Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Gant

J.D. Seminar 283 (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

Despite its brevity, parts of the Constitution play little or no role in our current legal or political systems. This Course will explore a number of constitutional provisions that have been largely or entirely unexplored by courts (and sometimes even by academicians). In addition to examining a number of specific provisions and their potential importance, we will use our exploration of these provisions to consider several broader issues, including: (1) constitutional interpretation outside of the judiciary, and the role and responsibility of government officials other than judges in interpreting the Constitution; (2) reasons why particular constitutional provisions have remained relatively unexplored and undeveloped, and judicial doctrines which keep consideration of certain constitutional provisions away from the courts; and (3) whether some constitutional provisions should be taken less seriously, or enforced less vigorously, than others.

Prerequisite: Constitutional Law I: The Federal System or completion of Curriculum B courses.