Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure
Syllabus and Course Guide
WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS:
Each week (on Monday or Tuesday), an assignment will be posted to the course message board. Students are responsible to complete at least three of the posted assignments for the course. They will be graded, and they will count for 30% of the student’s grade for the course. If you complete more than three assignments, the best two of your assignment submissions will be graded. Assignments completed beyond the third one will also count as extra credit. Assignments can be submitted via e-mail or posted to the message board. Assignments must be submitted within seven days of the last day of the course for the student to receive credit for the assignment.
Each submitted assignment will be graded on the following scale:
3 – Excellent
2 – Good
1 – Accepted
0 – Not Acceptable (must re-submit)
In addition, feedback will be posted by the instructor for each assignment that has been submitted.
GRADING:
Each student who completes the requisite assignments and exams will be given a letter grade upon completion of the course. The course will be graded on the following basis:
Midterm Exam: 35%
Final Exam: 35%
Assignments: 30%
Important Note regarding exams:
Exams must be completed during the allotted time for the exam. A student will not be allowed a time extension in which to complete an exam, except under the following circumstances:
a) A request is made of the instructor prior to the exam and is granted by the instructor.
b) The student is ill or has another emergency that does not allow him or her to complete the exam in the allotted time.
c) The student experiences technical difficulties that do not allow him or her to complete the exam during the allotted time.
In any of these cases, alternative arrangements for completion of the exam will be made.
Lecture and reading assignments schedule:
CLASS ONE
In this first class, we will acquaint ourselves with the basic principles of American government and constitutional law. We will begin with an examination of what it means to have a federal system of government, and how the Constitution divides power between the national and state governments as well as between the branches of the national government. We will then explore how the Constitution enumerates government’s powers, how the Supreme Court interpreted the document to authorize judicial review of legislative acts, and on what grounds individuals may invoke the Constitution to protect their rights from government intrusion.
Reading:
Chapter 1: Federalism & Separation of Powers
A. What is Federalism?
B. Presidential Powers
C. Congressional Powers
D. Judicial Review
E. Individual Rights and the State Action Doctrine
CLASS TWO
We will devote this class to examining the Commerce Clause, which is the constitutional provision that largely explains how Congress enjoys vast legislative authority despite its powers being technically limited to a few areas of law. We will explore how the Great Depression breathed life into the Commerce Clause, and how assertions of states’ rights in the last twenty years have led to a diminution of the Clause’s importance. Finally, we will examine what has been dubbed the Dormant Commerce Clause, which limits a state’s power to regulate commerce even in areas where Congress has taken no action.
Reading:
Chapter 2: Congress’s Power to Regulate Interstate Commerce
A. The Commerce Clause
B. The New Deal
C. The New Federalism
D. The Dormant Commerce Clause
CLASS THREE
This class will examine the Constitution’s Due Process Clause, a vaguely worded provision that the Supreme Court has interpreted to be the source of many important individual rights. We will first explore what are called rights of substantive due process, which used to be considered primarily economic but have for the last eighty years been understand to relate to matters of personal autonomy and family life. We will conclude by looking at the other side of due process rights: those that require government to follow fair procedures in limiting individual freedom.
Reading:
Chapter 3: Due Process of Law
A. Substantive Due Process: Economic Regulation
B. Substantive Due Process: Fundamental Rights
C. Procedural Due Process
CLASS FOUR
We will examine the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, which in simplest terms requires the government to treat similarly situated people equally. We will begin with an overview of the historical circumstances leading to the Clause’s creation, and how its significance has expanded over time. We will pay particular attention to how the Clause has been understood to protect people of color and women from state-sponsored discrimination, as well as how the Clause has been interpreted to permit certain kinds of race- and sex-conscious affirmative action programs.
Reading:
Chapter 4: Equal Protection
A. History & Levels of Review
B. Nonsuspect Classifications
C. Racial Discrimination
D. Sex Discrimination
E. Affirmative Action
CLASS FIVE
We will focus here on the First Amendment’s rights of expressive and religious freedom. We will begin with the freedom of expression, learning how courts rarely allow the government to suppress expression because of the ideas it may convey. We will then examine the situations in which government may regulate expression because of its content or means of delivery. We will conclude with an exploration of the religion clauses, examining how government may interact with religious institutions and schools, as well as how government action may sometimes operate to limit religious freedom.
Reading:
Chapter 5: Freedom of Expression & Religion
A. Freedom of Expression
B. Substantive & Procedural Limits on Expression
C. The Establishment Clause
D. The Free Exercise Clause
Midterm Examination
CLASS SIX
We will shift focus here to concentrate on how the Constitution applies to regulate the criminal law. The emphasis of the remaining classes will therefore be on the constitutional rights of criminal suspects and defendants. We will devote this class to an examination of the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable government searches and seizures. Starting with the rule that evidence obtained in violation of the Amendment may not be used against a criminal defendant, we will explore the matter of just what constitutes a police search or seizure. We will then examine the two main prerequisites for authorizing such state action: that probable cause exist to undertake the search or seizure, and that the police obtain a warrant before taking action.
Chapter 6: Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures
A. The Exclusionary Rule
B. Searches and seizures defined
C. Probable Cause
CLASS SEVEN
In this class, we will continue our discussion of searches and seizures. We will focus on the warrant requirement for a police search and the exceptions to the general rule that a warrant is required. We will discuss who may issue a warrant and what circumstances a warrant must be based upon to be valid. We will finish by focusing on the various “exigent circumstances” in which a warrant is not required for a search.
Reading:
Chapter 6: Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures
D. The Warrant Requirement
E. Exceptions to the Warrant Requirement
CLASS EIGHT
We will examine here how the police may behave in questioning people. Using Miranda v. Arizona as our focal point, we will explore precisely what the police must do to inform a person of his or her constitutional rights before commencing a custodial interrogation. We will then examine some of the situations in which the Miranda protection does not apply, such as when a person is not in police custody, no actual interrogation has occurred, or the person has waived his or her rights.
Reading:
Chapter 7: Police Interrogation
A. Miranda v. Arizona
B. Custody defined
C. Interrogation defined
D. Waiver of rights
CLASS NINE
We will conclude this course with an examination of a criminal defendant’s constitutional rights at trial. Beginning with a defendant’s right to a competent attorney, we will examine the rights to confront adverse evidence, to compel the production of favorable evidence, and to not be forced to incriminate oneself. We will also explore what showing of proof is required to convict a defendant, and how a convicted person may not be sentenced to cruel and unusual punishment.
Reading:
Chapter 8: Rights at trial
A. The right to effective assistance of counsel
B. The Confrontation Clause
C. The right to compulsory process
D. The privilege against compelled self-incrimination
E. Burden of proof
F. Protection from cruel and unusual punishment
Final Examination