Equality and Human Rights Courses

The courses listed below provide a taste of the Equality and Human Rights courses offered at the Law School, although no formal groupings exist in our curriculum. This list includes the courses taught in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years. Not all of these courses are offered every year, but this list will give you a representative sample of the variety of courses we might offer over any two-year period. Other new courses will likely be offered during your time at the Law School.

PLEASE NOTE: This page does not include courses for the current academic year. To browse current course offerings, visit my.UChicago.

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Courses

Access to Justice

Access to justice is a persistent and pressing problem in the American legal system. Significant structural barriers prevent people from exercising their rights and from getting fair outcomes from the civil legal system. Moreover, their lack of access to fair and equitable dispute resolution re-enforces existing systems of inequality. Drawing mostly on an emerging empirical literature on access to justice, this seminar will focus on the obstacles to providing quality civil legal aid and on solutions, including making courts less complex, increasing the supply of lawyers, and offering dispute resolution outside of the legal system. This class requires a major paper (6000-7500 words).

Previously:

• Autumn 2023: Anna-Maria Marshall and Thomas Kirsch
• Autumn 2022: Anna-Maria Marshall and Thomas Kirsch
• Autumn 2021: Anna-Maria Marshall and Thomas Kirsch

Advanced First Amendment Law

This seminar will explore some of the most interesting and contentious questions in contemporary First Amendment litigation. Topics covered will include: defining and regulating commercial speech; the regulation of social media platforms; the First Amendment and intellectual property law; and the meaning of viewpoint discrimination. Students must have taken Constitutional Law II to participate in the seminar.

Grading will depend on class participation and final research paper (6000-7500 words).

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Genevieve Lakier
• Spring 2023: Genevieve Lakier

American Legal History, 1607-1870: Colonies to Reconstruction

This course examines major themes and interpretations in the history of American law and legal institutions from the earliest European settlements through the Civil War. Topics include law in British North America; law and politics in the American Revolution; the drafting, ratification, and interpretation of the U.S. Constitution; debates over federalism, citizenship, slavery, and the status of Native nations; and the constitutional and legal consequences of the Civil War. Students who have taken American Legal History, 1800-1870: Revolution to Reconstruction should not enroll in this course.

The student's grade will be based on a final examination.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Alison LaCroix
• Winter 2023: Alison LaCroix

Big Problems

The Big Problems course will use multidisciplinary approaches to try to understand and tackle the most important problems facing our country or the world. The first 8 weeks will be taught by the instructors and outside experts, focusing on problems such as the Zika virus, Syrian migration to Europe, cybersecurity, nuclear waste storage, opioid addiction, sex trafficking, and policing and race relations. Students will work in teams of students to develop feasible policy or private sector solutions to a problem of their choosing and make a presentation in the last 2 weeks. Presentations will be made to instructors, outside experts and fellow students. Final grade will be based on the presentations and a companion paper (6000-7500 words).

Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: David Weisbach and Anup Malani
• Spring 2022: David Weisbach and Anup Malani
• Spring 2021: David Weisbach and Anup Malani
• Spring 2020: David Weisbach and Anup Malani
• Spring 2019: David Weisbach, Anup Malani, Robert Topel, and Kevin Murphy
• Spring 2018: David Weisbach, Anup Malani, Robert Topel, and Kevin Murphy

Building Legal Change: Moving Advocacy Outside of Court

The Zealous curriculum envisions lawyers as advocates for systemic change, teaching students the foundational skills they need -- the fundamentals of communication, language, collaboration, campaigns, storytelling, and messaging -- to be effective change agents. The curriculum is designed to appeal to and accommodate students who are committed to social justice and public interest law, as well as students who are unsure about what type of law they want to practice, or if they want to practice at all. The curriculum is not based in hypotheticals. Through immersive and interactive exercises, learning experiences, discussions, creation of art and story, and skill-building sessions, the curriculum is centered around collaboratively devising strategy, message, and story to support each student's social justice issue of choice. As lawyers, we learn to advocate in the courtroom, yet there are countless opportunities for advocacy outside those four walls. Lawyers who know how to harness their advocacy skills beyond the courtroom--using powerful language and messaging strategies, reaching new audiences, collaborating effectively with communities, and leveraging media and storytelling--can influence the thinking of policymakers, social influencers, and public opinion in critical ways. These are powerful levers to drive social justice change. At a time of social and racial justice reckoning, litigators must have the skills, strategy, and knowledge to be intentional and effective advocates for the issues that animate them. That education starts here. This seminar will have substantial out-of-class work, group projects, etc. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Alexzandria Poole, Scott Hechinger

Church and State

What is the optimal model for church-state relations? Throughout history, nations wrestled with this question and experimented with setting the bounds in different places. In this seminar, we will read classic texts (e.g. J.S. Mill, Kymlicka, Okin) that offer different theoretical approaches to constructing the church-state relationship, and will explore the shifting American model in comparison to alternative models developed in other countries. Students will write a series of reaction papers.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: Netta Barak Corren

Civil Rights Clinic: Police Accountability

The Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project (PAP) is one of the nation's leading law civil rights clinics focusing on issues of criminal justice. Through the lens of live-client work, students examine how and where litigation fits into broader efforts to improve police accountability and ultimately the criminal justice system. Students provide legal services to indigent victims of police abuse in federal and state courts. They litigate civil rights cases at each level of the court system from trial through appeals. Some students also represent children and adults in related juvenile or criminal defense matters. Students take primary responsibility for all aspects of the litigation, including client counseling, fact investigation, case strategy, witness interviews, legal research, pleadings and legal memoranda, discovery, depositions, motion practice, evidentiary hearings, trials, and appeals. A significant amount of legal writing is expected. Students work in teams on cases or projects, and meet with the instructor on at minimum a weekly basis. Students also take primary responsibility for the Clinic's policy and public education work. PAP teaches students to apply and critically examine legal theory in the context of representation of people in need. It teaches students to analyze how and why individual cases of abuse occur and to connect them to systemic problems, often leading to "public impact" litigation and other strategies for policy reform. Through our immersion in live client work, we engage fundamental issues of race, class, and gender, and their intersection with legal institutions. We instruct students in legal ethics and advocacy skills. And we seek to instill in them a public service ethos, as they begin their legal careers. Students are required to complete, prior to their third year, Evidence, Criminal Procedure I, and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop. Constitutional Law III is also recommended.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Craig Futterman
• Winter 2024: Craig Futterman
• Autumn 2022: Craig Futterman
• Spring 2023: Craig Futterman
• Autumn 2023: Craig Futterman
• Winter 2023: Craig Futterman
• Spring 2022: Craig Futterman
• Autumn 2021: Craig Futterman
• Spring 2021: Craig Futterman
• Winter 2021: Craig Futterman
• Autumn 2020: Craig Futterman
• Spring 2020: Craig Futterman
• Winter 2020: Craig Futterman
• Winter 2019: Craig Futterman
• Autumn 2019: Craig Futterman
• Spring 2019: Craig Futterman
• Winter 2019: Craig Futterman
• Autumn 2018: Craig Futterman
• Spring 2018: Craig Futterman
• Winter 2018: Craig Futterman
• Autumn 2017: Craig Futterman

Comparative Race, Ethnicity and Constitutional Design

Issues of multiracial democracy have come to the fore in recent years in the United States and many other countries. This seminar starts with the premise that our particular way of doing things is not the only one. It will review the comparative literature on racial and ethnic formation, stratification and conflict. It will focus on the role of constitutional design in exacerbating or ameliorating conflict. Readings will examine the politics of race and ethnicity in most other major regions of the world, along with theoretical accounts on what constitutional design can and cannot do. Students will pick a country to focus on as we work through the material.

This class requires a major paper (6000-7500 words). Participation may be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Tom Ginsburg
• Spring 2023: Tom Ginsburg

Constitutional Crisis, Liberal Amendment, and the Practice of Law

The constitutional clash and crisis unfolding before our eyes, sometimes labeled "acute polarization," rests at bottom on a seemingly never-ending struggle between, on one hand, overly literal-minded constitutional originalism and, on the other, overly politicized constitutional pragmatism.

The thesis on offer in this course - for discussion, refinement, and criticism - maintains that these competing perspectives will be reconciled, sooner or later, in a series of constitutional amendments reflecting a liberal, logical, apolitical constitutionalism that modulates and enables political discussion and decision-making without channeling it toward preferred outcomes. Our thesis holds that we already know the outlines of the end to the epochal story of our times. What remains to be written are middle chapters that will carry us from clash and crisis toward reform and resolution.

This course offers a chance for students to think about and try their hand at composing those middle chapters. The goal is to help students understand law from a perspective that avoids narrower mindsets that drive wedges between lawyer and lawyer and citizen and citizen, while failing to persuade the vast majority of federal judges. By teaching students to draw the surprisingly firm connections between liberal constitutionalism and winning advocacy, the course seeks a well-balanced grounding in both high-level theory and day-to-day practice.

The regular course instructors, Lecturers in Law Robert Gasaway and Anagha Sundararajan, will be joined at times by a guest lecturer, Ashley C. Parrish, who is the co-head of King & Spalding's national appellate practice. In addition, one of the theory classes will be joined (via Zoom) by Nobel Laureate Vernon L. Smith.

In addition to one long paper (6000-7500 words), short reaction papers (totaling less than 3000 words) will also factor into students' grades.

Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: Robert Gasaway and Anagha Sundararajan

Constitutional Law II: Freedom of Speech

A study of the doctrine and theory of the constitutional law of freedom of speech. The subjects for discussion include advocacy of unlawful conduct, defamation, invasion of privacy, commercial speech, obscenity and pornography, offensive speech, symbolic expression, protest in public places, regulation of campaign finance, and selective government subsidies of speech. Students who have completed Constitutional Law IV are ineligible to enroll in this course. Students may take a final exam or write a major paper (20-25 pages).

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Geofrey R. Stone
• Winter 2024: Genevieve Lakier
• Winter 2023: Genevieve Lakier
• Autumn 2022: Wesley Campbell
• Spring 2022: Geofrey R. Stone
• Winter 2022: Geofrey R. Stone
• Spring 2021: Geoffrey R. Stone
• Autumn 2020: Genevieve Lakier
• Spring 2020: Geoffrey R. Stone
• Autumn 2019: Genevieve Lakier
• Winter 2019: Geoffrey R. Stone
• Autumn 2018: Genevieve Lakier
• Winter 2018: Geoffrey R. Stone
• Autumn 2017: Laura Weinrib

Constitutional Law III: Equal Protection and Substantive Due Process

This course considers the history, theory, and contemporary law of the post-Civil War Amendments to the Constitution, particularly the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The central subjects are the constitutional law governing discrimination on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, and the recognition of certain fundamental rights. Throughout, students consider foundational questions, including the role of courts in a democracy and the question of how the Constitution should be interpreted. The student's grade is based on a final take-home examination. Participation may be considered in final grading. Open to 1L students only.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Genevieve Lakier and Aziz Huq
• Winter 2024: Geoffrey R. Stone
• Spring 2023: Genevieve Lakier and Aziz Huq
• Winter 2023: Geoffrey R. Stone
• Spring 2023: Aziz Huq
• Spring 2022: Aziz Huq
• Winter 2022: David A. Strauss
• Autumn 2021: Geoffrey R. Stone
• Spring 2021: Aziz Huq
• Spring 2021: Genevieve Lakier
• Winter 2021: David A. Strauss
• Spring 2020: Aziz Huq
• Winter 2020: Geoffrey R. Stone
• Spring 2019: Justin Driver
• Winter 2019: David A. Strauss
• Spring 2018: Justin Driver
• Autumn 2017: Nicholas Stephanopoulos

Constitutional Law V: Freedom of Religion

This course explores religious freedom in America, especially under the first amendment. It is recommended that students first take Constitutional Law I. Students who have completed Constitutional Law IV are ineligible to enroll in this course. The grade is based on a substantial paper (6000-7500 words) or a series of short papers with class participation taken into account. Instructor consent required for paper to be considered for SRP certification. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2023: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2022: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2021: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2020: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2019: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2018: Mary Anne Case

Constitutional Law VII: Parent, Child, and State

This course considers the constitutional law governing the rights of parents and children and the role that constitutional law plays in shaping children's development. Among the topics discussed are parents' right to control the upbringing of their children; children's rights of speech, religion, procreative freedom and against cruel and unusual punishment; children's procedural rights in school and in the criminal justice system; parental identity rights, including rights associated with paternity claims, termination proceedings, assisted reproduction, and adoption; the scope of the state's authority to intervene to protect children, to regulate their conduct, or to influence their upbringing; and the role of race and culture in defining the family.

This class has a final exam or a major paper may be written (6000-7500 words). Students wishing to pursue the paper option should contact the instructor to discuss this within the first week of class.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Emily Buss
• Spring 2021: Emily Buss
• Spring 2019: Emily Buss
• Spring 2018: Emily Buss

Constitutionalism After AI

This seminar explores the effect that artificial intelligence (AI) has on constitutional rights and values. "AI" here means the range of actually existing computational instruments for making predictions and identifying correlations from large pools of data. "Constitutional values" is a term that captures not just the individual rights identified in the U.S. Constitution, but more generally the fundamental interests and structural norms picked out by the American constitution or other liberal democratic organic laws. AI is increasingly used in legal decision-making and their role is likely to increase in the next several decades, dramatically transforming our legal system. These new tools pose a set of challenges to constitutional values: This seminar explores those challenges. A series of research papers (6000-7500 words) is required. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Aziz Huq
• Spring 2022: Aziz Huq

Constitutions Lab: Myanmar

The coup d'état initiated by the Myanmar military in 2021 has created a horrific humanitarian situation. It has also brought a host of legal challenges, including: the question of who properly represents the country at the United Nations and other international fora; the status of existing peace agreements with armed resistance organizations; and the future constitution of the country. This Lab will grapple with these issues. It will first cover a series of background readings on the country, followed by short assignments that will inform constitution-making efforts under way for Myanmar. Group projects and memos will be the basis of evaluation. Participation may be considered in final grading. Enrollment is limited and by instructor approval only. Interested students should send a cv and statement of interest no later than noon on November 11 to Prof. Gelbort gelbort@uchicago.edu.

