This course will focus on judicial interpretations of sections of
the United States Constitution relating to individual rights and
civil liberties.  It is designed to promote the understanding of
constitutional frameworks and to enable student proficiency in the
scholarly study of law. We will be looking at cases involving free
speech, abortion, pornography, terrorism, enemy combatants,
affirmative action and public funding of faith based initiatives. We
will also focus on the political and moral challenges of justifying
civil rights and the tension between civil liberties and national
security as it is implicated in contemporary debates.

Required Texts:

David M.O’ Brien Constitutional Law and Politics, Volume Two, Civil
Rights and Liberties (fifth edition)

John Stuart Mill “On Liberty”

David Cole “Terrorism and the Constitution: Sacrificing Civil
Liberties in the name of National Security”