POSC 34083
Fall, 2010
Prof. M. Volcansek
Scharbauer Hall 2007
817/257-5005
m.volcansek@tcu.edu
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW:
CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES
“The Constitution is not to be read as an insurance clause in small type,
but a scheme of government . . . intended for the undefined and unlimited future.”
--Justice Felix Frankfurter
This course focuses on the judicial gloss that the U.S. Supreme Court has placed
on the civil rights and civil liberties included in the Constitution. Because of the breadth
of rights enshrined in that document, this course will consider only those included in
Amendments I, II and XIV. Objectives of this course include:
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Gaining an understanding of how the U.S. Supreme Court acts as a political
branch of government.
Understanding how judicial perceptions of rights change over time.
Reading and comprehending Supreme Court opinions.
Understanding and applying the process of legal reasoning or reasoning by
analogy.
As with any upper-division course, emphasis also rests on clear writing, critical thinking
and analytical reading.
Text:
Craig R. Ducat, Constitutional Interpretation, 9th Edition, Vol. II: Rights of the
Individual (Boston: Wadsworth, 2009).
Some cases from the recent court terms will be referenced for students to
download from the Internet to read (www.supremecourt.gov).
Course requirements:
Class attendance is required, as is completion of all assigned readings at the
appropriate class session. Each absence beyond three absences that are not excused or
official university absences will deduct 2 points (1/5 of a letter) from the final grade
average. Briefing of all cases is also required, and briefs will be collected at
unannounced times. Downloading briefs from the Internet constitutes plagiarism and will
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be treated as such. Missed briefs will adversely affect grades when curves are applied for
the final grade.
There will be four in-class essay examinations, each counting for 20 per cent of
the final grade. The exams are given in tandem, e.g., Exam IA will be a standard essay
exam and will be followed at the next class meeting with Exam IB, a hypothetical case
for which the student must craft a thoughtful opinion as would a good Supreme Court
Justice, citing appropriate precedents and constitutional provisions and reasoning by
analogy from the present case to the precedent ones. Make-up exams are possible only
with appropriate documentation.
Each student will also prepare an amicus curiae or friend of the court brief for a
hypothetical case. The project will be explained in class, and a sample actual brief
provided.
Grades are determined on a standard 100-point scale: A= 90+; B = 80-89; C =
70-79; D = 60-69; F = 59 and below.
Office hours:
Office hours are 1:00 to 2:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 1:30-3:00 on
Mondays. Appointments at other mutually convenient times can be arranged. You can
always e-mail me (m.volcansek@tcu.edu) and expect a timely response.
Academic Misconduct:
According to Section 3.4 of the Student Handbook, “any act that violates the
academic integrity of the institution is considered academic misconduct.” The
procedures used to resolve suspected acts of academic misconduct are available in the
offices of the academic deans and the Office of Campus Life. Specific examples include,
but are not limited to:
Cheating: Copying from another student’s test paper, other report or computer
files and listings; using during any academic exercise material and/or devices not
authorized by the person in charge of the test; collaborating with or seeking aid from
another student during a test; knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting or
soliciting in its entirety or in part, the contents of a test or other assignment unauthorized
for release; substituting for another student or permitting another student to substitute for
oneself.
Plagiarizing: The appropriation, theft, purchase or use by any means of another
person’s work and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of that work as one’s
own work offered for credit. Appropriation includes quoting or paraphrasing another’s
work without giving credit.
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Collusion: Unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing work
offered for credit.
Disabilities:
TCU complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding students with disabilities. Eligible students seeking
accommodations should contact the Coordinator of Services for Students with
Disabilities in the Center for Academic Services located in Sadler Hall 11.
Accommodations are not retroactive and, therefore, students should contact the
coordinator as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations.
Further information can be obtained from the Center for Academic Service, TCU Box
297710, Fort Worth, TX 76129; 817/257-7486; or
http://www.acs.tcu.edu/DISABILITY.htm.
COURSE OUTLINE
January 17th
Introduction
Organization of the U.S. judicial system
Access to the U.S. Supreme Court
Legal reasoning
Article I, §9
January 19th
Selective Incorporation
Barron v. Baltimore
Butcher’s Benevolent Association v. Crescent City Slaughter House
Hurtado v. California
Palko v. Connecticut
Adamson v. California
Rochin v. California
Ducat, 477-483
January 24th
Freedom of Speech
Ducat, 777-783
Schenck v. U.S.
