Constitutional Law I
Section D4
Prof. Manheim
Contact Info
Office: Burns 348
Tel:
213-736-1106
Email: karl.manheim@lls.edu
Web: http://classes.lls.edu/spring2006/conlaw-manheim
Hours: Weds, 2:30-3:30
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Course Info
Final Exam: 3 hr closed book
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50% essay
50% objective (multiple choice)
Class Participation Points
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 1 grade for in-class participation and class
blog discussion
Attendance, Recording, etc.
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In the beginning …
… there was the Crown
Then chartered companies w/ gov’t power
Then colonial governments
Then State governments and the
Continental Congress
Then the Articles of Confederation and the
Unites States of America in Congress Assembled
Then the Constitution
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Our Constitution
2nd of 3 constitutions (+ 50 state const’s)
Articles of Confederation (1781-1788)
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Unanimous consent required
Each state with 1 vote
No separate executive
text
Constitution of the Confederate States
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(1861)
Modeled after the Federal Constitution
Significant difference in states' rights
text
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Astrological chart on
Mar. 1, 1781
at Phil, PA
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Sovereignty passed from
King George III to where?
13 Independent
States ?
The National
Government ?
The People ?
See Treaty
of Paris
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The Federal Constitution
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The
United
States in
1787
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Historical Anecdotes
Only 6 of 56 signers of Declaration were
in attendance
Patrick Henry
refused to attend
“I smelt a rat”
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Historical Anecdotes
Only 6 of 56 signers of Declaration were
in attendance
Born of Original Sin
Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist debate
Who was the first President of the
United States?
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The Ratification Debates
Federalist vs. Antifederalist
Federalist Papers:
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To the People of the State of New York: AFTER an
unequivocal experience of the inefficiency of the
subsisting federal government, you are called upon
to deliberate on a new Constitution for the United
States of America. Hamilton, Federalist #1
Since “security could only be found in a national
government more wisely framed, the [people] as
with one voice, convened the late convention at
Philadelphia, to take that important subject under
consideration. Jay, Federalist #2
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Reinventing Government
We the People
of the United States, in
Order to from a more
perfect Union …
Madison: Federalist 51

The Structure of the
Government Must
Furnish the Proper
Checks and Balances
Between the Different
Departments
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Reinventing Government
“you must first enable the
government to control the governed;
and in the next place oblige it to
control itself. A dependence on the
people is, no doubt, the primary
control on the government; but
experience has taught mankind the
necessity of auxiliary precautions”
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Reinventing Government
What are those auxiliary precautions?

Structure:
 Divided powers
Horizontally (among 3 branches of fed’l gov’t)
 Each distinctly constituted
 Vertically (between fed’l and state gov’t)

 Amendment

Substance:
 Rights
Original text: habeas corpus, contracts, slavery
 Bill of Rights (1791): speech, press, due process

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A Course in Constitutional Law
The Constitution as Political foundation
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Establishes and defines the federal gov't
 Creates a "Republican” form of Government
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Divides and limits the power of government
 Promotes individual liberty
 Affirms “Popular Sovereignty”
The Constitution as Law
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Paramount, enforceable legal norms
Break from monarchical gov’t (divine right)
 Rule of law vs. rule of men
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Non sub homine, sed sub deo et lege
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Major Themes of Con Law I
Judicial Review

Power of courts to set aside laws & acts of
political bodies (legislatures, executive)
Federalism

Distribution of power between states and
federal government
Separation of Powers
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Distribution of power among the 3 co-equal
branches of the federal government
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Judicial Review
Power and role of Supreme Court

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Source of authority
Countermajoritarian difficulty
Interpretation

Theories of Review
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Role of politics & ideology
When review occurs
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Justiciability
Political Questions
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Federalism
Power of Federal Government
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Enumerated powers
Limited by state sovereignty
Feds
Power of States
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Limited by grant of power to federal
government & express restriction
Limited by existence of sister states
Demi-sovereignty
Inter-governmental Immunities
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States
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Federalism
Power of Federal Government
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Enumerated powers
Limited by state sovereignty
States
Power of States
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Limited by grant of power to federal
government & express restriction
Limited by existence of sister states
Demi-sovereignty
Inter-governmental Immunities
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Feds
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Separation of Powers
Theory of Divided Government
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Diffusion of power to protect liberty
3 branches differently composed
Interbranch usurpations
Interbranch interference
congress
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executive
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Separation of Powers
Theory of Divided Government
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Diffusion of power to protect liberty
3 branches differently composed
Interbranch usurpations
Interbranch interference
executive
congress
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judicial
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Structure of the Constitution
By History & Context

Pre-existence of states
By Article
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
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Legislative Department
Executive Department
Judicial Department
Inter-State Relations
Amendment
Supremacy
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Major Historical Periods
Pre-constitutional
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Colonial & revolutionary periods (17th C -1781)
Formational (Articles; Ratification) (1781-1790)
Federalist Era (1790 - 1801)
Antebellum (1801 - 1860)
Jay
Marshall Taney
Reconstruction (1865 - 1883)
Dual Federalism (1883 - 1937)
Chase
Fuller Taft Hughes
New Deal (1937 - 1990)
Stone Warren
States’ Rights (1990 - )
Rehnquist Roberts
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Constitutional Conflicts
Federal vs. State
Structure vs. Rights
Majoritarianism vs. Individualism
Interpretivism

Textualism, Originalism, Dynamic Meaning,
Non-Interpretivism (external sources)
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Hot Topics
States Rights
Civil Rights
War & Foreign Relations
Presidential Powers
Supreme Court Website
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