{"id":23,"date":"2012-12-18T14:16:31","date_gmt":"2012-12-18T14:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/amcondev2\/?page_id=23"},"modified":"2026-01-13T03:29:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T03:29:47","slug":"syllabus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/amcondev2\/syllabus\/","title":{"rendered":"Syllabus Spring 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

Required Textbooks <\/strong><\/p>\r\n

1. Lee Epstein, Kevin Mc Guire\u00a0 and Thomas Walker. \u00a0Constitutional Law For A Changing America: Rights, Liberty and Justice<\/strong>\u00a0 Sage Press 12th Edition<\/span> <\/strong>2019(There is also a supplement with recent\u00a0 cases that come with this edition.\u00a0 The supplement also contains some older cases we will read.\u00a0 If you buy a used\u00a0 edition, make sure you purchase the supplement<\/strong><\/em><\/span>. Otherwise you will have to read the full text on the web\u00a0 of the assigned\u00a0 cases in the supplement.) There may be a new edition of the textbook in late August 2019. The 2017 edition plus supplement will work.<\/p>\r\n

Required Supplementary Books
<\/b><\/p>\r\n

1. Andrew \u00a0Kull \u00a0 The Colorblind Constitution<\/strong>, Harvard University Press,1998. Despite what we may think at first, the word colorblind is not generally associated with the 14th Amendment.\u00a0 From one point of view, Kull explains why not and also makes at argument as why it should be.<\/p>\r\n


2. Larry Arnn\u00a0\u00a0 The Founder’s Key:\u00a0 The Divine and Natural Connection Between the Declaration and the Constitution and What We Risk by Losing It\u00a0<\/span><\/strong> Thomas Nelson, 2013 Paperback edition.\u00a0 The title tells you the\u00a0 argument by Larry Arnn, President of Hillsdale College and well known\u00a0 Winston Churchill scholar.
<\/span><\/p>\r\n

3. Nation of Victims,<\/strong> Vivek Ramaswamy\u00a0 Long before I knew Vivek was running for President, I came across this short book.\u00a0 I found many of the chapters provide interesting contexts to our course materials.\u00a0 Whether we agree with his positions or not, he gives us a lot to think about as we wrestle with the difficult problems related to civil liberties, rights and justice in America today. I am putting in Chapter titles and content because some chapters will be most relevant at different times during the semester..\u00a0 And you can just read the entire book at one time.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Chapter 1 Underdogs v. victims
Chapter 2 The Civil War\u00a0 Interesting analysis of the Battle of Gettyburg and its impact on how the South then conceptualized the civil war.
Chapter 3 The Constitutional War\u00a0\u00a0 An interesting analysis of the original and changing meaning of the 14th Amendment
Chapter 4 Race Theory\u00a0 CRT and a personal story that shows Vivek’s ability to look at his own biases and assumptions
Chapter 5 Conservative Victimhood\u00a0 Also legitimate grievances
Chapter 6 Empire In Decline Interesting history about rise and fall of Rome as well as a detailed comparison of our naval power versus the naval power of China.
Chapter 7 How Victimhood Leads To National Decline\u00a0 He also talks about how victimhood stiffles national dialogue
Chapter 8 The Need to Forgive\u00a0 An interesting take on on this age old suggestion
Chapter 9\u00a0 A Theory of Duty\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An erudite\u00a0 discussion of the various political and philosophical issues of doing justice and creating a just society.\u00a0 It also expands on his earlier discussion of Kantian notions of justice.<\/p>\r\n

4. Clarence Thomas My Grandfather’s Son read first half through Chapter 6\u00a0 \u00a0Book will also be assigned in my next Spring course Judicial Process and Behavior.<\/p>\r\n

George Orwell\u00a0\u00a0 1984.\u00a0<\/strong> I expect everyone has read this in high school or before.\u00a0 Please refresh your memory or skim info about it on the web.\u00a0 The book itself is not assigned\u00a0 for this course.\u00a0 Some knowledge of it is required.<\/p>\r\n

