CIVIL LIBERTIES
Politics V53.0332
Spring 1995
Professor Christine Harrington
Office hours: TH 9:30-11:30
715 Broadway, Room 432
998-8509
Teaching Assistant: Adrienne Wallace
This course seeks to locate civil liberties issues in American politics by examining political and legal debates about constitutional liberty and equality. We will pay particular attention to the problem of tolerance in a constitutional democracy. The course integrates political, social and doctrinal analysis. You should read all the required materials before class and be prepared to discuss it and to raise questions you have about the readings or lectures. When you study court cases, be prepare to discuss the facts of each case, the arguments and the reasoning applied by the justices. Participation in class discussion is important not only for the final evaluation of your work, but it is one way of learning the "logic" of legal and political discourse.
There will be a mid-term examination on March 9th which will count for 40% of your grade. The final exam will be cumulative and it will count for 60% of your grade.
Assigned Books
Sheldon Goldman (1991) CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: CASES AND ESSAYS. Second edition. HarperCollins.
Paul Chevigny (1993) GIGS: JAZZ AND THE CABARET LAWS IN NEW YORK . CITY. Routledge.
Mari Matsuda et. al. (eds.) (1993) WORDS THAT WOUND. Westview Press
** Additional Readings
Summary
I. The Supreme Court and Constitutional Rights
A. The Politics of American Constitutional Development
B. The Justices
C. Rights, Expectations, and Entitlements
II. Freedom of Expression and Association
A. Political Speech
B. The Protection of Free Speech on Public and Private Property
III. Mobilizing Rights and Free Speech Litigation
IV. Freedom of the Press and National Security
A. Prior Restraint
B. Libel, Defamation and Public Figures
V. Obscenity, Pornography and Social Values
VI. The Problem of "Tolerance" in a Constitutional Democracy
VII. Privacy: Reproductive Rights and Gay Rights
VIII. Religion
A. Free Exercise of Religion
B. Establishment of Religion in Schools
IX. Equality and Freedom from Discrimination
A. Race
B. Gender
C. Wealth
Summary and Conclusions
Course Outline
I. The Supreme Court and Constitutional Rights
A. The Politics of American Constitutional Development
Goldman, Chapters 1-3 and pp. 889-898
B. The Justices
Goldman, Chapters 4 and 5
C. Rights, Expectations, and Entitlements
Goldman, re-read p. 16
** Goldberg v. Kelly (1970)
** DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services (1989)
II. Freedom of Expression and Association
Goldman, see Chapter 13 (pp. 410-423 and cases below)
A. Political Speech
1. Clear and Present Danger
Schenck v. U.S. (1919)
Abrams v. U.S. (1919)
Gitlow v. New York (1925)
Whitney v. California (1927)
Dennis v. U.S. (1951)
2. Advocacy of Belief v. Advocacy of Action
Yates v. U.S. (1957)
Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)
Lawrence, Matsuda, Delgado and Crenshaw, "Introduction," in WORDS THAT WOUND, pp. 1-16
3. Symbolic Speech
** Tinker v. Des Moines School Dist. (1969)
Clark v. Community For Creative Non-Violence (1984)
Texas v. Johnson (1989)
** R.A.V. v. St. Paul (1992)
Matsuda and Lawrence, "Burning Crosses and the R.A.V. Case," in WORDS . THAT WOUND, Chapter 6
B. The Protection of Free Speech on Public and Private Property
** Adderley v. Florida (1966)
** Collin v. Smith (1978) USCA, 7th Circuit
** Marsh v. Alabama (1946)
** Lloyd Corp. v. Tanner (1972)
Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins (1980)
III. Mobilizing Rights and Free Speech Litigation
Chevigny, GIGS: JAZZ AND THE CABARET LAWS IN NEW YORK CITY
MID-TERM EXAMINATION or PAPER-- March 9th
IV. Freedom of the Press and National Security
Goldman, see Chapter 14 (pp. 461-465, 471 and cases below)
A. Prior Restraint
Near v. Minnesota (1931)
New York Times Co. v. U.S. (1971)
B. Libel, Defamation and Public Figures
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)
** Gertz v. Robert Welch (1974)
** Hutchinson v. Proxmire (1979)
V. Obscenity, Pornography and Social Values
Goldman, pp. 467-472, 834-837 and cases below
Roth v. U.S. (1957)
Miller v. California (1973)
New York v. Ferber (1982)
Osborne v. Ohio (1990)
** American Booksellers Asso. v. Hudnut (1985), USCA, 7th Circuit
Crenshaw, "Beyond Racism and Misogyny: Black Feminism and 2 Live Crew," in WORDS THAT WOUND, Chapter 5
VI. The Problem of "Tolerance" in a Constitutional Democracy
** Emerson, "Conclusion and Epilogue," in THE SYSTEM OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
** Marcuse, "Repressive Tolerance," in A CRITIQUE OF PURE TOLERANCE
Matsuda, "Public Response to Racist Speech: Considering the Victim's Story," in WORDS THAT WOUND, Chapter 2
Lawrence, "If He Holler Let Him Go: Regulating Racist Speech on Campus," in WORDS THAT WOUND, Chapter 3
Delgado, "Words That Wound: A Tort Action for Racial Insults, Epithets, and Name Calling," in WORDS THAT WOUND, Chapter 4
VII. Privacy: Reproductive Rights and Gay Rights
Goldman, pp. 200-208, 760-776 and 208-213
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
Roe v. Wade (1973)
Harris v. McRae (1980)
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989)
Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)
VIII. Religion
Goldman, see Chapter 15 (pp. 511-520 and cases below)
A. Free Exercise of Religion
West Virginia State BD of ED v. Barnette (1943)
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
Heffron v. International Society of Krishna Consciousness (1981)
Goldman v. Weinberger (1986)
B. Establishment of Religion in Schools
Everson v. BD of ED (1947)
Abington School District v. Schempp (1963)
Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
County of Allegheny v. ACLU (1989)
IX. Equality and Freedom from Discrimination
A. Race
Goldman, see Chapter 18 (pp. 686-699 and cases below)
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg BD of ED (1971)
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
Martin v. Wilks (1989)
** Shaw v. Reno (1993)
B. Gender
Goldman, see Chapter 19 (pp. 748-753 and cases below)
Bradwell v. State of Illinois (1873)
Frontiero v. Richardson (1973)
Craig v. Borden (1976)
**California Federal Savings & Loan Asso. v. Guerra (1987)
C. Wealth
Goldman, pp. 811-815
San Antonio Independent School Dist. v. Rodriguez (1973)
Summary and Conclusions
FINAL EXAMINATION
CIVIL LIBERTIES
ADDITIONAL READINGS
Table of Contents
1. Goldberg v Kelly (1970)
2. DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services (1989)
3. Tinker v.Des Moines School Dist. (1969)
4. R.A.V. v. St. Paul (1992)
5. Adderley v.Florida (1966)
6. Collin v. Smith (1978) USCA, 7th Circuit
7. Marsh v. Alabama (1946)
8. Lloyd Corp. v. Tanner (1972)
9. Gertz v. Robert Welch (1974)
10. Hutchinson v. Proxmire (1979)
11. American Booksellers Asso. v. Hudnut (1985), USCA, 7th Circuit
12. Thomas I. Emerson (1970) "Conclusion and Epilogue," in THE SYSTEM OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION.
13. Herbert Marcuse, "Repressive Tolerance," in A CRITIQUE OF PURE TOLERANCE.