CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: CIVIL LIBERTIES
PS 3151 (01) DR. ROBERT HUNT
SPRING 2011 PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Office hours: Monday, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM,
Tuesday, 12:00 – 2:00 PM
Wednesday, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Thursday, 12:00 – 2:00 PM
Hutchinson Hall, Room J-105A, 908-737-3994.
e-mail:
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The development of the First Amendment to the Constitution, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Particular emphasis will be placed on the Supreme Court’s contribution to the development of the concept of ordered liberty.
OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE
1. To familiarize students with the major cases that have contributed to the development
of First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, and religion, and Fourteenth
Amendment Equal Protection.
2. To develop in students an understanding of the role of the Supreme Court in
fostering a healthy constitutional republic.
3. To develop in students an appreciation of the values that sustain the American
regime of ordered liberty.
REQUIRED TEXT: (Available at campus bookstore)
Rossum and Tarr. American Constitutional Law; Vol. II: The Bill of Rights and
Subsequent Amendments. 8th ed. (Belmont CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2009)
List price: $95.00
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Two Full-period exams, worth 65% of the final grade. Tentative dates: March 7 and
May 5.
All exams are non-cumulative.
Judicial Opinion, worth 25% of the final grade. Each student is expected to submit
a judicial decision (Opinion) of the type issued by the U. S. Supreme Court. Students
will be provided a hypothetical case and legal arguments advanced by both sides in the dispute. Given an awareness of relevant constitutional precedents, they will be asked
to develop an “opinion of the court” stating how the law should be applied in the case,
and providing a rationale for their decisions.
Distribution of hypothetical case: March 24.
Due date for opinion: April 14no extensions
Class Participation, worth 10% of the final grade. The instructor will assign selected readings and cases from both texts to facilitate class discussion and familiarize students with the proper method of briefing cases. Active participation in class, and familiarity with the assigned readings and cases, will have a positive effect on a borderline final grade. Unpreparedness for a topic of discussion (i.e. non-familiarity with the assigned readings and cases) will have a negative effect on a final grade. Any student who is not prepared to brief his case when it arises (or who is not present to do so) will automatically lose four (4) points from the “Class Participation” portion of his grade.
Make-up Exams: If a student misses a mid-term exam, for whatever reason, and wishes totake a make-up exam, five points will be subtracted from the final grade for the particular exam. If a student fails to take a make-up exam, he or she will receive a zero for that particular grade. There will be no make-ups for the final exam.
Students are responsible for becoming familiar with, and will be held accountable for, the Kean University Academic Integrity Policy and the Student Code of Conduct. The Academic Integrity Policy is available at or the Web site for The guide at and the Student Code of Conduct is available at or the Web site for The Guide at
Students are encouraged to meet with the instructor during regularly-scheduled office hours to discuss class-related problems.
Dates to Remember:
January 24 Last day to WD with 100% refund
January 31 Last day to WD with 75% refund
February 7 Last day to declare course as audit
February 7 Last day to WD with 50% refund or P/F
March 11 Last day to withdraw with W grade
MAJOR TOPIC FOR CLASS DISCUSSION AND ASSIGNED READINGS:
1. Rights and the U. S. Constitution
Readings: Rossum and Tarr, chs. 1 and 3
Cases:
Barron v. Baltimore
Palko v. Connecticut
Adamson v. California
Ex Parte Milligan
Korematsu v. US
Boumedienne v. Bush
2. The Constitution and Economic Substantive Due Process Rights
Readings: Rossum and Tarr, ch. 4
Cases:
*The Slaughterhouse Cases
*Munn v. Illinois
*Lochner v. N. Y.
*West Coast Hotel Co. V. Parrish
State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co. v. Campbell
*Kelo v. City of New London
U. S. v. Carolene Products
3. The Supreme Court and Freedom of Speech and Press
Readings: Rossum and Tarr, Chapter 5
Cases:
*Schenck v. United States
*Gitlow v. New York
*Dennis v. U. S.
Brandenburg v. Ohio
*Boy Scouts of America v Dale
Texas v. Johnson
*R.A.V.v. City of St. Paul
*Hill v. Colorado
*N.Y. Times v. Sullivan
*Miller v. California
Paris Adult Theatre v. Slaton
*Near v. Minnesota
*N.Y. Times v. U.S.
Branzburg v. Hayes
4. The Constitutional Development of the Establishment and Free Press Exercise Clauses.
Readings: Rossum and Tarr, Chapter 6
Cases:
*Everson v. Bd. Of Ed. Of EwingTownship
*Abington Township v. Schempp
*Lemon v. Kurtzman
*Wallace v. Jaffree
*Lee v. Weisman
*McCreary County v. ACLU
*Van Orden v. Perry
*Rosenberger v. University of Virginia
*Zelman v. Simmons-Harris
*West Va. Bd. Of Ed. V. Barnette
*Sherbert v. Verner
*Employment Divison v. Smith
*City of Boerne v. Flores, Archbishop of San Antonio
5. The Equal Protection Clause and Racial Discrimination.
Reading: Rossum and Tarr, Chapter 8
Cases:
Plessy v. Ferguson
Shelley v. Kramer
Brown v. Bd. Of Ed of Topeka, Kansas
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bd of Ed.
Milliken v. Bradley
Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio
6. Substantive Equal Protection and the Emergence of Group Rights.
Reading: Rossum and Tarr, Chapter 9
Cases:
Bakke v. Regents of Univ. of Cal.
Richmond v. Croson Company
Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena
Gratz v. Bollinger
Grutter v. Bollinger
Frontiero v. Richardson
United States v. Virginia
7. The Supreme Court and the Right to Privacy.
Reading: Rossum and Tarr, Chapter 11
Cases:
Griswold v. Connecticut
Roe v. Wade
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Gonzalez v. Carhart
Bowers v. Hardwick
Cruzan v. Missouri Dept. of Health
Washington v. Glucksberg
Vacco v. Quill
Selected Bibliography
At the end of each introduction in the Rossum and Tarr text, there is an excellent bibliography of relevant scholarly works on the issue(s) germane to that chapter’s major topic. All students are encouraged to read any supplementary materials which might help them in preparing for class or in writing his term paper.