Chemerinsky on Constitutional Law – Individual Rights and Liberties

Chemerinsky on Constitutional Law: Individual Rights and Liberties will highlight the construction and interpretation of the U.S. Constitution through the centuries with an emphasis on protections of individual liberties and the evolution of equal protection. You'll learn the history behind the Constitution, cases that formed important precedent, and how changes in interpretation have been dependent on shifts in cultural and political climate as well as the composition of the Supreme Court.

In this course we will investigate the protection of individual rights and liberties and take a look at what rights are and are not protected and investigate several important shifts in jurisprudence. We'll begin by examining the structure of the Constitution's protection of individual rights. We'll then examine the circumstances under which, various rights and liberties can be regulated by the federal, state, and local government. We'll examine when the government can permissibly treat people unequally and when it can't. In our final two lectures, we'll take a close look at what is probably the most famous amendment to the Constitution, the First Amendment. Join me as we look at the questions both raised and answered by the Constitution and those that interpret it! By the end of this course, you should be able to: - Describe the individual liberties protected by the Constitution and account for the history and structure of their protection - Illustrate compromises found in the Constitution by citing examples and historic background - Articulate the importance of key cases such as Brown v. Board, Lemon v. Kurtzman, and Lochner v. New York - Explain how the outcome of cases is often dependent upon the current cultural and political climate as well as the composition of the court by citing particular cases and important shifts in the court's jurisprudence - Assess the relative suitability of various approaches to constitutional interpretation and analysis