LSJ/POLS 361 A Su 25: United States Courts And Civil Liberty
Political Science 361
American Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties
Instructor: Scott Lemieux
slemieux@u.washington.edu
Gowen Hall 114
Office Hours: By appointment via Zoom
Introduction: This is a course on civil liberties and the development of American constitutional law. Because many core rights are linked to our remarkably enduring Constitution, one might think of them as enduring and unchanging. However, in fact constitutional rights are a contestant site of change and political struggle, and the content of rights has changed considerably even as the formal text of the Constitution remains unchanged. We will explore these developments – how they occurred, why, and where the law now stands on important questions of civil liberty such as freedom of speech, religion, and freedom against unreasonable search and seizure.
The course is designed for students with an interest in American political and legal institutions, legal processes, rights, American political history, or the role of courts in society. No prior knowledge of constitutional law is presumed.
This class will be taught in an asynchronous online format. Lectures will be posted under the "Panopto Recordings" tab, usually on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons corresponding to the assigned readings. Exams will be submitted through the course Canvas page.
Textbook: The primary reading for this class will consist of excerpts from prominent Supreme Court cases. These can be found in our casebook, Espstein, Maguire, and Walker Constitutional Law For A Changing America: Rights, Liberties, and Justice (12th ed.) CQ Press: 2025.
The Constitution of the United States and Amendments. You will need to refer constantly to the text of the Constitution as you read cases, study for exams, and think about the material in this course. There is a copy in your textbook, pages 639-650.
Reading cases. Although political scientists treat case law somewhat differently than law professors -- we tend to focus more on the reasoning in opinions and less on the particular facts of cases -- this is a very useful guide to the basic terminology in legal opinions and strategies for reading them. It is also posted as a PDF under the "course readings" tab.
General Requirements and Class Policies:
- Students are expected to come to class and have completed the assigned cases prior to class. Lectures will assume that students have read the assigned readings. Students are also expected to participate in class discussions. Attendance is necessary but not sufficient for obtaining participation credit.
- Exams missed without prior agreement with the instructor or a documented family or medical emergency will not receive a grade, without exception.
- Incompletes will only be given to students who have completed a substantial amount of the assigned work, and then only in cases of a documented family or medical emergency.
- Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty will result in a grade of “F” for the given assignment, and students will also be subject to the disciplinary procedures for such conduct outlined on the University of Washington website.
- Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/) (Links to an external site.). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/)
Exams: The exams will test your knowledge of the assigned cases and related constitutional controversies and your understanding of constitutional processes and concepts. Exams will consist of sort answer and short essay questions. There will be three non-cumulative exams, weighted equally.
PREPARING FOR CLASS. The readings for the class consist mostly of excerpts from judicial opinions in Supreme Court cases. Because judges write in the peculiar legitimating language of the law, these opinions can be difficult to understand. Judges do not write opinions in order to explain the issues in a case clearly or honestly. They are not trying to write so that a college student can study for an exam. They write opinions in an attempt to justify their rulings. They are producing arguments in favor of a particular outcome, not creating an accurate record of their reasoning in the case. Judges will sometimes deliberately obscure important issues in a case, offer misleading justifications, and omit very important facts or considerations.
This class has a fairly light reading load for a 300 level class, but this can be misleading. Because of the way judges write, you will need to read carefully and read between the lines to develop an adequate understanding of the cases. You will need to read each case more than once before you will understand it. For most students, it takes considerable time and practice to learn to read and understand cases. Reading should get easier as the semester progresses.
Grade Breakdown: Your final grade will consist 33% each for three exams.
Class Schedule. Readings refer to chapters or page numbers in the casebook. The excerpts to the assigned cases can be found in the book unless otherwise noted.
1. Cases marked with an asterisk* can be found at the following link:
https://study.sagepub.com/epsteinrights12e/student-resources
2. Cases marked with two asterisks ** can be found as uploded files under the "Files" tab.
3. A few shorter cases can be found directly via a hyperlink.
You are responsible for the introductory text and specific cases assigned, but not any cases not listed here.
- Introduction and Basic Concepts
6/24: Class Introduction
6/26: Incorporation (and the 2nd Amendment) (ch. 3): Barron v. Baltimore, Adamson v. CA (*) , Rochin v. CA (* excepted under chapter 10), Duncan v. LA,
2. The First Amendment
7/1 Foundations of freedom of expression (ch. 5): All cases, plus West Virginia v. Barnette (p.209)
7/3 Expression and speaker identity (ch. 6.): Boy Scouts of America v. Dole, Tinker v. Des Moines, Morse v. Frederick, Walker v. Texas Division
7/8-10 Prior restraint and Freedom of the Press (Ch.7) New York Times v. U.S.
Unprotected Categories (Ch.8) Roth v. US, Miller v. CA, R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul (*), Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Assoc. N.Y. Times v. Sullivan, Hustler Magazine v. Falwell
7/11 FIRST IN-CLASS EXAM POSTED. Due 6 PM on Tuesday, July 15 through Canvas. No lecture posted July 15.
The religion clauses (Ch.4.)
7/17 Establishment Clause: Engel v. Vitale (*), Lemon v. Kurtzman, Van Orden v. Perry/McCreary v. ACLU (*), Kennedy v. Bremerton
7/22 Free Exercise Clause: Sherbert v. Verner, Employment Division v. Smith, Locke v. Davey (*), Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (*)
3. The Second Amendment
7/24 The Right to Bear Arms (Ch. 9) U.S. v. Miller(*), D.C. v. Heller, New York State Rifle v. Bruen
4. Criminal Procedure
7/29-31 The Fourth Amendment (Ch. 11) Olmstead v. US (* Under Chapter 10), Katz v. US, Florida v. Jardines, Carpenter v. US, Terry v. Ohio, Safford School District v. Reddung, Mapp v. Ohio, Hudson v. Michigan
8/1 SECOND MID-TERM EXAM POSTED. EXAM DUE Tuesday, August 5 at 6 PM. No lecture posted 8/5
8/7 The Fifth Amendment (Ch. 11 part II) Escobdeo v. Illinois, Miranda v Arizona, Nix v. Williams (**)
The Sixth Amendment (Ch. 12 part 1) Powell v. AL, Gideon v. Wainwright
8/12 The Eighth Amendment (Ch. 12 part 2): Ewing v. CA (*), Gregg v. Georgia, Atkins v. VA, Glossip v. Gross (**)
8/14-19 The Right to Privacy (Ch.10): Griswold v. CT, Roe v. Wade, Whole Woman's Helath v. Jackson, Dobbs v. Jackson's Woman's Health, Lawrence v. Texas, Obergefell v. Hodges
FINAL EXAM POSTED AUGUST 20. No class August 21. FINAL EXAM DUE FRIDAY, AUGUST 22 AT 6 PM THROUGH COURSE CANVAS PAGE.