Previously:

• Autumn 2023: Jason Gelbort
• Winter 2023: Jason Gelbort
• Autumn 2021: Jason Gelbort and Tom Ginsburg

Criminal and Juvenile Justice Clinic

The Criminal and Juvenile Justice Clinic (CJJC) provides legal representation to poor children and young adults who are accused or have been convicted of delinquency and crime. The CJJC is a national leader in expanding the concept of legal representation for children and young adults to include their social, psychological, and educational needs. Students will examine the juvenile and criminal legal systems' relationship to the poor and marginalized through litigation, legislative advocacy, and public education. Students will learn a wide array of litigation skills. They will draft motions, briefs, and other pleadings in state, appellate, and federal courts. They will also interview clients and witnesses; inspect crime scenes; conduct fact investigations; participate in hearings, trials, sentencings, and post-conviction matters; and pursue alternatives to incarceration. Licensed third-year students may appear in court, argue motions and appeals, negotiate with opposing counsel, and serve as "second chairs" for trials. The CJJC also advocates for system change and for smart policies for crime and violence prevention. Students work in teams, including with the CJJC social worker and social work students, to foster collaboration and ensure continuity in representation. Participation in the CJJC includes a weekly seminar session. Students wishing to enroll are strongly encouraged to take Evidence during their second year and to take Criminal Procedure and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop or another Trial Advocacy course. The CJJC is a full-year clinic with a preference for 3L students. Students with questions may contact Professor Erica Zunkel at ezunkel@uchicago.edu to learn more.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Herschella G. Conyers, Erica Zunkel
• Spring 2024: Herschella G. Conyers, Erica Zunkel, Craig Futterman
• Spring 2023: Herschella Conyers
• Winter 2023: Herschella Conyers
• Autumn 2022: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2022: Herschella Conyers
• Winter 2022: Herschella Conyers
• Autumn 2021: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2021: Herschella Conyers
• Winter 2021: Herschella Conyers
• Autumn 2020: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2020: Herschella Conyers
• Winter 2020: Herschella Conyers
• Autumn 2019: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2019: Herschella Conyers
• Winter 2019: Herschella Conyers
• Autumn 2018: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2018: Herschella Conyers and Randolph Stone
• Winter 2018: Herschella Conyers and Randolph Stone
• Autumn 2017: Herschella Conyers and Randolph Stone

Criminal Procedure I: The Investigative Process

This course covers the constitutional law regulating the investigatory process, including searches, seizures, and confessions. The grade is based on a final examination.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Adam Davidson and John Rappaport
• Winter 2024: Sharon R. Fairley
• Spring 2023: Adam Davidson
• Winter 2023: Sharon R. Fairley
• Spring 2022: John Rappaport
• Winter 2022: Sharon R. Fairley
• Autumn 2021: Trevor Gardner
• Spring 2021: John Rappaport
• Winter 2021: Richard McAdams
• Autumn 2020: Sharon R. Fairley
• Winter 2020: Sharon R. Fairley
• Autumn 2019: John Rappaport
• Spring 2019: John Rappaport
• Winter 2019: Richards McAdams
• Spring 2018: Aziz Huq
• Winter 2018: John Rappaport

Criminal Procedure II: From Bail to Jail

Criminal Procedure II surveys the criminal process after an individual has been formally charged through the pretrial process, the trial, and beyond. Criminal Procedure I is NOT a prerequisite, and no knowledge of Criminal Procedure I is needed for this course. While Criminal Procedure I examines the rules that govern police investigations, this course examines the constitutional and procedural rules that govern criminal proceedings as they occur chronologically. Topics include: sufficiency of the charging instrument, joinder and severance, discovery, jury selection, selected trial issues (including confrontation rights), double jeopardy, sentencing, post-trial motions and post-conviction relief. The final grade is based on a final examination.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Sharon R. Fairley
• Spring 2023: Alison Siegler
• Spring 2022: Sharon R. Fairley
• Spring 2021: Alison Siegler
• Spring 2020: Alison Siegler
• Spring 2019: Alison Siegler
• Spring 2018: Alison Siegler

Criminal Procedure, Decarceration, and Transformative Advocacy

This seminar demonstrates that one dedicated lawyer has the power to change the legal system. This class surveys 21st Century decarceration movements, with a focus on efforts to reduce racial discrimination and disparities in the criminal legal system. This seminar also provides a substantive grounding in key aspects of criminal procedure, as we examine decarceration movements in the arenas of bail, sentencing, policing, jury selection, and exculpatory evidence, amongst others. We use a uniquely practical lens, exploring strategic mechanisms that legal advocates employ to drive transformation-including systemic impact litigation, legislative advocacy, and court-watching. While course material focuses on the criminal legal system, our discussions will also provide tools for those interested in system-change in other contexts. There are no prerequisites. Students taking the class for 2 credits will complete 2-3 reaction papers. Students taking the class for 3 credits will write a total of 6000-7500 words, with the option of conducting either a substantial writing project (eligible for WP or SRP credit) or a series of 4- to 5-page papers requiring outside research. Participation will be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Alison Siegler

Critical Race Studies

This course provides an introduction to critical race theory through reading canonical works by critical race scholars; it explores a selection of current legal debates from a critical race perspective; and it contextualizes critical race theory through the study of related movements in legal scholarship, including legal realism, critical legal studies, and social science research on discrimination and structural racism. We will attempt to identify the ways in which critical race scholarship has influenced, or should influence, legal research and law school pedagogy. Requirements for this course include thoughtful class participation and completion of a series of short papers (6000-7500 words).

Previously:

• Spring 2023: William H. J. Hubbard
• Spring 2022: William H. J. Hubbard
• Spring 2021: William H. J. Hubbard

Current Trends in Public Law Scholarship

Recent events, including President Trump's controversial policies and actions, the COVID-19 pandemic, and nationwide protests over policy brutality, have placed a strain on administrative law and institutions in the United States. In this seminar, invited speakers from other law schools will present scholarship that examines these developments. The seminar serves the dual purpose of introducing students to scholarly approaches to understanding contemporary events, and educating them about the relevant administrative and constitutional rules, particularly those that address crises and fast-changing problems. Students will read academic articles, draft short reaction papers, and be prepared to ask questions of the speaker. The Q&A with each paper's author will be followed by discussion among the students and professors regarding the strengths and shortcomings of the scholarship presented.

This class requires a series of reaction papers. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Eric Posner and Jonathan Masur
• Autumn 2023: Johnathan Masur and Eric A. Posner
• Autumn 2021: Johnathan Masur and Eric A. Posner

Disability Rights Law

This course will focus on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including the interpretation of the definition of disability and the subsequent ADA Amendments Act; employment discrimination; the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision guaranteeing community integration; and the ADA's application to healthcare, education, websites and criminal justice. In addition to the ADA, the seminar will review disability laws related to special education and housing.

This class requires a series of very short reaction papers and an 2350-3000 word term paper (for 2 credits). To earn 3 credits students must write a term paper of 3500-4400 words in addition to the reaction papers. Participation may be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Barry Taylor
• Winter 2022: Andrew Webb and Barry Taylor
• Winter 2023: Barry Taylor

Education Law & Policy

Public schools have been a dramatic setting for Constitutional challenges for over 100 years, and K-12 education has been shaped by cases on the role of government in education, by policies intended to promote equality of opportunity and access, and by evolving methods of reform. Students will examine well-established education precedents while learning how education law and policy have developed. The class focus, however, will be on cutting-edge issues.

