Constitutional Challenges to the Balance of Power: Judicial Perspectives

Instructor: Professor Kenneth F. Mott
               Department of Political Science

Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes once noted that "The U.S. Constitution is what the Court says it is." This course will examine a variety of constitutional issues which have recently come before the courts, or are likely to soon. Although our investigation will utilize the prism of the judiciary, particularly the U.S. Supreme Court, strong attention will be given to the framing of the U.S. Constitution, its development through case law, legislation, and common practice, and procedures by which it is given new meaning over time.