This course seeks to deepen students’ knowledge of American constitutional law and history in order to help them engage and evaluate approaches to constitutional interpretation. Topics to be covered may include the purpose and functions of the constitutional system, the eighteenth-century formation of the U.S. Constitution, the development of federalism, and the uses of history, doctrine, structure, text, and other resources in the process of constitutional decisionmaking.
Satisfactory completion of the introductory course in constitutional law (Law 540) is a prerequisite. For transfer students, the completion of the equivalent course at a different law school is sufficient to satisfy the prerequisite.