Course Schedule
Classes Found
Const Law II: Rights-Based Litigation
- MON, TUE, WED 10:30 – 11:20 am TNH 3.129
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 381C
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Reverse-priority registration
Description
Weinberg, Constitutional Law II: Rights-Based Litigation (Three hours).
Rights-based litigation is as important to the business client as to the minority client. The goal of this interesting course is to familiarize ourselves in a lawyerly way with the basics of modern rights-based litigation against government. We will be concerned with litigating cases against government officials to challenge their official actions or the laws they are attempting to enforce against our clients. We are not focused on the substantive rights themselves, but rather on the structural requirements of and impediments to bringing disputes with government to court. This is not about procedure, already covered in the first year, or justiciability doctrines covered in Con Law I and Administrative Law, but rather about major structural issues in the framing and execution of rights-based judicial challenges to government at all levels. The course deals with a unique, superior, up to date collection of major cases on lawyers' law, with little overlap with other courses. This course relies on discussion and debate rather than lecture method. Prerequisites: This course is closed to first-year students, to those who have not completed American courses in torts, constitutional law and criminal law, and to students who have taken Professor Weinberg's course in Federal Courts. No application is required; within the enrollment limit of 12, the course is open to all other upperclass first comers. There is no pass/fail option. There is no no-grade option. Evaluation is by participation and occasional memoranda. Three hours.
Const Law II: Separation of Powers
- J. Chafetz
- WED 3:45 – 6:25 pm TNH 2.124
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 381C
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Reverse-priority registration
Description
The nature and consequences of our constitutional separation of powers are topics of substantial debate, with significant implications for our system of government. This seminar examines recent scholarly discussions of various aspects of the separation of powers. Topics will include deep dives into each of the three branches, discussions of the interactions between those branches and other institutions like the bureaucracy and political parties, and thematic topics such as gridlock and national security.
Const Law II: The Constitution and the Modern Presidency
- MON, TUE 2:15 – 3:30 pm JON 5.206/7
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 381C
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Reverse-priority registration
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This is a Constitutional Law II course, taking up issues presented by the presidency in our current time. Our focus will be from the cradle (the Electoral College) to the grave (impeachment). Beyond the electoral college and the impeachment process, among the issues we will consider will be: the Emoluments Clause(s), emergency powers, executive orders, and the division of labor between Congress and the President; the press, the Presdent and free speech; the civil liability and vulnerability to criminal prosecution of a sitting President; the scope and limits of the pardon power; the Presdident in foreign affairs, including foreign sanctions, treaty abrogation, travel bans and immigration more generally; federalism and the Presdent, including sanctuary cities and the executive condititioning of federal expenditures; and the recess appointment authority of the President. Students will write several short papers reacting to the materials we take up, and one longer paper. The longer paper may be written in conjunction with participation on one of the student journals. Grades will be based on class participation and the submitted papers.
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 381C
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Reverse-priority registration
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Const Law II: The Supreme Court from FDR to Trump
- MON, TUE, WED 9:00 – 9:54 am ONLINE
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 381C
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Reverse-priority registration
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course will be taught entirely online via Zoom.
The course will deal with the post-Court-packing Supreme Court, across the total range of constitutional issues, right up to the present. The focus will be less on doctrine and more on how the Surpeme Court fits within the political sphere. As such it will look more like a political science course and there will be no casebook. Instead four books on the Court will be used, two each by Lucas A. Powe, Jr., (The Supreme Court and the American Elite; The Warren Court and American Politics) and Mark Tushnet (A Court Divided; In the Balance). All are available in paperback.
Const Law II: The Theory and Practice(s) of American Federalism
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 381C
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Reverse-priority registration
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Constitutional Law I
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 480G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Constitutional Law I
- TUE, WED 2:30 – 3:37 pm TNH 2.137
- FRI 10:30 – 11:37 am TNH 2.137
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 480G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
The course is an examination of the Consitution as a document of law, political theory, and politics. Focus is primarily on federalism, separation of powers, and some aspects of due process and equal protection. Much effort is put into helping students learn how to think about constitutional law as future lawyers and as citizens. It is taught largely with by the Socratic Method.
