SYLLABUS
LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY (833:683:01) - SPRING 2014
EDWARD J. BLOUSTEIN SCHOOL OF PLANNING AND PUBLIC POLICY
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
Instructor:
Time/Location:
Office Hrs./Office:
Dr. Alan D. Cander alan.cander@rutgers.edu
848-932-2757
Wednesdays 6:10 pm – 8:40 pm
Civic Square Building Room 173
Tuesdays 2 PM to 6 PM
Civic Square Building Room 259
Course Description:
Under the United States Constitution, the role of the courts, including the Supreme Court, is to
interpret the laws that Congress enacts and that the Executive branch implements. In reality,
however, courts – including the Supreme Court – have been engaged in the public policy process
since the country’s founding. Courts must generally wait for litigation to be brought to them in
order to become engaged in the public policy process but, once engaged courts have often taken
a dynamic role in formulating public policy and overseeing its implementation. This has
certainly been the case with the Supreme Court, and that has led to public concern about
interference with the balance of powers between the three branches of government supposedly
hammered into the Constitution. It has also led the public, governmental officials, and
academics to question the soundness of and legitimacy of the Court’s (and other federal courts’)
decisions. Was the case correctly decided? Should the matter have been addressed by another
branch of government? Accordingly, in this course, we will critically examine these issues and
the role of courts, primarily the United States Supreme Court, in the public policy process. We
will study important principles, doctrines, and processes that influence judicial policy making in
several policy areas such as affirmative action, the right to die, reproductive rights, and privacy.
Readings will be drawn from two books, leading Supreme Court decisions, and a few articles.
Readings:
 MPML - Miller, M.C. and Barnes, J. (2004) Making policy, making law: an interbranch
perspective. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
 AMI - Scalia, A. (1997). A matter of interpretation: federal courts and the law. Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press.
 Cases and articles as posted on the class Sakai site under Resources.
Course Requirements:
The course is in seminar format. Grades will be determined by performance on the following:
 Midterm exam 30%: In-class, full-period exam covering material up to the Midterm. It
will consist of short answer and essay questions. No True/False. No multiple choice.
No fill in the blank.
 Final exam 30%: Take-home final exam covering material after the Midterm. It will be
in essay format.
 Research paper 30%: A 12-15 page paper analyzing a public policy issue of your choice
which has been addressed by higher courts (federal, state, or the Supreme Court). Paper
requirements will be placed on our Sakai site under Resources.
 Class participation 10%: Quality is more important than quantity.
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This course will be conducted as a seminar.
Grading Scale:
90-100 = A 87-89 – B+
80-86 = B
77-79 = C+
70-76 = C
Below 70 = F
ATTENDANCE, ABSENCE, LATE PAPERS, MISSING AN EXAM
 I take attendance by having you “sign in” and I expect you to be on time. Lateness will hurt your
class participation grade.
 The only excused absences are for a legitimate illness or injury an actual family emergency, such
as an acute and severe illness or death of a family member. If you are legitimately sick and miss
a class, please use the Rutgers University absence reporting website, which is located online at
https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/. Any unexcused absences will negatively affect your class
participation grade.
 Each day a paper is submitted late will cost you half an entire grade. Thus, a paper that would
have been a B+ will automatically be a B if turned in one day late and a C+ if turned in two days
late. The only exceptions are if you are legitimately ill or there is a legitimate personal or family
emergency or death in the family. If you must turn a paper or assignment in late for any of those
legitimate reasons please email it to me as soon as possible with an explanation about the
legitimate reason for its lateness. Again, if your paper is late because you have been legitimately
ill please use the Rutgers University absence reporting website.
 You must show up for and take the Mid-Term and Final on the dates and times indicated in the
syllabus. Failure to show up for these exams will result in zero grades. Again, the only
exceptions are legitimate illness or personal or family emergency, such as a death in the
immediate family. Once again, please use the Rutgers University absence reporting website.
 Late assignments will not be accepted beyond one week past due.
CLASS PARTICIPATION
All students are required to attend class, complete the assigned readings prior to class, and to
participate in class discussions. Participation must be ACTIVE. That means attending class on time,
providing your reasoned answers or opinion during the lectures and discussions, and posing questions
about material that you found intriguing or unclear. I strive to establish a dialogue with the class to
facilitate active participation and enhance learning. I will also strive to prevent 3 or 4 students from
dominating discussions. If you have been especially quiet I will call on you to discuss the material.
CLASSROOM RULES/CIVILITY
1. Please raise your hand if you wish to ask a question or comment.
2. Classroom discussions will be civilized and respectful to everyone and relevant to our course
topics. Please show respect for differences in opinion.
3. There is no such thing as a “dumb” question. Never apologize for your questions or if you need
clarification on what we are discussing or learning! You are here to learn and to think critically!
4. Electronic:
 PLEASE KEEP ALL CELL PHONES TURNED OFF DURING CLASS TIME.
 You may use your laptops and IPADS during class time only for note-taking purposes and for
looking up material that pertains directly to our class and our discussions. Using electronic
media for non-class purposes during class time is rude and distracting to the other students
and unfairly interferes with the learning environment.
