Current Issues in Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

This seminar will address current issues in civil liberties and civil rights arising at both the federal and state level, with an emphasis on the policies of the Trump administration. It is intended to be both timely and topical. As a result, the initial syllabus may be revised if new and significant issues later emerge. Among the topics that are likely to be discussed are hate speech, immigration, reproductive rights, voting rights, affirmative action, LGBT rights, and privacy. We will begin by focusing first on background legal principles and then on applying those legal principles to each debated policy. We will also consider the real world consequences that flow from different legal outcomes. There is no casebook. Instead, weekly readings will consist of judicial decisions, statutory and regulatory texts, and published articles (both academic and popular). Any that are not easily accessible will be circulated prior to class. Elements used in grading: Grades will be based on class attendance, class participation, and either several short papers (Section 01) or an independent research paper for Research credit (Section 02). After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor.