U.S. Constitutional Law

This course will introduce students to several foundational questions in the study of American constitutional politics and to techniques of constitutional interpretation. What are the political implications of a written constitution designed to limit the power of the national government? What is the role of the Supreme Court (and judges more generally) in ensuring an appropriate balance of national and state power? What does it mean to have a system that “separates” power? And what is the role of the judiciary in policing this separation of powers at the national level, in peacetime and in wartime? Should judges be engaged in these efforts at all? If so, why? If not, why not?