Abrams v. U.S.
Whitney v. California
Gitlow v. New York
Terminiello v. Chicago
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January 26th
Freedom of Speech (cont.)
Brandenburg v. Ohio
Ducat, 806-812
January 31st
Time, Place and Manner
Adderly v. Florida
Ward v. Rock Against Racism
Madsen v. Women’s Health Center
Rosenberger v. U. Va.
Ducat, 817-821
February 2nd Speech on Private Property
Hudgens v. NLRB
Prune Yard Shopping Center v. Robins
City of Ladue v. Gilleo
Offensiveness
Cohen v. California
Ducat, 854-858
February 7th
Symbolic Speech
West Virginia v. Barnette
Tinker v. Des Moines
U.S. v. O’Brien
Texas v. Johnson
R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul
February 9th
Campaign Finance and Corporate Speech
Buckley v. Valeo
First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti
Central Hudson Gas Co. v. New York
Citizens United v. FEC (from Supreme Court website)
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February 14th Freedom of the Press
Near v. Minnesota
NY Times v. U.S.
United States v. Progressive
Cox Broadcasting Co. v. Cohn
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier
February 16th Press Access
Miami Herald v. Tornillo
Houchins v. KQED
Island Trees School District v. .Pico
February 21st Obscenity
Roth v. U.S. and Alberts v. California
Stanley v. Georgia
Miller v. California
Paris Adult Theater v. Slaton
NEA v. Finley
American Booksellers Association v. Hudnut
Ducat, 993-996; 1009-1011
February 23rd Libel
NY Times v. Sullivan
Curtis Publishing v. Butts and Associated Press v. Walker
Gertz v. Robert Welch
Time v. Firestone
Herbert v. Lando
Beauharnais v. Illinois
February 28th EXAM IA
March 1st
EXAM IB
March 6th
Fair Trial-Free Press
Sheppard v. Maxwell
Nebraska Press Assoc. v. Stuart
Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia
March 8th
NO CLASS
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March 13th
Freedom of Religion
Ducat, 1049-1053
Lee v. Weisman
Walz v. New York
Lemon v. Kurtzman
(cont.)
Tilton v. Richardson
March 15th
Freedom of Religion (cont.)
Agostini v. Felton
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris
Edwards v. Aguillard
Lynch v. Donnelly
Allegheny County v. ACLU
Van Orden v. Perry
March 20th and 22nd SPRING BREAK
March 27th
Free Exercise of Religion
Thomas v. Indiana
Wisconsin v. Yoder
Oregon v. Smith
March 29th
Racial Discrimination
Plessy v. Ferguson
Sweatt v. Painter
Brown v. Bd. Of Education
Stell v. Savannah-Chatham
Bolling v. Sharpe
Brown v. Bd. Of Education II
Cooper v. Aaron
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April 3rd
Desegregation
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Milliken v. Bradley
Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle
California v. Bakke
City of Richmond v. Croson
Gratz v. Bollinger (from Supreme Court website)
Grutter v. Bollinger (from Supreme Court website)
April 5th
Private Discrimination
Civil Rights Cases
Shelley v. Kraemer
Burton v. Wilmington
Jackson v. Metropolitan Edison
Roberts v. U.S. Jaycees
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
April 10th
Apportionment
Baker v. Carr
Reynolds v. Sims
Lucas v. General Assembly of Colorado
Davis v. Bandemer
Shaw v. Reno
April 12th
Other Forms of Discrimination
Shapiro v. Thompson
San Antonio v. Rodriguez
Labine v. Vincent
Bradwell v. Illinois
Frontiero v. Richardson
Craig v. Boren
U.S. v. Virginia
Nguyen v. INS
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April 17th
Other Forms of Discrimination (cont.)
Massachusetts v. Murgia
City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center
Steffan v. Perry
Romer v. Evans
Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health
April 19th
Right to Privacy
Griswold v. Connecticut
Roe v. Wade
City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Maher v. Roe
Amicus Curiae Briefs Due at Classtime
April 24th
Other Privacy Issues
Lawrence v. Texas
Grusendorf v. Oklahoma City
Raich v. Gonzalez
Washington v. Glucksberg
Vacco v. Quill
April 26th
Second Amendment
D.C. v. Heller (from Supreme Court website)
McDonald v. Chicago (from Supreme Court website)
May 1st
Catch-up and Review
May 10th
EXAM IIA and EXAM IIB (11:30-2:00)
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