Voices of American Law: Case Studies in Supreme Court Litigation
This course will examine the origins and development of twelve leading Supreme Court cases, after briefly covering the certiorari process and the Supreme Court's approach to case selection. Drawing upon extensive video interviews with the parties to the cases as well as their lawyers at the initial stages of the litigation, the seminar will focus on issues such as:
1. What strategic decisions were made by the attorneys in the formation of the case?
2. Was the factual record appropriately developed? What could or should have been done differently?
3. How did the various organizations that often facilitate Supreme Court cases (American Civil Liberties Union, American Center for Law & Justice, Center for Individual Rights, etc.) develop and pursue their strategies? Did they select appropriate cases and issues to further their institutional goals?
4. Why did the Supreme Court exercise its discretion to grant review in the particular case? Was it an appropriate case in which to evaluate the legal issues that were considered?
Students will be required to view approximately 35 minutes of video material respecting each case and read the subsequent Supreme Court opinion. Each student will be required to write a short reaction papers on a bi-weekly basis. Each student will also prepare a final 10-page paper analyzing the procedural and factual history of a recent Supreme Court case analyzing the factors and themes discussed during the course of the semester.
Please note that course organization and content may vary substantially from semester to semester and descriptions are not necessarily professor specific. Please contact the instructor directly if you have particular course-related questions.