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Michael D. Ramsey Professor of Law, University of San Diego Law School |
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Constitutional Law I Spring 2025 Course Webpage |
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COURSE OVERVIEW
Class Meetings: Monday & Wednesday, 1:00 pm to 2:50 pm
Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday, 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm; Tuesday 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.
Textbook: The required text is Gregory Maggs & Peter Smith, Constitutional Law: A Contemporary Approach (6th ed., West 2023). Note: earlier editions are not acceptable substitutes.
There will be supplemental readings available for download from this website.
INFORMATION REGARDING THE COURSE
This space will be used for announcements regarding class cancellations, make-ups, optional events of interest, and other updates regarding the course and the course schedule.
The syllabus, readings for the first unit of the course, and assignment for the first class meeting are available below. This class will be recorded. Recordings will be available to enrolled students via Panopto. I do not vouch for the quality or usefulness of these recordings and they are not a substitute for attending class. Only students in this course are authorized to view or listen to the recordings. The recordings are only for personal use in connection with this course. Do not show them to others, post them on the internet or otherwise distribute or provide access to them or any part of them. The recordings will be automatically deleted from Panopto after the final exam and you should not attempt to retain them or any part of them.
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
This space will be used to post assignments for each class meeting; these assignments will also be announced in class. The Reading List for Unit 1 (Separation of Powers) is available below.
Assignment for Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Reading List Part III.A & B, focus on Whitman and Chadha, plus Justice Gorsuch’s dissent in Gundy and related notes and comments (in the supplement available below)
NO CLASS Monday, January 20, 2025 (King holiday)
Assignment for Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Reading List Part II.G & H, focus on U.S. v. Nixon, Nixon v. Fitzgerald, Clinton v. Jones and especially Trump v. United States Reading List Part II.I (summary and review)
Supplemental Reading #3 (Reading List Part II.H, excerpting Trump v. United States) is available below.
Assignment for Monday, January 13, 2025
Reading List Part II.D, E & F, focus on Dames & Moore, Zivotofsky and Hamdi. Consider how these cases should be analyzed under the frameworks developed by the different Justices in Youngstown.
Supplemental Reading #2 (Reading List Part II.D, excerpting the Zivotofsky case) is available below.
Assignment for Wednesday, January 8, 2025
Reading List Part II.A, B & C, focus on Youngstown Sheet & Tube v. Sawyer (the Steel Seizure case), opinions of Justices Black, Frankfurter, Jackson and Vinson.
Supplemental Reading #1 (Reading List Part II.B) is available below.
Assignment for Monday, January 6, 2025
Text of the Constitution (pages 1571-1589 of the casebook), focus on Articles I, II, III and VI, and Amendment I.
Text, pp. 1-22. (introduction)
Consider and be prepared to discuss the following: Why do we need a Constitution? What purposes does a constitutional system serve, as compared to a system of simple majority rule? How is Constitutional Law different from other law? What are the sources of Constitutional Law?
COURSE DOWNLOADS
Reading List -- Unit 1 (separation of powers)
Supplemental Reading #1: Historical Introduction to Executive Power (for 1/8) Supplemental Reading #2: Zivotofsky v. Kerry (excerpt) (for 1/13) Supplemental Reading #3: Trump v. United States (excerpts) (for 1/15) Supplemental Reading #4: Gundy v. United States (Gorsuch dissent) (excerpts) (for 1/22) |