Fall 2008 Syllabus: Con Law II

Photo of "Sunset Meadows" by Hannah Duncan



Richard F. Duncan: Room 220 Law, email:conlawprof@yahoo.com, phone:472-6044

Office Hours: I don't maintain specific office hours; I have an open door policy and I will be in the office regularly and welcome your visits or appointments.

Attendance Policy: Attendance is required.

Exam: Your entire grade for the course will be based upon your score on the final exam

Casebook: William Cohen, The First Amendment (Foundation Press 2003)

Online Materials: Professor William Linder's Exploring Constitutional Law (Link)

For Fall 2008, students should be prepared for 1 full assignment for each class. In other words, you should be prepared to discuss one complete assignment (plus anything left over from the previous day's class) at all times. I may make a few minor adjustments to these assignments as the course progresses to include some links to recent First Amendment cases or issues.

Be sure to check this blog every day for announcements, additional required and optional reading, and discussion of cases and issues raised in the reading. In fact, if you scroll down you will see that I have already posted a couple of items for our first class discussion.

LIST OF ASSIGNMENTS

I. Establishment Clause

1. Duncan article, "Justice Thomas and Partial Incorporation...." (available in handout rack near South Side Faculty offices); Casebook p. 464-482; Linder Introduction (Link); Engel v. Vitale (Link); Handout 1(handout rack)

2. Casebook p. 482-487: Handout 2; Prof. Linder's page on "The Evolution Controversy" (Link)

3. Casebook p.487-515; Handouts 3 and 4

4. Ten Commandments decisions: Van Orden (link) & McCreary County (link)

5. Casebook p. 516-550

6. Casebook p. 550-560; Rosenberger Oral Argument

7. Newdow case (Link) ; Casebook p. 311-313; my Larson (denominational discrimination) article excerpt (Handout provided)

II. Free Exercise Clause

1. Linder Introduction (Link); Reynolds case (Link); Casebook p. 560-567

2. Casebook p. 567-578; Handout 5; Handout 6 (Lukumi and Axson-Flynn);my "Individualized Exemptions and Hogwarts" article (reprint provided)

3. Locke v. Davey (Handout 7); my article on Davey (reprint provided)

4. Casebook p. 578-588; Cutter v. Wilkinson (link); optional materials on Cutter (Link)

5. Capstone problem (Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses): Colorado Christian University v. Weaver (link)

III. Freedom of Expression (Including Public Forum Analysis, Public Schools, Subsidized Speech, and Expressive Association)

1. Casebook p. 1-42 (read mostly for background--our class discussion will focus on Brandenburg)

2. Casebook p.42-66

3. Casebook p.66-83

4. Casebook p.99-116

5. Casebook p. 117-139

6. Casebook p.139-160

7. Casebook p. 206-228

8. Casebook p. 228-244

9. Casebook p. 262-279; Morse v. Frederick (link);

10. Speech of Government Employees: Connick (casebook p. 394-400); Pickering (link); Garcetti (link)

11. Casebook p. 279-298 (Re-read Locke v. Davey Handout 7)

12. Casebook p. 299-306

13. Casebook p. 311-324; Christian Legal Society v. Washburn University (Link)