Students will explore policy choices under theories of jurisprudence including critical race theory and law and economics. Readings will include Constitutional issues of speech, privacy, equal protection, and freedom of religion, as well as state constitutional rights to adequate education. In addition, there will be applications of statutory and regulatory law. Broad course themes include: equity in access to education and the disparate impact of policy choices, particularly during the pandemic, on students who are members of groups with limited access to educational opportunity historically; the goals of public education and the tension between government authority to ensure these goals are met, and family rights to control the values and education presented to their children; and the balance between freedom of expression for students and the goal of schools to provide a safe teaching and learning environment. Current disputes will be analyzed through the lens of access to a quality education at every aspect of the education process.

Topics may include: K-12 student data privacy; transgender student rights; practices that may create a school-to-prison pipeline; safe spaces and the First Amendment; artificial intelligence digital tutors and rights to adequate education; tax credit scholarships for religious schools; the impact of growth of charter schools; teachers' rights to work conditions in a pandemic; sanctuary districts and excluding immigrants from the Census; and K-12 teacher tenure and compensation.

This class requires a major paper (6000-7500 words). Participation may be considered in final grading. This is a remote class that will have two required in person sessions at the end of the quarter. Students may sit in Room B to attend the remote sessions on their laptop.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Susan Epstein
• Spring 2021: Susan Epstein

Exoneration Project Clinic

The Exoneration Project is a post-conviction clinical project that represents people convicted of crimes of which they are innocent. Students working in our Project assist in every aspect of representation including selecting cases, advising clients, investigating and developing evidence, drafting pleadings, making oral arguments, examining witnesses at evidentiary hearings, and appellate litigation. Through participation in our Project, students explore issues of error and inequality in the criminal justice system, including police and prosecutorial misconduct, the use of faulty scientific evidence, coerced confessions, unreliable eyewitness testimony, and ineffective assistance of counsel. The Exoneration Project is an intensive, rigorous experience designed for students who are committed to providing the best possible representation to deserving clients. Second-year students wishing to enroll in the Project are encouraged to take Evidence in their second year. Third-year students are required to complete, prior to their third year, Evidence and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop (although we recognize that that may not always be possible and will consider appropriate alternatives). Students are strongly encouraged but not required to take Criminal Procedure I and II. Students will receive credit for the work they do in accordance with the credit rules for all other clinical programs. Given the nature of our work, students are encouraged (but not required) to enroll in our clinic for at least a year.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Russel Ainsworth, Karl Arthur Leonard, and Lauren Myerscough-Mueller
• Winter 2024: Russel Ainsworth, Karl Arthur Leonard, and Lauren Myerscough-Mueller
• Spring 2023: Russel Ainsworth, Karl Arthur Leonard, and Lauren Myerscough-Mueller
• Winter 2023: Russel Ainsworth, Karl Arthur Leonard, and Lauren Myerscough-Mueller
• Autumn 2022: Russel Ainsworth, Karl Arthur Leonard, and Lauren Myerscough-Mueller
• Spring 2022: Russel Ainsworth, Karl Arthur Leonard, and Lauren Myerscough-Mueller
• Winter 2022: Russel Ainsworth, Karl Arthur Leonard, and Lauren Myerscough-Mueller
• Autumn 2021: Russel Ainsworth, Karl Arthur Leonard, and Lauren Myerscough-Mueller
• Spring 2021: Russel Ainsworth, Karl Arthur Leonard, and Lauren Myerscough-Mueller
• Winter 2021: Russel Ainsworth, Karl Arthur Leonard, and Lauren Myerscough-Mueller
• Autumn 2020: Russel Ainsworth, Karl Arthur Leonard, and Lauren Myerscough-Mueller
• Spring 2020: Joshua Tepfer, Karl Arthur Leonard, and Russel Ainsworth
• Winter 2020: Joshua Tepfer, Karl Arthur Leonard, and Russel Ainsworth
• Autumn 2019: Joshua Tepfer, Karl Arthur Leonard, and Russel Ainsworth
• Spring 2019: Tara Thompson, David Owens, and Joshua Tepfer
• Winter 2019: Tara Thompson, David Owens, Joshua Tepfer, Russell Ainsworth, and Karl Leonard
• Autumn 2018: Tara Thompson, David Owens, Joshua Tepfer, Russell Ainsworth, and Karl Leonard
• Spring 2018: Tara Thompson, David Owens, Joshua Tepfer, and Russell Ainsworth
• Winter 2018: Tara Thompson, David Owens, Joshua Tepfer, and Russell Ainsworth
• Autumn 2017: Tara Thompson, David Owens, Joshua Tepfer, and Russell Ainsworth

Fair Housing

This course will focus on the law and policy of fair housing, broadly construed. Substantial attention will be devoted to antidiscrimination laws in housing, including the federal Fair Housing Act. We will also explore existing and proposed policies for improving access of lower-income people to housing. The causes and consequences of residential segregation will be examined, as well as the effects of zoning and other land use controls. Additional topics may include gentrification, eviction, squatting, mortgages and foreclosures, and the use of eminent domain. Grading is based on a final examination; participation may be taken into account as indicated on the syllabus. Open to 1L students only.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Lee Fennell
• Spring 2023: Lee Fennell
• Spring 2021: Lee Fennell

Gender Violence and the Law

This seminar focuses on the intersection of gender-based violence and criminal law, concluding with a discussion of civil remedies for survivors and their limitations. It begins by examining the legal history of gender violence, including marital rape and domestic violence and the theories underlying state nonintervention which continue to influence the law today. Students will explore the concepts of resistance, force, threats, and consent as they relate to sexual violence, with discussion on shifting standards in the law and their theoretical underpinnings. Other class topics will include femicide and the use of the provocation defense in homicide cases, mandatory prosecution policies in domestic violence cases, the state's obligation to domestic violence survivors and related constitutional claims, credibility, juror and systemic bias, acquaintance rape, the intricate balance between victim and defendant rights, and historic underreporting and under-prosecution of gender-based violence. One class day will focus on evidentiary issues such as Battered Women's Syndrome, Rape Trauma Syndrome, and Rape Shield. Grades will be based on two short (900-1500 word) reaction papers and a final (3000-3500 word) research paper, as well as class participation.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Elizabeth Payne
• Spring 2023: Elizabeth Payne

Global Human Rights Clinic

The Global Human Rights Clinic (GHRC) works alongside partners and communities to advance justice and address the inequalities and structural disparities that lead to human rights violations worldwide. The GHRC uses diverse tactics and interdisciplinary methods to tackle pressing and under-addressed human rights issues. The GHRC is constantly advancing the dual aims of advocating for important change around the world, and training the next generation of effective, ethical, creative lawyers. As part of this we seek to innovate and think not just about what the human rights field is, but what it could be and what it should be. Students in the GHRC work in project teams, and develop essential lawyering skills, including interviewing, media advocacy, cultural competency, strategic thinking, teamwork, and leadership. The clinic uses a broad range of tactics, including documentation, reporting and mixed methods factfinding; legislative and institutional reform; investigations; and litigation. The work of the GHRC varies each year but includes investigating and advancing accountability for mass atrocities, war crimes, and armed conflict, addressing the impacts of colonialism, advocating for equality and non-discrimination, and advancing socio-economic rights. Students may enroll for up to three credits in the Clinic per quarter. New students to GHRC enrolled in the J.D. program should plan to take the Clinic for three quarters for a minimum of two credits each quarter, unless they receive faculty approval prior to registration. Continuing J.D. students and LLMs may take the Clinic for any allowable amount of credits and quarters. Participation may be considered in final grading. Students who have particular language skills, especially Spanish or French highly encouraged to participate. Recommended (not required) co-requisites: Public International Law.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Anjli Parrin
• Winter 2024: Anjli Parrin
• Autumn 2023: Anjli Parrin
• Spring 2023: Anjli Parrin
• Winter 2023: Anjli Parrin
• Spring 2022: Claudia M. Flores and Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat
• Winter 2022: Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat
• Autumn 2022: Anjli Parrins
• Autumn 2021: Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat
• Spring 2021: Claudia M. Flores and Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat
• Winter 2021: Claudia M. Flores and Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat
• Autumn 2020: Claudia M. Flores and Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat

Global Inequality

Global income and wealth are highly concentrated. The richest 2% of the population own about half of the global assets. Per capita income in the United States is around $66,000 and in Europe it is around $38,500, while in India it is $6,400 and in Congo, it is $1,100. There are equally unsettling inequalities in longevity, health, and education. In this interdisciplinary seminar, we ask what duties nations and individuals have to address these inequalities and what are the best strategies for doing so. What role must each country play in helping itself? What is the role of international agreements and agencies, of NGOs, of political institutions, and of corporations in addressing global poverty? How do we weigh policies that emphasize growth against policies that emphasize within-country equality, health, or education? In seeking answers to these questions, the class will combine readings on the law and economics of global development with readings on the philosophy of global justice. A particular focus will be on the role that legal institutions, both domestic and international, play in discharging these duties. For, example, we might focus on how a nation with natural resources can design legal institutions to ensure they are exploited for the benefit of the citizens of the country. Students will be expected to write a paper (6000-7500 words), which may qualify for substantial writing credit. Non-law students need instructor consent to enroll. Participation may be considered in final grading. This class will begin the week of January 2, 2023.

Previously:

• Winter 2023: Martha C. Nussbaum and David Weisbach
• Winter 2021: Martha C. Nussbaum and David Weisbach
• Winter 2019: Martha C. Nussbaum and David Weisbach

Greenberg Seminars: The Evil Corporation

This seminar looks at the depiction of corporations as evildoers in fiction. The course materials will include various films, books, and television shows where corporations play major antagonist roles. The seminar will ask whether the depiction is grounded in reality and how it reflects popular views of the role that businesses play in society. We will also explore legal themes related to corporate social responsibility, legal personhood, and corporate criminality while asking how these legal issues interact with the fictional depictions we study. The seminar will meet at 6:30 pm on January 11, January 25, February 8, and February 22. The time and date of the final meeting will be determined later. Graded Pass/Fail and is worth 1 credit which defaults to the winter quarter.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Anthony Casey, Joshua Macey, and Emily Underwood
• Winter 2023: Anthony Casey, Joshua Macey, and Emily Underwood

Greenberg Seminars: Order Without Law

This Greenberg will explore the informal social ordering that takes shape in the shadow of the law and in law's interstitial spaces. We will begin with Robert Ellickson's influential book about how cattle ranchers in Shasta County, California settle disputes outside the governing property rules and in ways that deviate from them. Other topics may include: the informal IP of Roller Derby pseudonyms, extralegal agreements among diamond sellers, dispute resolution among tuna merchants, systems of social sanctions within prisons, and the use of textiles as informal property and currency among enslaved people, women, and others who lacked formal property rights. Graded Pass/Fail and is worth 1 credit which defaults to the autumn quarter.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: John Rappaport and Bridget Fahey
• Winter 2023: John Rappaport and Bridget Fahey
• Autumn 2022: John Rappaport and Bridget Fahey

Greenberg Seminars: Race and Public Health

This Greenberg seminar will examine the interaction of public health questions (broadly defined to include both the public health system generally and environmental determinants of health) and racial dynamics in the US and beyond. We will read five texts on different areas of this topic.

Graded Pass/Fail and is worth 1 credit which defaults to the autumn quarter.

The Greenberg Seminars Lottery will take place after the initial registration and bidding period, from September 14-16, 2022. Meetings have not been set by the faculty, but will likely take place on weekend mornings throughout the year.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Daniel Abebe and Aziz Huq
• Winter 2023: Daniel Abebe and Aziz Huq
• Autumn 2022: Daniel Abebe and Aziz Huq

Greenberg Seminars: Rational Do-Gooding

Effective Altruism is an important movement. In this seminar we will read books that favor saving human lives in the short and long run, but we will also question these goals and ask how and why we can do the most good after our law school experiences. Should we work hard and then donate money to good causes, or should we participate in a personal way? Should we care about the environment when it is at the sacrifice of caring about Malaria in parts of the world where people are suffering every day?

You must be free on Thursday evenings after 7pm (for 5 or 6 meetings) in the Autumn and Winter. We will be joined by Visiting Faculty, and we will have dessert or dinner at the Professors' home. Graded Pass/Fail and is worth 1 credit which defaults to the autumn quarter.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Julie Roin and Saul Levmore
• Winter 2023: Julie Roin and Saul Levmore
• Autumn 2022: Julie Roin and Saul Levmore

Greenberg Seminars: Trials of the Centuries

In this Greenberg Seminar, we will examine famous trials from across the centuries (from the 17th century to today), using the trial as a prism through which to view changing ideas of guilt and innocence; the legal system; race, class, and gender; and personal responsibility. Class materials may include both readings and A/V media. Possible topics include the trial of Aaron Burr, the Salem witch trials, the O.J. Simpson murder trial, and the Nuremburg trials. This Greenberg will meet on 10/12 and 11/2 in the autumn quarter from 6:30-8:30PM.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: John Rappaport and Genevieve Lakier
• Winter 2024: John Rappaport and Genevieve Lakier
• Autumn 2023: John Rappaport and Genevieve Lakier

Hate Crime Law

This seminar will provide students with an overview of hate crime. The course will explore the emergence of modern hate crime laws in the United States and the legal controversies surrounding them, including in the context of contemporary social issues. We will examine the challenges of data collection and the impact of data on policy analysis. Law enforcement and hate crime prosecution will be reviewed. The course will also consider comparative international approaches to hate crime law, as well as the limits of the domestic legal system to effectively address hate crime through conventional and alternative options. Grading will be based on class participation and a final research paper of 6000-7500 words.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: Juan Carlos Linares

Hellenistic Ethics

The three leading schools of the Hellenistic era (starting in Greece in the late fourth century B. C. E. and extending through the second century C. E. in Rome) - Epicureans, Skeptics, and Stoics - produced philosophical work of lasting value, frequently neglected because of the fragmentary nature of the Greek evidence and people's (unjustified) contempt for Roman philosophy. We will study in a detailed and philosophically careful way the major ethical arguments of all three schools. Topics to be addressed include: the nature and role of pleasure; the role of the fear of death in human life; other sources of disturbance (such as having definite ethical beliefs?); the nature of the emotions and their role in a moral life; the nature of appropriate action; the meaning of the injunction to "live in accordance with nature". If time permits we will say something about Stoic political philosophy and its idea of global duty. Major sources (read in English) will include the three surviving letters of Epicurus and other fragments; the skeptical writings of Sextus Empiricus; the presentation of Stoic ideas in the Greek biographer Diogenes Laertius and the Roman philosophers Cicero and Seneca.

