Supreme Court (B)

• Semester: Fall 2017
• Course ID: 279M
• Credit Hours: 2
• Unique: 29220

Description

Supreme Court, Section B.  This is a second Section of the Supreme Court course. It is the same seminar-like course with the same Syllabus.  It is being offered in view of the full-capacity enrollment in Section A. This popular course revives the traditional non-writing Supreme Court Seminar originated at this Law School by the late Charles Alan Wright.  At our "Judicial Conferences," participants as "Justices" debate actual undecided cases currently before the Supreme Court on certiorari.  Each Justice’s effort is to obtain a majority, by persuasive argument, to decide the issues as he or she sees them, and to agree on a preferred disposition. The Seminar offers exposure to live professional materials of national importance, training in lawyerly debate, discipline in profession-level research under deadline, an introduction to areas of federal substantive law, and the interest of comparing our decisions with the Court’s as its actual decisions are handed down.  In the tradition created by Wright, there is no exam and no paper in this course. Evaluation of participants is serious, however, and is based on consistent performance at the judicial conferences, exhibiting depth of research, persuasiveness of argument, force of articulation, and leadership in debate.  Prerequisites and limits.  This course may be taken repeatedly because the cases are new every semester.  This course may not be taken in satisfaction of the writing-seminar requirement for graduation.  Open to upperclass students only. There is no pass/fail option. There is no no-grade option. Within enrollment limits, the Supreme Court seminar is open to all upperclass first comers.