Constitutional Rights & Powers

A study of the American constitutional framework for the exercise of governmental power, as well as the individual rights it was meant to protect. Through reading Court cases and other materials, students address such questions as: how should the Constitution be interpreted? What are the respective powers of the Courts, the Congress and the President? What do "liberty" and "equality" mean in the context of the Constitution? What limits on those powers does the Constitution impose? What is the proper constitutional relationship between the state and the federal government? Because of the breadth of possible topics covered in this course, it may be taken more than once with the permission of the chair.