This class will begin on Tuesday, September 27 (one day before the rest of the Law classes begin). Attendance for the class is required.

Method of evaluation: A seminar paper of 6000-7500 words and an in-class presentation for the class is required.

Admission by permission of the instructor. Permission must be sought in writing by September 15.

PhD students in Philosophy, Classics, and Political theory do not need permission to enroll.

Prerequisite for others: An undergraduate major in philosophy or some equivalent solid philosophy preparation, comparable to that of first-year PhD students, plus my permission. This is a 500 level course.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: Martha C Nussbaum

Human Trafficking and the Link to Public Corruption

This course provides a comprehensive, practical introduction to the history and present-day reality of human trafficking both domestically and internationally. In the year of the 20th anniversary of the Palermo Protocol, the course will look back on how far individual states have come in their efforts to fulfill their obligations under the Protocol. By reviewing the challenges to criminal prosecution first, the course will explore alternative paths to eradicating this transnational human rights crime that impacts over 40 million individuals annually. Reviewing the array of supply chain laws domestically and internationally first and then exploring industry-wide practices, students will learn to examine solutions from an array of laws that reach beyond merely criminal prosecution. Recognizing that public corruption plays a significant and powerful role in aiding the crime to continue with little societal repercussions, the course will explore ways in which the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the TVPRA have mechanisms to enforce these violations that provide billions of dollars to the traffickers. Taught by federal district court judge, Hon. Virginia M. Kendall. This class requires a major paper of 6000-7500 words.

Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Virginia Kendall
• Winter 2023: Virginia Kendall
• Winter 2022: Virginia Kendall
• Winter 2021: Virginia Kendall
• Winter 2020: Virginia Kendall

Immigrants' Rights Clinic

The Immigrants' Rights Clinic provides legal representation to immigrant communities in Chicago, including individual representation of immigrants in removal proceedings, immigration-related complex federal litigation, and policy and community education projects on behalf of community-based organizations. Students will interview clients, develop claims and defenses, draft complaints, engage in motion practice and settlement discussions, appear in federal, state, and administrative courts, conduct oral arguments and trials, brief and argue appeals, and engage in media advocacy. In the policy and community education projects, students may develop and conduct community presentations, draft and advocate for legislation at the state and local levels, research and draft public policy reports, and provide support to immigrants' rights organizations.

Past and current projects include challenges to national security detention, a civil rights lawsuit alleging Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment challenges against state law enforcement involved in an arrest that led to deportation, Seventh Circuit appeals of removal orders, representation of asylum seekers and human trafficking victims, suing local police departments for failure to comply with immigration-related Illinois state laws, representing Afghans left behind after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and publication of the first guide to the immigration consequences of criminal convictions for criminal defense attorneys in Illinois.

The seminar will meet for two hours per week and will include classes on the fundamentals of immigration law and policy as well as skills-based classes that connect to the students' fieldwork. Both 2L and 3L students are encouraged to apply. 2Ls must enroll for 2 credits per quarter. 3Ls can enroll for 2 or 3 credits per quarter. Students are encouraged (but not required) to co-enroll in Immigration Law in the fall.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: A. Nicole Hallett
• Winter 2024: A. Nicole Hallett
• Autum 2023: A. Nicole Hallett
• Autumn 2022: A. Nicole Hallett
• Spring 2023: A. Nicole Hallett
• Winter 2023: A. Nicole Hallett
• Spring 2022: A. Nicole Hallett
• Winter 2022: A. Nicole Hallett
• Autumn 2021: A. Nicole Hallett
• Spring 2021: A. Nicole Hallett
• Winter 2021: A. Nicole Hallett
• Autumn 2020: A. Nicole Hallett
• Spring 2020: A. Nicole Hallett
• Winter 2020: A. Nicole Hallett

Islamic Law

This seminar provides an introduction to the sources of Islamic law, its evolution over the centuries and its application in real-world cases. Although the focus of the seminar will be largely on the classical tradition, it will also introduce students to a variety of contemporary approaches to Islamic legal reasoning that guide the lives of Muslims today. Using a combination of historical and doctrinal approaches, the seminar will explore how Muslims over time have tried to understand God's commands laid down in the scriptures and how they have constructed from the rich sources of ethical speculations in Islam, bodies of positive, statutory law that reflect Islamic values. A significant part of the seminar will consist of several cases of the application of Islamic law in the contemporary Muslim world. We will cover case studies from Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia and several other Muslim majority countries to highlight the continuous evolution of Islamic law and to underscore the diversity of interpretive approaches to Islamic legal reasoning that has created a diverse body of sacred rules. The goal of the seminar is to introduce students to the nature, scope and functions of Islamic law in the classical and contemporary contexts and to present a framework for understanding the institutional arrangements that apply existing Islamic law in the modern world and make fresh rulings in areas where Islamic law provides no guidance.

This seminar will require a series of short research papers. Participation may be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: Shamshad Pasarlay

Justice for Animals in Ethics and Law

Animals are in trouble all over the world. Intelligent sentient beings suffer countless injustices at human hands: the cruelties of the factory farming industry, poaching and trophy hunting, assaults on the habitats of many creatures, and innumerable other instances of cruelty and neglect. Human domination is everywhere: in the seas, where marine mammals die from ingesting plastic, from entanglement with fishing lines, and from lethal harpooning; in the skies, where migratory birds die in large numbers from air pollution and collisions with buildings; and, obviously, on the land, where the habitats of many large mammals have been destroyed almost beyond repair. Addressing these large problems requires dedicated work and effort. But it also requires a good normative theory to direct our efforts.

Law and Public Policy: Case Studies in Problem Solving

This course examines the intersection of law and public policy and the lawyer's role in helping to formulate and defend public policy choices, using recent, real-world problems based, in part, on the instructor's experience as former Corporation Counsel and senior legal advisor to the Mayor of the City of Chicago. While the course will be conducted in a seminar/discussion format, a significant portion of each class will be devoted to hands-on role-playing in which students will play the role of legal advisors to an elected official, grappling with and proposing solutions to vexing issues of public policy.

While this course may be of particular interest to students who are interested in public service and public policy-making, its emphasis on developing students' analytical and problem-solving skills and on providing hands-on, practical experience in advising clients on complex issues should be of benefit to any student, regardless of interests and career objectives. Providing legal analysis and advice and counseling clients are a critical part of almost every legal career, whether as a litigator or transactional lawyer in a private firm or as in-house counsel for a corporation or not-for-profit.

Assigned reading will include press articles, proposed legislation, briefs and pleadings, and other materials concerning the case studies/public policy issues that will be examined. Students will be expected to identify and analyze legal issues, competing legal and policy interests, and possible policy alternatives, and advise their "client" accordingly. Grades will be based on class participation and performance in role-playing exercises and short (5 page) reaction papers concerning three of the case studies that will be examined.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: Stephen R Patton
• Autumn 2021: Stephen R Patton
• Autumn 2020: Stephen R Patton
• Autumn 2019: Stephen R. Patton
• Autumn 2018: Stephen R. Patton

The Law, Politics, and Policy of Policing

In the wake of several highly publicized incidents of police brutality, the American public is engaged in substantive debate over modern policing strategies and tactics and how best to achieve public safety while respecting the rights and dignity of all citizens. This course will provide an overview of the public safety challenges facing large, urban police organizations. With the legal framework as a foundation, students will discuss the policy and political considerations relevant to key policing strategies. Starting with readings that provide the historical perspective on policing, each week will focus on a distinct policing strategy or policy challenge, including topics such as crisis intervention, national security, and gun violence. Some classes may include invited guest speakers. Criminal Procedure is suggested as a pre-requisite, but not required.

