courts and social change fall 2011 – lstu e-107
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COURTS AND SOCIAL CHANGE Fall 2011 – LSTU E-107. Dr. Akiba J. Covitz Associate Dean & Lecturer on Law Harvard Law School CLASS 1 September 1 , 2011. A Bit About You and Me. Why Am I Interested in this “Stuff”? Some Backstory Why Are You “Interested” in this Stuff? - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
COURTS AND SOCIAL CHANGEFall 2011 – LSTU E-107
Dr. Akiba J. Covitz
Associate Dean & Lecturer on LawHarvard Law School
CLASS 1September 1, 2011
2Covitz - LSTU E-107 - Fall 2011 Class 1
A Bit About You and Me
• Why Am I Interested in this “Stuff”?• Some Backstory
• Why Are You “Interested” in this Stuff?• Some Backstories
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The Syllabus
On the course i-site:
http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k81724&pageid=icb.page437832
Regular updates• Will be as communicative as possible
(within the bounds of [non-Twitter]
reason)• Will post my slides after class
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The Syllabus
• Let’s walk through the syllabus• Books and i-site• Grade: five parts (undergrad) or
six parts (grad)• Not “Mr. Hart . . . .”
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZJEhlIefxA&feature=related)
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Three Key Questions for the Semester:
1. How Do Courts in the United States Work?
2. What Can Courts Do?
3. What Should Courts Do?
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How Do Courts in the United States Work?
First Five Classes: Judicial Mechanics
Baum, American Courts
Class 1 (9/1): Overview, Cases, and Opinions -
Justices and Ours (Cases)Class 2 (9/8): Courts and Their Organization
(Cases and Baum)Class 3 (9/15): Lawyers and the Selection of
Judges (Baum)
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How Do Courts in the United States Actually Work?
First Five Classes: Judicial Mechanics
Baum, American Courts
Class 4 (9/22): The Role of Judges and the Operation of Criminal and Civil
Courts (Baum)Class 5 (10/6): The Operation and Role of
Appellate Courts (Baum and H & M)
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What Can and Should Courts in the United States Do?
Next Set of Three Classes: Application
The Judicial Branch, Edited Volume (“H & M”)
Class 6 (10/20): Mid-Term and The Big Questions:Where Do Judges Fit in the American System?
Class 7 (10/27): Courts and American Culture
Class 8 (11/3): Big Issues and Comparative Issues -
Rights, Liberties, and Courts
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Putting What We Have Learned to the Test
Next Two Classes: Courts, Rights, and Backlash?
From Jim Crow to Civil Rights, Mike Klarman
http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/index.html?id=577
Read His Book and Meet HimClass 9 (11/10) and Class 10 (11/27)
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Putting What We Have Learned to the Test
Final Class Before the Final Exam: Courts and Rights
The NAACP’s Legal Strategy against Segregated Education, 1925-1950,
Mark Tushnet
http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/index.html?id=534
Read His Book and Meet Him
Class 11 (12/1): Klarman Book Reviews Due andClass 12 (12/8): Tushnet Book Reviews Due
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Putting What We Have Learned to the Ultimate Test
Class 13 – Final Exam – 12/15
Graduate Student Papers – Due 12/22
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Current Debates
• Dean Martha Minow: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/08/08/also_confirmed_marshalls_legacy/
• Professor Mike Klarman:http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-klarman-gay-marriage-20100815,0,5255573,print.story
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Three Foundational Cases:
1. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
2. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
3. Brown v. Board of Education I (1954)
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Three Foundational Cases:
1. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
Key Questions (same ones for most of our readings):
A. What’s the holding?B. What are some of the “obiter dicta”?C. What’s the impact?
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Three Foundational Cases:
1. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
-- Overview: http://www.oyez.org/cases/1851-1900/1856/1856_0
-- Syllabus: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0060_0393_ZS.html
-- Majority Opinion:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0060_0393_ZO.html
-- Justice McLean’s Dissent (and also keep in mind Justice Curtis):http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0060_0393_ZD.html
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Three Foundational Cases:
2. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
-- Overview: http://www.oyez.org/cases/1851-1900/1895/1895_210/
-- Syllabus: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0163_0537_ZS.html
-- Majority Opinion: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0163_0537_ZO.html
-- Dissent: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0163_0537_ZD.html
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Three Foundational Cases:
2. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Key Questions:
A. What’s the holding?B. What are some of the “obiter dicta”?C. What’s the Impact?
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Three Foundational Cases:
3. Brown v. Board of Education I (1954)
-- Overview:
http://www.oyez.org/cases/1950-1959/1952/1952_1/
-- Syllabus:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0347_0483_ZS.html
-- Opinion:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0347_0483_ZO.html
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Three Foundational Cases:
3. Brown v. Board of Education I (1954)
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Three Foundational Cases:
3. Brown v. Board of Education I (1954)
Key Questions:
A. What’s the holding?B. What are some of the “obiter dicta”?C. What’s the impact?
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Back to Our Three Key Questions for the Semester:
1. How Do Courts in the United States Work?
2. What Can Courts Do?
3. What Should Courts Do?