Const Law II: Advanced Constitutional Structure

Course Information

Registration Information

Meeting Times

Day Time Location
MON, WED 12:30 - 1:45 pm TNH 3.115

Evaluation Method

Type Date Time Location
Final exam May 7, 2009 8:30 am A-Z in 3.124

Description

This course deals with the constitutional principles that organize American government. It examines in greater depth the structural issues surveyed in the first-year constitutional law course. We will address the constitutional dimensions of both the separation of powers among the branches of the national government and the division of authority between the national and state governments. Specific topics include, among others, the division of foreign affairs powers between Congress and the President; congressional control of federal court jurisdiction; presidential signing statements; the powers of administrative agencies; the allocation of jurisdiction between federal and state courts; the impact on state authority of Congress's spending and treaty powers; and preemption of state law by federal administrative actions and federal common law. We will look primarily (but not exclusively) to judicial decisions to determine what constitutional requirements relate to these kinds of issues; we will also evaluate more broadly the courts' role, and track record, in implementing the Constitution's structural features. Prerequisite: This course is open to first year students who have completed Constitutional Law I and all upper level students who have not taken this course previously.

Instructors

Headshot of Pursley, Garrick B Pursley, Garrick B
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