 DO NOT SURF THE INTERNET, RESPOND TO EMAILS, ETC. DURING CLASS
TIME WITH YOUR LAPTOP, CELL PHONE, OR IPAD! IF YOU DO I WILL ASK
YOU TO LEAVE AND YOUR CLASS PARTICIPATION GRADE WILL SUFFER.
YOU MAY CHECK YOUR CELL PHONE, SURF, ETC. ONLY DURING BREAKS.
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YES, I CAN SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOING. IF YOU ARE SMILING WHILE
LOOKING AT ONE OF YOUR SCREENS YOU ARE CLEARLY NOT “PRESENT”.
5. You may eat small, non-noisy snacks. Full meals should be eaten before class actually starts – or
during the break.
6. Political viewpoints and ideologies between students may differ. That is perfectly normal and
expected at an academic institution that encourages intellectual freedom. I expect all of you to
respect those differences, agree to disagree, and keep discussions civil.
ALWAYS CHECK THE CLASS SAKAI SITE AND YOUR RUTGERS EMAIL
Class announcements and changes in schedule are on Sakai. Individual students are contacted via email.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Plagiarism, cheating, and recycling your own older papers for this class are academic integrity violations
and – at a minimum - will result in a grade of zero [0] for that assignment. You may not submit one paper
for two different classes. Depending on the seriousness of the violation you could be looking at dismissal
from our program and Rutgers University. I use “Turn it In” on Sakai. For details on what constitutes
academic integrity, please consult the Academic Integrity document on the Rutgers website at
academicintegrity.rutgers.edu.
EXTRA CREDIT
There are no opportunities for extra credit in this class.
SCHEDULE OF READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS
JAN 23
INTRODUCTION TO THE CLASS
 Go over syllabus
 Go over some main themes
 No reading assignments
JAN 29
AMERICAN COURTS AND THE POLICY DIALOGUE
 MPML pp. 3-12 and 13-34
 Cruzan case - on Sakai (Right to die)
 Dahl article on Sakai = Dahl, R.A. (1957). Decision-making in a democracy:
the Supreme Court as a national policy maker. J. Pub. L.
FEB 5
ADVERSARIAL LEGALISM
 MPML pp. 35-50
 Federalist Paper No. 10 (James Madison)
THE VIEW OF THE COURTS FROM THE HILL
 MPML pp. 53-71
 Lawrence v. Texas, 123 S. Ct. 2472 (2003). (LGBT issues and right to
privacy) – on Sakai
 Grutter v. Bollinger, 123 S. Ct. 2325 (2003) (Affirmative action in education)
– on Sakai
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FEB 12
THE VIEW FROM THE PRESIDENT
 MPML pp. 72-88
COURTS AND AGENCIES
 MPML pp. 89-104
 Brown v. Bd. of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) (Separate is not equal) – on
Sakai
 Gonzaga Univ. v. Doe, 536 U.S. 273 (2002) – on Sakai
FEB 19
THE SUPREME COURT AND CONGRESS
 MPML pp. 107-122 and 123-139
 EEOC v. Waffle House Inc., 534 U.S. 279 (2002)
 Paper Topics due (Paragraph or Outline of what you intend to research and
write about)
FEB 26
INTERPRETING THE CONSTITUTION: WHO HAS THE FINAL SAY –
SUPREME COURT OR CONGRESS?
 MPML pp. 140-149
 City of Boerne v. Archbishop Flores, 521 U.S. 507 (1997) – on Sakai
JUDICIAL REVIEW
 Marbury v. Madison – on Sakai
MARCH 5
THE ROLE OF THE FEDERAL COURTS IN INTERPRETING THE
CONSTITUTION AND THE LAWS (SCALIA’S PERSPECTIVE)
 AMI pp. 1-47 Scalia’s take on the issue
 Midterm study guide distributed
MARCH 12 IN-CLASS MIDTERM
MARCH 19 NO CLASS- HAPPY SPRING BREAK!
MARCH 26 JUDICIAL FINALITY OR AN ONGOING COLLOQUY
 MPML pp. 153-169
 Atkins v. Virginia, 122 S. Ct. 2242 (2002) (The death penalty) – on Sakai
 Roe v. Wade (Reproductive rights, abortion) – on Sakai
APRIL 2
CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION FROM A STRATEGIC
PERSPECTIVE
 MPML pp. 170-188
 AMI pp. 49-94 Wood and Tribe respond to Scalia
 Bush v. Gore (Was the Court involved in strategic politics?) – on Sakai
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APRIL 9
IS JUDICIAL POLICYMAKING CONTERMAJORITARIAN?
 MPML 189-201
 Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992) – on Sakai
APRIL 16
IS THE CONSTITUTION BROKEN?
 New Yorker article by Jeffrey Toobin – on Sakai
 AMI pp. 95 -127 Dworkin and Glendon respond to Scalia
APRIL 23
GOVERNANCE AS DIALOGUE
 AMI pp. 129-149 Scalia responds
 Research Papers due in class in hard copy and on Sakai by 5 PM
APRIL 30
WRAP-UP OF THE CLASS AND THEMES
 Take-Home Final Exam distributed and due on Sakai 5/8/14 by 5 PM
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