POL 385: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

This course examines the U.S. Constitution and what it means. It covers some broad categories including the Bill of Rights, the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States and how those decisions have shaped civil rights and liberties over the past 200. Specifically, the course will focus on: the interrelationships of national governmental institutions with particular reference to the operation of the Supreme Court; the circumstances giving rise to civil liberties cases and political and social environment in which the Court decides them; the principal modes of legal interpretation the Court has used to structure its analysis of the issues which come before it; the principles and values which underlie the Court’s decisions in the area of civil liberties; the importance of non- and extra-legal influences on Supreme Court decision making; and the impact of the Court’s civil liberties decisions on the other institutions of government and on the society as a whole. Prerequisites: ENG 101 and POL 101 with a grade of C or better