5.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Films<\/h3>\r\n

Much of what we learn today is from media.\u00a0\u00a0 To expand our ability to analyze and interpret and learn from media I assign\u00a0 6 feature films\u00a0 for this class.\u00a0 Films 1, 4, 5 and 6 are available on Neflicks, DVD, probably Amazon and other places as noted. \u00a0 2 and 3 can be found on the PBS website and other places on the web. I have\u00a0 noted some of those places.\u00a0 I have had Lincoln, Expelled and Denial fact checked and satisfied with their historical accuracy as far as can be expected from a popular film Simple Justice and Freedom Riders do not need to be fact checked since they are documentaries.\u00a0 Though even documentaries can be distorted by lack of inclusion of relevant information or context. I am
confident in the accuracy of these documentaries.<\/p>\r\n

1. Lincoln, <\/b>the recent Steven Spielberg film on the passage of the 13th Amendment.\u00a0 Though Lincoln was gone, what it took to pass the 14th Amendment, which is a cornerstone of this course, was likely not that different. Recently I saw list of the top 10 historically accurate movies.\u00a0 This movie was on it.\u00a0 I did not know most of the other ones on the list.<\/p>\r\n

2. Simple Justice<\/b>, a PBS film based on Richard Kluger\u2019s book of the same name, about the road from Plessy<\/span>\u00a0 to Brown v. Board of Education<\/span>. The story is told through the eyes of\u00a0 Justice Thurgood Marshall, from his entry into law school through the final decision in\u00a0 Brown<\/span>.\u00a0 We will cover several of the cases mentioned in the movie.\u00a0 Production values could be improved.\u00a0 Still it is a wonderful engaging story.<\/p>\r\n

3. Freedom Riders<\/b>, a PBS documentary about the period from the decision in Brown<\/span> through the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In particular it covers a Freedom Ride through the deep south from Tennessee to New Orleans.\u00a0 Some of the themes are similar to\u00a0 those in the recent film Selma<\/strong>. Best version for this
class https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/video\/american-experience-freedom-riders\/.\u00a0<\/a>
As an undergraduate at Tufts University, 1958-1962 on a couple of occasions I joined by fraternity brothers in protests at the local\u00a0 Kresgees or 5 and Dime store. The protests were in support of the sit in protestors at segregated southern businesses.\u00a0 At Michigan Law\u00a0 school I helped organize the first Law Students Civil Rights Conference in 1963 or 64.\u00a0 During the Selma marches many of us paraded around the inside of the Michigan Law Quandrangle in support of the Selma marchers.<\/p>\r\n

4. Expelled<\/b>, a decade old Ben Stein documentary about political correctness in academia focusing on the biological sciences and academics who had the nerve to mention the term \u201cIntelligent Design\u201d in their work or bios.<\/p>\r\n

5.Denial\u00a0 <\/strong>This is a film about a real libel trial in England,\u00a0 Irving v. Penguin Books\u00a0<\/span> While in colonial times and well into the 19th century we\u00a0 integrated much of the\u00a0 English legal system\u00a0 into our\u00a0 jurisprudence, we do not follow\u00a0 the English\u00a0 law of libel.\u00a0 In ours the burden of proof is on the person who claims to be injured by the words. The plaintiff must\u00a0 prove they are false and injurious. In the English system, the burden of proof is on the speaker, the defendant, \u00a0 to prove the veracity of their words. This difference in burden of proof is most interesting.\u00a0 We will be discussing burden of proof issues in general in relation to a number of Supreme Court doctrines.\u00a0\u00a0 Both the acting and the “lawyering” in this case are wonderful.\u00a0 David Irving an English writer sues American historian,\u00a0 Deborah Lipstadt,\u00a0 for calling him a Holocaust denier in her books . Lipstadt’s lawyers must prove both he was a\u00a0 Holocaust denier\u00a0 and the Holocaust existed so they must prove is also a liar.\u00a0 While we may consider these claims\u00a0 to be quite factual to the point of being self evident,\u00a0 proof in a court room requires a much higher level of proof than we may use in our every day life. While this case is decided by a trial court, not an appellate court, it gives you a great sense of how everyday interactions among people might well end up in the Supreme Court.\u00a0 Also gives you a sense of what happens before\u00a0 a case even get to a Supreme Court.\u00a0 Lastly, it shows that\u00a0 many important civil liberties issues never get to a higher appellate court.<\/p>\r\n