Constitutional Law I
- MON, TUE, WED 1:05 – 2:12 pm TNH 2.138
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 480G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
This course will introduce the three structural principles of the Constitution - federalism, checks and balances, and the separation of powers - as well as the individual rights the Constitution protects.
Constitutional Law I
- MON, TUE, WED 10:30 – 11:37 am TNH 2.114
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 580G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
We will be studying Constitutional Law together at an extraordinary and difficult moment. Our constitutional arrangements have been put under considerable stress, and little seems happily settled. We will have just emerged from a difficult election, and our national electoral arrangements are creaky at best and democratically questionable at worst. The Supreme Court, which will be the object of much of our attention, is itself shrouded in controversy, with the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg followed by a politically-fraught appointment to the Court and questions of court-packing hanging in the air. The reasons we have a Constitution, how we should interpret the Constitution, and how it can be amended are suddenly especially prominent issues. Dusty questions of federalism and separation of powers are now vividly and concretely important, with some state governments and the President at war over immigration, the environment, and social justice, on the one hand, and Congress and the President at odds on the other. In the domain of social justice, controversy over the meaning of equality is far from new, but so too is it far from settled. Affirmative action, abortion and same sex intimacy and marriage are all objects of recent or current sharp contention.
Our project will be to consider and try to understand the role of the Constitution, the courts and our political community in addressing the questions that presently swirl around us. I do not expect or hope that we will all agree. I do hope that we will all deepen our understanding of how best to think about these matters, and I will insist that our conversations be conducted in an environment of mutual respect.
I said at the outset that this is an extraordinary and difficult moment to study constitutional law.. It is also an exciting moment to do so, and I am looking forward to seeing you all.
--Larry Sager
Constitutional Law I
- MON, TUE, WED 10:30 – 11:37 am TNH 3.125
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 580G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
Distribution of powers between federal and state governments; constitutional limitations on and judicial review of governmental action.
Constitutional Law I
- MON, TUE, WED 2:30 – 3:37 pm TNH 2.140
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 580G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
Distribution of powers between federal and state governments; constitutional limitations on and judicial review of governmental action.
Constitutional Law I
- MON, TUE, WED 10:30 – 11:37 am TNH 2.140
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 480G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
This course will introduce the three structural principles of the Constitution - federalism, checks and balances, and the separation of powers - as well as the individual rights the Constitution protects.
Constitutional Law I
- MON, TUE, WED 9:05 – 10:12 am TNH 2.139
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 480G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
Distribution of powers between federal and state governments; constitutional limitations on and judicial review of governmental action.
Constitutional Law I
- MON, TUE, WED 2:30 – 3:37 pm TNH 2.137
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 480G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
The course is an examination of the Consitution as a document of law, political theory, and politics. Focus is primarily on federalism, separation of powers, and some aspects of due process and equal protection. Much effort is put into helping students learn how to think about constitutional law as future lawyers and as citizens. It is taught largely with by the Socratic Method.
Constitutional Law I
- MON, TUE, WED 2:30 – 3:37 pm TNH 2.114
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 580G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
We will be studying Constitutional Law together at an extraordinary and difficult moment. Our constitutional arrangements have been put under considerable stress, and little seems happily settled. We will have just emerged from a difficult election, and our national electoral arrangements are creaky at best and democratically questionable at worst. The Supreme Court, which will be the object of much of our attention, is itself shrouded in controversy, with the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg followed by a politically-fraught appointment to the Court and questions of court-packing hanging in the air. The reasons we have a Constitution, how we should interpret the Constitution, and how it can be amended are suddenly especially prominent issues. Dusty questions of federalism and separation of powers are now vividly and concretely important, with some state governments and the President at war over immigration, the environment, and social justice, on the one hand, and Congress and the President at odds on the other. In the domain of social justice, controversy over the meaning of equality is far from new, but so too is it far from settled. Affirmative action, abortion and same sex intimacy and marriage are all objects of recent or current sharp contention.
Our project will be to consider and try to understand the role of the Constitution, the courts and our political community in addressing the questions that presently swirl around us. I do not expect or hope that we will all agree. I do hope that we will all deepen our understanding of how best to think about these matters, and I will insist that our conversations be conducted in an environment of mutual respect.
I said at the outset that this is an extraordinary and difficult moment to study constitutional law.. It is also an exciting moment to do so, and I am looking forward to seeing you all.
