Spec Topic: Constitutional Law

Catalog description

This course provides a historical overview of the development and ratification of the U.S. Constitution and the relationship of the states to the Bill of Rights. The course will examine the effect of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment on the application of the Bill of Rights to the states through a study of leading Supreme Court decisions related to criminal justice. Topics include the principles governing the operation of the Bill of Rights, the characteristics and powers of the three branches of government, how the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the powers of the federal government, the variables affecting the information of judicial policy and the Incorporation Doctrine.