This course will explore the role of civil rights litigation in effectuating legal, political and social change in recent American history. Lawsuits seeking to effectuate structural change have been targeted at a broad variety of governmental and commercial functions, from schools to prisons, from banking to police departments. And the results have ranged from stunning success to dismal failure--some have succeeded legally, but failed to create any real change. This course will examine a number of such efforts, seeking both to put them in social context and to assess why the outcomes have varied so dramatically. Students will write research papers, either retrospectively assessing a particular litigation effort or designing an action plan for a proposed civil rights litigation effort.