Students may qualify to earn three credits by taking the exam and writing a 3000-3500 word paper, or by writing a major paper only (6000-7500 words, which may also count for SRP credit if approved). Students who take the exam but do not write papers will earn 2 credits.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Sharon R. Fairley
• Autumn 2021: Sharon R. Fairley
• Autumn 2020: Sharon R. Fairley
• Autumn 2019: Sharon R. Fairley

Legal Spanish: Public Interest Law in the US

This course brings students to high-intermediate levels in reading, speaking, and listening for the practice of public interest law in the US. Learners will build proficiency around relevant topic areas so that they can read, listen, explain, present and solicit information related to rights, client history / interviews, procedural language, legal actions, etc. The focus is on building proficiency through communication and strategy instruction. The final exam is a proficiency test offered through the University of Chicago Office of Language Assessment that yields a certificate and a proficiency rating on students' transcripts. The course will follow the College's academic calendar with flexibility for law students' schedules so that they finish the courses on the same schedule as other law school courses. Pre-requisite: one year of university-level Spanish or equivalent.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Darcy Lear
• Spring 2023: Darcy Lear
• Spring 2022: Darcy Lear
• Spring 2021: Darcy Lear

LGBT Law

This seminar examines the treatment of gender, sexual orientation and related questions of sexuality and identity in the U.S. legal system. The course emphasizes constitutional jurisprudence and theory with a particular focus on the First Amendment and the equal protection and due process guarantees, and statutory antidiscrimination provisions. Topics covered include marriage rights, student speech, the definition of sex under the equal protection guarantee and statutory antidiscrimination provisions, the rights of students to access sex segregated facilities, public and private workplace concerns, rights of intimate and expressive association, and asserted conflicts between religious liberty, free speech rights, and nondiscrimination principles.

The course requires a major paper (6000-7500 words). The paper will be a mock appellate brief.

Participation may be considered in final grading.

A constitutional law course is recommended but not required prior to taking this class.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Camilla Taylor
• Winter 2023: Camilla Taylor
• Winter 2022: Camilla Taylor
• Winter 2021: Camilla Taylor
• Winter 2020: Camilla Taylor
• Winter 2019: Camilla Taylor

Libertarianism

Although few Americans identify as "libertarians," the impact of libertarian thinkers--from John Locke to F.A. Hayek to Milton Friedman--on our polity is undeniable. Justice Holmes famously declared (dissenting in Lochner v. New York) that, "The Constitution does not enact Mr. Herbert Spencer's 'Social Statics'," but there can be no denying that the prevalent view of the Constitution on the Court has a libertarian vibe. In this seminar, we will read books (about one per week) on libertarian ideas by a range of authors, in terms of methodology, point of view, time period, type of author, and so on. The idea will be to engage critically with this material in the hopes of better understanding the core foundations of libertarian thinking and its applications, if any, in modern political and legal debates. A syllabus will be available in advance of course selection. Being a "libertarian" is not a requirement--non-libertarians, libertarian-curious, and everyone else are encouraged to participate, both as a means of understanding the world and enlivening the conversation. Students may take a final exam (2 credits) or write a paper (3000-4500 words) for 2 credits or write a major paper (6000-7500) for 3 credits. Note, SRP's may be 6000-9000 words. Participation may be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: M. Todd Henderson

Life (and Death) in the Law

This seminar will explore the various definitions and valuations of life across diverse areas of the law. Readings will include seminal cases in reproductive rights, assisted suicide, right-to-die, and capital punishment. Background readings in related areas, i.e., scientific journals, papers, etc. will also be required. The seminar will discuss policy decision-making including actuarial analysis and social, medical and religious values inherent, implicit or ignored in the legal analysis. Students will be required to write three response papers, co-draft a statute in one area of law, and participate in jury deliberations. Grade will also be based on class participation. This is a biddable class. Priority registration to 3L students.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2022: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2021: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2020: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2019: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2018: Herschella Conyers

Mass Incarceration

This seminar examines the growth and consequences of American detention centers, jails, and prisons in this age of "mass incarceration." Nearly 2.2 million people are behind bars, roughly one in every 100 adults, far more per crime than any industrialized nation. If we include persons on parole or probation, one adult in 23 is under correctional supervision. With taxpayers paying costs in excess of $75 billion each year and with African Americans and Latinos overrepresented in the American justice system, some scholars, advocates, and policy makers argue that mass incarceration represents one of the greatest social injustices of our time. This class is taught during a moment of mass activism and bipartisan support for justice reform. As the movement shifts from protests to politics, this class will examine the origins and consequences of mass incarceration, as well as the policy issues and solutions to fix a "justice" system that destroys lives and harms communities, and ask the hard questions: • What accounts for the growth of incarceration? • What are its moral, fiscal, and public safety consequences? • What were the precursors of mass incarceration? • How do we reimagine policing in America? • What roles do race, gender, and poverty play in perpetuating injustice? This class requires a major paper of 6000-7500 words. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Please note: If you have already taken Mass Incarceration and Reform you will not be able to take this seminar.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: Roscoe Jones

The New Abolitionists

This seminar will discuss the current movement to abolish police, prisons, and the prison industrial complex more broadly. We will read the work of academics and activists like Mariame Kaba, Allegra M. McLeod, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Angela Davis, and others, who are writing within and about this movement. We will read these works with an eye toward the answers to four broad questions: What is abolition? Why is abolition necessary? How will abolition come about? What does a post-abolition world look like? In seeking answers to these questions, the seminar will consider what role law has to play in either advancing or hindering this modern abolitionist movement.

This class requires a series of research papers (6000-7500 words). Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Adam Davidson
• Spring 2023: Adam Davidson
• Spring 2022: Adam Davidson

Poverty and Housing Law Clinic

This clinic is a multi-quarter clinic spanning over winter and spring quarters. In his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, Matthew Desmond concludes that evictions are not a symptom of poverty. They are a direct cause. In the Poverty and Housing Law Clinic, you will learn how to defend low-income tenants (many of whom have disabilities or young children, or are victims of domestic violence) against unwarranted evictions. Many of these tenants live within just a few miles of The Law School. You will attend weekly lectures about subsidized housing programs, eviction actions, trial practice, housing discrimination, the intersection between domestic violence and housing, and the extensive and often misunderstood connection between criminal law and subsidized housing. Most important, you will work twelve hours a week in the Housing Practice Group at Legal Aid Chicago, the Midwest's largest provider of free civil legal services to the poor. Every year more than 30,000 people call Legal Aid Chicago seeking our assistance. And every year the Housing Practice Group represents hundreds of tenants facing eviction from the only housing they can afford. We also help clients preserve their tenant-based rental assistance, gain admission to subsidized housing developments, force landlords to make necessary repairs, and challenge illegal discrimination.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Dennericka Brooks
• Winter 2024: Dennericka Brooks
• Winter 2023: Dennericka Brooks
• Spring 2023: Dennericka Brooks
• Spring 2022: Lawrence Wood
• Winter 2022: Lawrence Wood
• Spring 2021: Lawrence Wood
• Winter 2021: Lawrence Wood
• Spring 2020: Lawrence Wood
• Winter 2020: Lawrence Wood
• Spring 2019: Lawrence Wood
• Winter 2019: Lawrence Wood

Privacy and Modern Policing

Law enforcement in modern criminal investigations uses sophisticated tools to obtain voluminous, often private, information. These tools can include forensic searches of phones and social media accounts; stingrays; precise location information obtained from phones and social media accounts; wiretaps of phone and social media accounts; and network intrusions/hacking. This course will explore the challenges of trying to regulate these cutting-edge methods.

