.S. Parole Commn v. Geraghty(1980) (handout)
Week of: Feb. 20
Case and Controversy
p. 1273-1307 (Raines v Byrd (1997); Allen v. Wright (1984); Northeast Florida Chapter (1993);
Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife (1992); Mass v. EPA (2007))
Political Questions Doctrine
p. 1245-1266 (Baker v. Carr (1962), Nixon v United States (1993)
p. 522-528(top) (Bush v. Gore (2000))
Week of: Feb. 27
Enumerated Powers & Federalism
p. 834-841 (Gibbons v. Ogden (1824))
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Substantive Due Process & Means/Ends Rationality
p. 25-32
p. 489-493 (Lochner v. New York (1905))
Commerce Clause
p. 841-847 (E.C. Knight (1895), Champion v. Ames(1903), Swift & Co. (1905);
The Shreveport Rate Case (1914), and Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918))
Week of: Mar. 5
The New Deal:
p. 32-38
p. 847-851 (NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin (1937))
p. 493-496 (West Coast Hotel v. Parrish (1937))
Postwar Paradigm:
851-855 (U.S. v. Darby (1941); Wickard v. Filburn (1942))
p. 496 (Williams v Lee Optical (1955)); U.S. v. Carolene Products (1938)) (handout)
3/10-3/18
Spring Break
Week of: Mar. 19
Rational Basis Review of Social and Economic Matters
Tussman and tenBroek, Equal Protection (handout)
p. 333- 343 (top) (Railway Express Agency v. NY (1949))
Enforcement Power:
p. 38-44
p. 855-860 (Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US (1964); Katzenbach v. McClung(1964))
p. 920-923 (Board of Trustees v. Garrett (2001)).
Mar. 22 Cancelled
Week of: Mar. 26
Rational Basis Review – “with bite”
p. 422-443 (City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center (1985); Romer v. Evans
(1996))
p.1024-1030 (Kassel v. Consolidated Freightways(1981) (preview: the Dormant
Commerce Clause))
Retrenchment:
p. 859-874; 925-935 (United States v. Lopez (1995), United States v. Morrison(2000))
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Week of: Apr. 2
p. 900-911 (Boerne v. City of Flores(2000)), 974-995 (New York v. United
States(1992), Printz v. United States(1997))
Wickard Revisited...
Gonzalez v. Raich (2005) (handout)
Sovereign Immunity
p. 911-920 (Seminole Tribe v. Florida(1996); Alden v. Maine(1999))
Week of: Apr. 9
Dormant Commerce Clause
p.997-1024 (Gibbons v. Ogden, Part II (1824),City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey(1978), United
Haulers Ass’n v. Oneida-Herkimer SWMA (2007))
Kassel revisited and Preemption: p. 1030-1038, 1046-1050
Week of: Apr. 16
Separation of Powers
Appendix 2: p. 22-24 (Federalist Nos. 47 (Madison))
p. 1065-1090 (Youngstown Sheet &Tube v. Sawyer (1952), US v. Curtis-Wright (1936);United
States v Belmont (1937); Dames & Moore v. Regan (1981))
p. 1120-1175 (INS v Chadha (1983); Clinton v. City of New York (1998); Bowsher v Synar
(1986); Morrison v Olson (1988);
p. 1197-1220 (Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004))
Apr. 23 and
Apr. 24(makeup day)
Government Interests in Fundamental Rights:
p. 471-473 (The Slaughterhouse Cases (1873))
p. 349-350 (Bradwell v. Illinois (1873) – one day after Slaughterhouse)
p. 874-885 (Civil Rights Cases (1883), Jones v Alfred (1968)); Korematsu v. US (1944)(handout)
p. 935-937 (United States v. Morrison – revisited)
p. 455-468, 619-625 (In Re Marriage Cases (2008))
p. 626-635 (Washington v. Glucksber (1997))
p. 937-945 (Nevada Dept. Human Resources v. Hibbs (2003))
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