--Larry Sager
Constitutional Law I
- MON, TUE, WED 2:30 – 3:37 pm TNH 3.127
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 580G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
The materials for this class are available through the Longhorn Textbook Access (LTA) program, a collaboration between UT Austin, The University Co-op and textbook publishers to significantly reduce the cost of digital course materials for students. You can access your required materials through the “My Textbooks” tab in Canvas. You are automatically opted into the program but can easily opt-out (and back in) via Canvas through the 12th class day. If you remain opted-in at the end of the add/drop period (12th class day fall/spring, 4th class day summer sessions), you will receive a bill through your “What I Owe” page. If you do not pay your bill by the specified deadline, you will lose access to the course materials and your charge will be removed. More information about the LTA program is available at universitycoop.com/longhorn-textbook-access.
Distribution of powers between federal and state governments; constitutional limitations on and judicial review of governmental action.
Constitutional Law I
- MON, TUE, WED 2:30 – 3:37 pm TNH 3.126
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 580G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
Distribution of powers between federal and state governments; constitutional limitations on and judicial review of governmental action.
Constitutional Law I
- TUE, WED, THU 2:15 – 3:22 pm TNH 2.140
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 480G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
Distribution of powers between federal and state governments; constitutional limitations on and judicial review of governmental action.
Constitutional Law I
- MON, TUE, WED 9:10 – 10:17 am TNH 2.137
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 480G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
Distribution of powers between federal and state governments; constitutional limitations on and judicial review of governmental action.
Constitutional Law I
- MON, TUE, WED 2:15 – 3:22 pm TNH 2.137
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 480G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
Distribution of powers between federal and state governments; constitutional limitations on and judicial review of governmental action.
Constitutional Law I
- MON, WED 1:00 – 2:07 pm TNH 2.123
- THU 2:20 – 3:27 pm TNH 2.138
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 580G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
The course is an examination of the Consitution as a document of law, political theory, and politics. Focus is primarily on federalism, separation of powers, and some aspects of due process and equal protection. Much effort is put into helping students learn how to think about constitutional law as future lawyers and as citizens. It is taught largely with by the Socratic Method.
Constitutional Law I
- TUE, WED, THU 9:10 – 10:17 am TNH 2.123
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 580G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
The course is an examination of the Consitution as a document of law, political theory, and politics. Focus is primarily on federalism, separation of powers, and some aspects of due process and equal protection. Much effort is put into helping students learn how to think about constitutional law as future lawyers and as citizens. It is taught largely with by the Socratic Method.
Constitutional Law I
- TUE, WED, THU 9:10 – 10:17 am TNH 2.114
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 580G
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
We will be studying Constitutional Law together at an extraordinary and difficult moment. Our constitutional arrangements have been put under considerable stress, and little seems happily settled. We will have just emerged from a difficult election, and our national electoral arrangements are creaky at best and democratically questionable at worst. The Supreme Court, which will be the object of much of our attention, is itself shrouded in controversy, with the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg followed by a politically-fraught appointment to the Court and questions of court-packing hanging in the air. The reasons we have a Constitution, how we should interpret the Constitution, and how it can be amended are suddenly especially prominent issues. Dusty questions of federalism and separation of powers are now vividly and concretely important, with some state governments and the President at war over immigration, the environment, and social justice, on the one hand, and Congress and the President at odds on the other. In the domain of social justice, controversy over the meaning of equality is far from new, but so too is it far from settled. Affirmative action, abortion and same sex intimacy and marriage are all objects of recent or current sharp contention.
Our project will be to consider and try to understand the role of the Constitution, the courts and our political community in addressing the questions that presently swirl around us. I do not expect or hope that we will all agree. I do hope that we will all deepen our understanding of how best to think about these matters, and I will insist that our conversations be conducted in an environment of mutual respect.
I said at the outset that this is an extraordinary and difficult moment to study constitutional law.. It is also an exciting moment to do so, and I am looking forward to seeing you all.
--Larry Sager
Constitutional Law I
- TUE, WED, THU 9:10 – 10:17 am TNH 2.140
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 434
Registration Information
- 1L-only required
Description
Distribution of powers between federal and state governments; constitutional limitations on and judicial review of governmental action.