This is a course about the power of federal courts. We look at the Supreme Court and lower courts as well. Part of the course is devoted to the implications of Article III, part to questions of federalism, and part to varied statutory issues affecting jurisdiction and the relationship between state and federal law. The instructor finds it hard to imagine that anyone could work effectively in litigation without understanding these issues.
Students write short papers every other week.
Some of these papers require students to do the sort of writing lawyers do in practice and some of them are more reflective. None of the papers call for research outside the course materials. There is no final examination but there is a final essay in the nature of a take-home examination. Satisfies second-year writing requirement.