Students will prepare several short papers, each about 5 pages in length (totaling 6000-7500 words), that will require some outside research. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2023: Vikas K. Didwania
• Autumn 2023: Vikas K. Didwania
• Autumn 2021: Vikas Didwania

Public Corruption and the Law

This seminar will focus on how governments use the law to prevent and catch public corruption, how courts define and analyze public corruption in criminal-law and constitutional-law contexts , and how one should determine the optimal response to corruption and its consequences. We will examine the substantive criminal laws and sentencing schemes used in the best public corruption prosecutions, ranging from bribery and extortion laws to "honest services" fraud, and we will study several key topics within public corruption law, including patronage, its effect on democratic institutions, and its status under the First Amendment; campaign finance reform and whether money in campaigns is protected speech or a corrupting influence (or both); the allegations of corruption in the Trump impeachment proceedings; and the unique problems posed by police corruption. We will also consider the various jurisprudential theories of anti-corruption laws including an economic analysis of public corruption, prompting questions about whether the level of democracy, and the pervasiveness of corruption in the culture, affect the cost-benefit analysis. Constitutional Law I and II are recommended pre-requisites. Students taking the class for 3 credits write one short reaction paper (or short research paper if appropriate), and one major paper. Those taking it for 2 credits write several short reaction papers. Participation may be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: David H. Hoffman
• Winter 2022: David H. Hoffman
• Winter 2020: David H. Hoffman

Race and Criminal Justice Policy

This class will examine issues of criminal justice policy with a lens focused on the problem of racial disparity. We will assess disparities in the application of the law as well as the racially disparate effects of criminal justice-related practices, and we will consider why those practices exist and whether there are viable alternatives to them, taking into account a variety of perspectives. Specific topics will touch on a variety of stages of the criminal justice process, including policing, bail decisions, prosecution and plea-bargaining, sentencing, corrections, parole, and reentry. Prerequisite: Criminal Law.

This class has a final exam. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Sonja Starr
• Spring 2022: Sonja Starr
• Spring 2021: Sonja Starr

Racism, Law, and Social Sciences

The domains of racism, law, and the social sciences impact one another in myriad ways. At times, a system of racism is deployed through law, which in turn shapes questions asked in the social sciences. In other instances, the sciences articulate conceptual frameworks that lead to the creation of new forms of racism within society and law. Particular systems of racism have operated across a spectrum from incidents of overt violence to the daily impacts of implicit biases. Our readings and class discussions will consider a sample of case studies from across the globe in addition to past and present dynamics in the United States. Analyses of the social construction of racial and ethnic identities have facilitated studies of the ways in which social differences are created, maintained, and masked. Subjects to be addressed in this course include the interrelation of racial ideologies with other cultural and social dimensions, such as class, ethnicity, gender, political and legal structures, and economic influences. At an international scale, policy makers confront the challenge of balancing calls for multicultural tolerance with demands for fundamental human rights. We will also consider the related histories of biological, genetic, and epigenetic concepts of different races within the human species. This seminar includes a major writing project in the form of a seminar paper (6000-7500 words).

Participation may be included in the final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Christopher Fennell
• Winter 2023: Christopher Fennell
• Winter 2022: Christopher Fennell
• Winter 2021: Christopher Fennell
• Spring 2020: Christopher Fennell
• Spring 2019: Christopher Fennell
• Spring 2018: Christopher Fennell

Regulation of Sexuality

This course explores the many ways in which the legal system regulates sexuality, sexual identity, and gender and considers such regulation in a number of substantive areas as well as the limits on placed on such regulation by constitutional guarantees including free speech, equal protection, and due process. Readings include cases and articles from the legal literature together with work by scholars in other fields. . The grade is based on a substantial paper (6000-7500 words) or a series of short papers, with class participation taken into account.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2023: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2022: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2021: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2020: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2019: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2018: Mary Anne Case

Religious Liberty

This seminar will address the jurisprudence of, and contemporary litigation surrounding, religious liberty in the United States.

This class has a final exam that all students must take. Participation may be considered in final grading. Students who wish to earn a third credit must write an additional paper (approximately 2500 words). The additional paper may meet the WP requirement.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: Ryan Walsh
• Autumn 2023: Ryan Walsh

Reproductive Health and Justice

In 2022 we saw a once-in-a-generation seismic shift in the legal framework governing the right to obtain reproductive health care in the United States with the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. This course will examine the historical evolution of the right to abortion from Roe v. Wade through Dobbs, and how states both hostile and protective with regard to reproductive rights are attempting to respond since Roe has been overturned. It will also consider the shortcomings of legal approaches to securing reproductive health, and the critiques and insights offered by the reproductive justice movement.

This class requires a major paper of 6000-7500 words. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Emily Werth
• Winter 2023: Emily Werth

Tax Policy and Economic Inequality

Policymakers in the United States rely on the tax code not only to raise revenue to fund government but also to administer social programs relating to health insurance, green energy, and the social safety net. This class will cover issues in tax policy through the lens of economic inequality and poverty in the United States. Likely topics will include: conceptual tools for analyzing tax policy, historical trends in U.S. inequality and poverty, the Earned Income Tax Credit, tools for taxing high-income individuals, the taxation of marriage and family units, tax evasion and enforcement, and efforts to simplify tax filing. Evaluation will be based on a series of short response papers and a longer paper (approximately 3,000 words).

Previously:

• Autumn 2023: Jacob Goldin

Transgender Rights & the Law

This seminar examines the treatment of gender identity in the U.S. legal system. The course emphasizes historical and social construction of transgender and gender nonconforming identities and the regulation of them and protections based on such actual or perceived identities. This course emphasizes statutory criminalization and protections as well as constitutional jurisprudence and theory with a particular focus on equal protection, due process, and eighth amendment guarantees. Topics covered include criminalization of gender expression, medicalization of gender, access to health care, the definition of sex under the equal protection guarantee and statutory nondiscrimination provisions, issues regarding access to sex-segregated facilities and activities, public and private workplace concerns, as well as current legislative developments. This seminar will require a series of reaction papers. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Kara Ingelhart
• Spring 2023: Kara Ingelhart and Emma Cone-Roddy

Workshop: Regulation of Family, Sex, and Gender

This workshop exposes students to recent academic work in the regulation of family, sex, gender, and sexuality and in feminist theory. Workshop sessions are devoted to the presentation and discussion of papers from outside speakers and University faculty. The substance and methodological orientation of the papers will both be diverse. Students have the option of writing a major research paper for SRP or WP credit (6000-7500 words) or short reaction papers commenting on the works-in-progress presented.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2024: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2023: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2023: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2022: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2021: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2021: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2020: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2020: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2019: Mary Anne Case
• Autumn 2018: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2018: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2018: Mary Anne Case