6. Blazing Saddles<\/b>, a Mel Brooks film, also written by the late great comedian Richard Pryor. Despite its continuing popularity, is\u00a0 this a\u00a0 film that\u00a0 would not be made in today\u2019s Hollywood culture and our culture of political correctness? If so why? \u00a0In a \u00a0recent Rolling Stone readers poll of best comedies, \u00a0Blazing Saddles was rated the number 1. Mel Brooks has his own interpretation of what he was trying to do in this film. What is yours.\u00a0 Should this film and anyone who shows it be cancelled?\u00a0 OK, Mel intended the movie to be about racial justice.<\/p>\r\n

The order for the films and supplementary books is as follows:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Larry Arnn’s book is applicable to many of the ideas and themes that come up throughout the semester.<\/p>\r\n

A.\u00a0 Civil Rights<\/b> (major emphasis in first\u00a0 \u00bd of course)<\/p>\r\n

Books:\u00a0 Color Blind Constitution,\u00a0 Nation of Victims
Movies: Lincoln,<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0 Simple Justice<\/b>, Freedom Riders,<\/b><\/p>\r\n

B. Freedom\u00a0 Speech and Thought <\/b>(major emphasis in 2nd<\/sup> \u00bd of course)<\/p>\r\n

Movies:\u00a0 Expelled, Denial\u00a0<\/b> and Blazing Saddles<\/b><\/p>\r\n

The Arnn book\u00a0 applies to several parts of the course as dpes the Ramaswamy book.<\/p>\r\n

We may\u00a0 show the movies\u00a0 outside of class for those who cannot view them at home or with friends. Movie nights will be on Sundays.
In the past, one or two of the movies are shown consecutively.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 A short discussion will follow for those interested in such a discussion.\u00a0 Guests are welcome at\u00a0 the Sunday showings.<\/p>\r\n

Each of these films can be directly related to some of the cases we read.\u00a0 There are also many other good films that\u00a0 give some context to the cases we cover. I love a little known 2009 film entitled\u00a0 Amazing Grace<\/strong> which is about William Wilberforce, an upper class English nobleman, who successfully campaigned to end Britain’s participation in the slave trade in the early 1800’s.\u00a0 It is also about the writing of the song which I know and \u00a0will not publicly play on my fiddle.<\/p>\r\n

The recent hit Selma<\/strong> is also very good about the 60’s-70’s civil rights era. \u00a0 I decided to keep Freedom Riders<\/strong> as the assigned film for this era\u00a0 after careful consideration of having Selma<\/strong> replace Freedom Riders.\u00a0<\/strong> One of my high school friends walked across the bridge as part of the Dr. King entourage as shown in the film. I will touch on the events portrayed\u00a0 as we cover some cases from that era.\u00a0 \u00a0 I am sure most students have read or seen To Kill A Mockingbird.<\/strong> It relates to both issues of discrimination and criminal procedure.\u00a0 Some of the criminal procedure issues raised are taken up in my Judicial Process course next Spring. Lastly, The Butler,\u00a0<\/b> which is based on a real story, gives some glimpses of the the development of civil rights and presidential behavior from\u00a0 the perspective of a White House butler.\u00a0 And yes notice which President treats the butler the best.\u00a0\u00a0 How surprising?<\/p>\r\n

\r\n

How to Brief a Case<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\r\n

Description of how to brief a case (click here)<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Sample Briefs<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Note: Some of these briefs may be\u00a0 more extensive than\u00a0 you will need for daily class preparation.
Click on the case for sample briefs\u00a0 of the following case which are assigned in the first few classes:<\/p>\r\n

Barron v. Baltimore<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0 The Slaughterhouse Cases<\/strong><\/a>, Walker v. Sauvinet<\/strong><\/a> and Yick Wo v. Hopkins<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

Daily Course Assignments<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Note<\/span>: Stay up with the assignments even if the class discussion falls behind. The exams will cover everything up to the date of the exam whether we have covered it in class or not.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0<\/div>\r\n
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\u00a0 Required Textbooks 1. Lee Epstein, Kevin Mc Guire\u00a0 and Thomas Walker. \u00a0Constitutional Law For A Changing America: Rights, Liberty and Justice\u00a0 Sage Press 12th Edition 2019(There is also a supplement with recent\u00a0 cases that come with this edition.\u00a0 The supplement also contains some older cases we will read.\u00a0 If you buy a used\u00a0 edition, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":443,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-23","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/amcondev2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/amcondev2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/amcondev2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/amcondev2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/443"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/amcondev2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23"}],"version-history":[{"count":66,"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/amcondev2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1284,"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/amcondev2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23\/revisions\/1284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/amcondev2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}