Constitutional Litigation

3 credits

POL_SC-4231

Political Science
College of Arts and Science

(same as CNST_DEM 4231). This course will explore federal constitutional adjudication from the viewpoint of a law clerk to a justice of the United States Supreme Court. We will look to the founding era and the constitutional contours of the federal courts set out in Article III and explore how that framework gave rise to judicial review today. We will also examine more modern constitutional litigation concepts such as how the Supreme Court chooses its docket (the certiorari process), the role played by law clerks, the brief writing and oral argument processes, the way the Court goes about deciding cases, and contemporary issues facing the Court.