LAW 915

Constitutional Law Seminar

Because it is a seminar, there will be a 6000 word (including footnotes) paper in the course, not a final exam. This paper may also qualify for the AWR Research requirement. You may write your paper on any of the cases or topics we cover in the seminar. Students enrolling in this course should have previously taken Constitutional Law I & II or else be taking Constitutional Law I concurrently with this seminar (students who have taken both courses at the same time in the past have found that the seminar helps them better understand Constitutional Law). In the seminar, we will discuss the theory of originalism in constitutional interpretation - the theory that constitution should be interpreted according to its original meaning. We will read three books (with a total cost less than a typical casebook) for, against and about originalism. We will debate the relation of originalism and its main competition - living constitutionalism (the theory that constitutional meaning evolves over time) and we will also apply originalism to important constitutional provisions and controversies. If you have any questions, please e-mail Professor Valauri

Units: 3.0