- Autumn 2023
Syllabus Description:
POL S 462: The Supreme Court In American Politics
Instructor: Scott Lemieux
Office: Gowen 114
In-person office hours: Wednesday W 11:20-12:20 or by appointment (in-person or Zoom)
Required Texts: Most of the class reading will be articles posted on the class’s Canvas page. There will also be three required books:
Mark Graber, Punish Treason, Reward Loyalty The Forgotten Goals of Constitutional Reform after the Civil War. University of Kansas Press 2023.
Samantha Barbas, Actual Malice Civil Rights and Freedom of the Press in New York Times v. Sullivan. University of California Press, 2023.
Steve Vladeck, The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic. Basic Books, 2023.
All texts are available at the UW bookstore, as well as all major online booksellers.
Course Description and Objectives
This course introduces students to the political role of U.S. state and federal courts, court organization, staffing, financing, judicial policy making, and the public perception of judicial process. Students in this class will be introduced to the current political issues concerning judicial institutions and legal research techniques. Additionally, this class emphasizes written and oral communication skills.
Course Requirements
- This is a helpful guide ) to the "netiquette" of online learning and interactions.
- All students are expected to abide by the University’s Code of Student Conduct http://www.washington.edu/teaching/cheating-or-plagiarism/. Any student caught plagiarizing work or cheating on an exam will be reported to the appropriate university officials.
- This course will comply fully with the Americans With Disabilities Act and all relevant university procedures. If you require accommodation because of a disability please consult the university’s procedures here: http://depts.washington.edu/uwdrs/ (Links to an external site.)
- Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/) (Links to an external site.). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/) (Links to an external site.).
Discussion Papers
To help with the reading and ensure wide participation, for every class for which there is reading students should prepare a 1-2 page response paper. These papers are not expected to summarize every aspect of the reading, but should make a critical point, suitable for class discussion, based on the reading. Papers are due the day of class on Canvas, and will be graded on a credit/no credit basis.
For two classes throughout the course of the quarter, students may come without a response paper with no penalty, no explanation or excuse required. Every subsequent failure to submit a paper without a documented medical or family emergency will result in a penalty.
Final Paper
The final project should be a paper of approx. 12-15 pp. of 12 point, double-spaced font about a topic related to the Supreme Court and American politics. Original research will of course be accepted but is not required -- a review of a selection of the existing scholarly literature on a subject from a critical perspective is fine. As a rule of thumb, a minimum of 5-8 sources (depending on length) will be necessary for a sufficiently comprehensive review.
Participation
This is a seminar, not a lecture-driven class, and therefore depends on student preparation. Students are also expected to read all assigned readings before class, and treat classmates and the instructor with respect.
Grading Policy
Grades will be determined as follows:
40% Class participation/response papers
60% Final paper
Course Outline
Note: The syllabus represents a general plan for the course and may be subject to change, based on the discretion of the instructor. Class texts will be supplemented with additional texts posted on the class’s Canvas page. Readings in the Canvas "files" section listed here will be denoted with an asterisk (*). All classes are held in-person unless otherwise noted.
I. How should we think about the Court?
9/27 Course Introduction
10/2 Julie Novkov, "How the Umpires Remake the Game" CLASS HELD ON ZOOM.
II. The Forgotten Fourteenth Amendment and the Politics of Constitutional Law
10/4 William Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen, "The Sweep and Force of Section Three," pp. 1-13, 104-126.
Michael McConnell, "Responding About the Fourteenth Amendment, 'Insurrection,' and Trump."
CLASS HELD ON ZOOM
10/9-18 Graber, Reward Loyalty, Punish Treason
10/9 Introduction, Ch.1
10/11 Ch. 2
10/6 Ch. 3-4
10/8 Ch. 5, Conclusion
III. Judicial Decision-Making, Interbranch Relations, and American Political Development
10/23 Devins and Baum, "Split Definitive: How Party Polarization Turned the Supreme Court Into a Partisan Court."
10/25 Mark Graber, "Legal, Strategic or Legal Strategy: Deciding to Decide during the Civil War and Reconstruction."
III. Law And Social Change
10/30 Kimberlé Crenshaw, "Race, reform, and retrenchment : transformation and legitimation in antidiscrimination law."
11/1 Gerald Rosenberg, The Hollow Hope [excerpts]*
Michael McCann, "Reform Litigation on Trail"
11/6-15 Barbas, Actual Malice
11/6 Barbas, ch. 1-5, Counterman v. Colorado (Thomas, dissenting)
11/8 Barbas, ch. 6-8
11/13 Barbas, ch. 9-13
11/15 Barbas, ch. 14-16
IV. The Court Today
11/20 Cohen, David S. and Donley, Greer and Rebouche, Rachel, "The New Abortion Battleground" 123 Columbia Law Review 1 (2023).
11/22 Class cancelled
11/27 - 12/6 Vladeck, The Shadow Docket
11/27 Introduction, Ch. 1-2
11/29 Ch. 3-4
12/4 Ch. 5-6
12/6 Ch. 7, conclusion
FINAL PAPER DUE Thursday, December 14 at 6 PM through the course Canvas page.