POL 366: Constitutional Law: Rights & Liberties -- December 2004

Instructor: Craig W. Allin, Room 307, South Hall. Telephone: Office, (895-) 4278; Home, 895-8103. Phone messages may be left with faculty secretary Cheryl Dake (895-) 4283, or in her voice mail box, or on the answering machine at my home. I do not check my office voice mail. If I do not answer the phone, I recommend contacting me by e-mail.

The following is available at the bookstore:
- Lee Epstein & Thomas G. Walker. Constitutional Law for a Changing America: Rights, Liberties & Justice, 5th ed. Washington: CQ Press, 2004.
The following are on reserve [or in the reference collection] at Cole Library:
- Good, Mightier Than the Sword: Powerful Writing in the Legal Profession (1989) 808.066 G592m
- Irons: May It Please the Court (1993) [live recordings of oral arguments before the Supreme Court] 347.73 M451
- Louthan: The United States Supreme Court (1991) 347.7326 L936u
- Melone: Researching Constitutional Law (2000) [Reference Desk] 342.73 M492r 2000
- Shapo, Walter & Fajans: Writing and Analysis in the Law (1991) 808.066 Sh22wr 1991
- UCLA Moot Court Honors Program: Handbook of Appellate Advocacy (1993) 808.066 H191 1993
The University of Iowa Law Library: Located in the Boyd Law Building just southwest of the intersection of Burlington and Riverside in Iowa City, the library is open to the public for long hours, seven days per week. This is an exceptionally valuable--and reasonably user-friendly--resource, but you must be a lawyer or enrolled in the law school to check materials out. Although I would never discourage anyone from visiting a first-rate law library, everything you need for this course is available on campus. See Legal Resources of Russell Cole Library and Internet Research Links.

Synopsis: Refer to the Calendar & Assignments which outline also contains your primary reading assignments from the case book. All reading must be completed by class time on the day for which it is assigned. Please allow yourself plenty of time for careful study. You will discover that casual reading of court cases is not terribly productive.

Requirements: Your grade for this course will be based upon the following factors:
1. Exams and Quizzes [40%] – There will be three quizzes in the course of the term. They may or may not be announced in advance. The quizzes will preview most of the kinds of questions you will confront on the final exam. Your quiz grades will each account for 5% of the final course grade. A comprehensive final examination will count for an additional 25%. For the purposes of exams and quizzes you may bring and use unlimited notes and briefs so long as they are composed by you and written in your own hand. Exams and quizzes–-and preparation for exams and quizzes–-are conducted on an honor system. In each instance, you will be required to certify that you have not accepted aid from another student, given aid to another student, or used notes or materials except those composed by you. Study groups and group preparation for exams and quizzes are encouraged, but "group notes" or "group briefs" may not be used in exams and quizzes.
2. Briefs [20%] – You will submit two briefs in the course of the term. See Briefing Supreme Court Cases. Each brief will count for 10% of the final grade. This is your best chance to pad your grade and the only assignment that may be rewritten in an effort to improve your grade. Rewrites are averaged with the original grade to determine the final grade for the assignment.
3. Appellate Brief and Oral Argument [30%] – You will prepare an appellate brief and argue a constitutional case before the class. See Appellate Brief & Oral Argument.
4. Class Participation [10%] – The final 10% of the course grade will reflect my subjective evaluation of your contribution to the class. I will reward thoughtful leadership in class discussion and effectiveness in the role of justice when others are arguing cases

Department of Politics