Law and Policy in the Post-Obama Era

This course will consider a number of current issues of law and policy that achieved prominence during the Presidency of Barack Obama and remain unresolved. These issues include: 1) immigration law reform and DACA, 2) the role of the Department of Justice in reforming local and federal criminal law enforcement, 3) the role of government policy in regulating the economy and financial system, in facilitating heath insurance, and in remedying economic inequality, 4) the proper balance between national security and civil liberties/human rights, as exemplified by the debates over the status of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and drone warfare. In each of these areas, and others, debates about law and policy had reached a seeming, or potential, consensus in early 2009, but that consensus quickly fell apart. In each area, the gap between differing formulations of law and policy that had existed until recently has widened. Keeping in mind the time limitations of this course, we will briefly examine most of these of law and policy -- the governing legal doctrines and policies, their evolution since 2009, and their present and future prospects. The course will ask: What accounts for these differing visions of law and policy? What accounts for the inability of the political and legal system to resolve them? What are the possible ways forward? Class format will consist mainly of readings and class discussion, and students are encouraged to bring their own perspectives to bear on these difficult and timely issues. Class will meet Monday-Thursday, January 8-11, 7:15 PM to 9:15 PM and Tuesday of the following week, January 16, 6:20 PM to 7:20 PM. Elements used in grading: Class Participation.