The 45th President and the Constitution

We will survey a number structural constitutional issues raised during the Trump Presidency, including the role of the judiciary; the scope and limits of unilateral Presidential power; the relationship between state and federal governments; Congressional power to investigate; and the role of the Special Counsel. Among the substantive areas of coverage will be protection of voting rights; partisan gerrymandering; free speech; and religious freedom. Among the specific settings we will consider are the President's first and second immigration orders; the Global Gag Rule; the effort to de-fund Planned Parenthood; the President's acrimonious relationship with the press; conflict of interest issues, including the Emoluments Clauses; the legal status of the Affordable Care Act's mandatory coverage of contraception, including religious objections; the status of gay marriage, including religious exceptions; and the regulation of the mass media and the Internet. Participants in the seminar should have completed (or be enrolled in) the basic Constitutional Law course. After the term begins, a maximum of 20 students accepted into the course can transfer from Section 01 into Section 02 (long research paper option), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Final paper.