Spring 2020 Syllabus Con Law II

Richard F. Duncan: Room 220 Law, email: rduncan2@unl.edu, phone: 402 472-6044

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.

Class: This class meets on  Wed-Thurs-Fri from 1:15 to 2:15 PM in Room 113. Notice that this class meets for 60-minutes per class.  Therefore, we will meet 35 times (as opposed to the 42-class sessions for a 50-minute class). This will allow us to cancel seven (7) classes during the Semester without the need for make-up sessions. I am also requiring attendance at the Law College Pound Lecture by Professor Robert George on April 16 at Noon.That will allow us to cancel an 8th regular class. Also, the snow day (class cancelled January 17) will be made up when we have a double class to listen to SCOTUS oral arguments in Rosenberger case (assignment 7).

        

Attendance Policy: Attendance is required.

Grading & Exam: Your grade for this course will be based (100%) upon the final exam (which may or may not be a take-home).

Casebook:  Varat, Amar & Cohen, Constitutional Law (15th Ed. Foundation Press 2017)

Online Materials: Professor William Linder's Exploring Constitutional Law

For Spring 2020, students should be prepared for 1 full assignment for each class. In other words, you should be prepared to discuss one complete assignment 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. 

LIST OF ASSIGNMENTS

I. Establishment Clause

1. Skim (just skim) this:Duncan article, Just Another Brick in the Wall: The Establishment Clause as a Heckler's Veto, is available (free download) :  Dreisbach article; Casebook p. 1693-1701

2. casebook p. 1701-1707; Linder Introduction Text Only: (Link); Engel v. Vitale (Link); Wallace v. Jaffree (Link); Lee v. Weisman (Link).

3. Lynch v. Donnelly (Link); Allegheny County case (link); Casebook p.1711-1727; Summun case (link), Our class discussion will focus primarily on:  American Legion v. American Humanist Association, (US Sup. Ct., June 20, 2019),

4. Legislative Prayers: Marsh v. Chambers (link); Town of Greece (casebook p. 1727-1738). When reading the Town of Greece opinions, do not overlook Justice Thomas' concurring opinion
(at p.1733) in which he speaks of the EC as a "federalism provision." What does that mean?

5. Linder Introduction Text only (link); Handouts 2, 3 and 4; Widmar v. Vincent (Link);Casebook p.1739-1752

6. Casebook p. 1753-1780; Arizona tax credit case (Link)

7. Casebook p. 1780-1787; Rosenberger Oral Argument (listen in class)

8. Trinity Lutheran (Link)

8. Larson v. Valente (link); my "clearest command" article (Link)

II. Free Exercise Clause

1. Reynolds case (Link); Casebook p. 1787-1794

2. Casebook p. 1794-1804; Handout 5; Handout 6 (Lukumi and Axson-Flynn); Masterpiece Cakeshop (link)

3. Hosanna-Tabor decision (link); Casebook p. 1804-1807; Trinity Lutheran decision

4. RFRA & Hobby Lobby: RFRA text (link); Hobby Lobby (Link); RLUIPA: Holt v. Hobbs (link)

5. Capstone problem (Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses): Colorado Christian University v. Weaver (link); my "clearest command" article (Link)

III. Religion and Freedom of Expression: Public Forum Analysis, Public Schools, Subsidized Speech, Expressive Association, and Election Campaign Speech

1. Reed v. Town of Gilbert (link); Casebook p.1389-1412.

2.  Snyder v. Phelps (link); Casebook p. 1412-1427

3. Casebook p. 1447-1468; Dariano (flag tee shirt case)(link)

4. Casebook p. 1468-1479;

5. Casebook p.1509-1516

6.Casebook p.1521-1536;  Duncan Article (Defense Against the Dark Arts); Telescope Media (8th Cir. 2019); Christian Legal Society v. Martinez (link)


      [if time permits]

7. Citizens United (link)


                       End of Duncan's Sylabus: And now for something completely different.




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ABA Requirements for Study: The ABA requires students to spend approximately two hours studying out of class for every hour spent in class. I should not have to even mention this—because you spend much more than 2 hours per class hour preparing for class and studying the materials—but to satisfy the powers that be in the ABA, I am hereby explicitly and emphatically requiring you to spend at least 2 hours studying this course for each one hour spent in class. I anticipate that you will spend the out-of-class time reading and re-reading class materials until you have mastered the issues and reasoning of the cases and problems, thinking rigorously about the materials, writing notes both before and after each class on the materials and issues assigned for that class and discussed in class, reading and thinking about the posts I write on our class blog and discussing materials with your classmates. Obey the ABA!
 




                             "Learning Outcomes"

Basically, I am old school about "learning outcomes." This is law school, not community college, so our major focus is on developing a sophisticated legal intellect by careful legal analysis of cases, statutes, constitutional text, and hypotheticals. Every day my job is to try to make the assignments and class discussions as challenging, clear, lucid and helpful as I can. Your job is to prepare for class, pay careful attention in class, participate in class discussions, and master the materials, questions, concepts, and issues we cover. Your individual outcomes depend in large part on how much effort you put into studying and class discussions. All of this being said, here are the "learning outcomes" for this course. If you work hard to master the course, you will:

(1) acquire a deep understanding of the First Amendment of the US Constitution including free speech, free exercise, and the establishment clause

(2) develop a deep understanding of Supreme Court case law interpreting the First Amendment, including important dissenting and concurring opinions in landmark cases

(3) acquire a deep understanding of statutory protections of religious liberty, such as RFRA and RLUIPA

(4) become familiar with the political forces and policy rationales that shape First Amendment law

(5) Gain insight into the many ways that the First Amendment protects religious diversity and intellectual diversity in a society as deeply-dived on first principles as our Nation has become.

The primary means of assessing these outcomes is your self-assessment during and after each class. You should evaluate what you learned in each class when you review your notes and thoughts from each class.

Volunteering for discussion during class is also an excellent means of assessment. 

The final exam is, as always, the more formal method of assessing many of these outcomes.


 A Message From The Dean, A Message From The Dean

"If you think you will need any disability-related accommodation to succeed in this class, please contact Assistant Dean Marc Pearce and/or the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities as soon as possible for a confidential conversation."