| Constitutional Law III: First Amendment |
| Course Number: 612-0-01 |
Sullivan | 3 Units |
This is a course about the freedoms of speech and religion under the First Amendment as interpreted by the US Supreme Court. It builds upon Constitutional Law I by examining intensively these two areas of individual rights. Two-thirds of the course will be about freedom of speech. We will ask why government regulates speech (to prevent harms? to protect sensibilities? to redistribute power?), how government regulates speech (by aiming at messages? by aiming at markets? by aiming at when and where speech takes place? by conditioning subsidies?), and what justifications are ever sufficient for limiting speech. We will include consideration of the institutional press and new technologies including the Internet. One-third of the course will be about religion. We will ask how far government may go in limiting or promoting religious conduct and organizations under the twin constraints of the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses. The course will emphasize the practice of constitutional law in these areas, with attention to First Amendment history and theory as they inform that practice. We will discuss numerous contemporary cases and pending issues.
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| Meeting Times: |
| W 10:00-11:00 | | | MT 08:30-09:30 | | | |
| Calendar: Quarter Calendar |
| Enrollment: Open |
| Grading system: Honors-Pass |
| Elements used in grading: Exam |
| Type of exam: In-Class Exam |
| Specific graduation requirements met: None |
| Special instructions, rules or deadlines: None |
