Class Information
Fall 2026
7397 WRS Topics in Const Law - DOW- 25997
Professor(s):
David Dow (FACULTY)
Credits: 3
Course Areas: Constitutional and Criminal Law
Time: 1:00p-2:30p MW Location: 200
Course Outline: This class will examine four areas of constitutional doctrine in deep detail: (1) Interpretation (primarily Originalism); (2) The Thirteenth Amendment and the Appurtenances of Slavery; (3) Democracy and (Re)Districting; and (4) Separation of Powers; Executive Power. Readings will include both caselaw and legal and historical scholarship, drawn from academic journals, online sources, and/or books.
Students will write three papers in a single area of coverage. The aggregate word count for the two papers will be approximately 5,000 words. In addition, class participation will count for up to 25% of the final grade.
Course Syllabus:
Course Notes: (Dual Mode) The UH registration system instruction mode for this course is listed as face to face, but this applies for the second two-thirds of the course. For the face to face instruction mode, instructors and students are expected to normally be physically present in the classroom. If the course has a final examination, it will be in a classroom requiring your physical presence. Other assessment, such as a mid term exam, may also be in a classroom. Whether this instructor will offer “remote presence” (starting a zoom meeting from the podium computer to enable student remote access on an occasional basis) for part or all of the semester is not known, but students should not rely on an expectation that remote presence will be available. Due to exigencies in the schedule of the instructor, during the first several weeks of the course the instruction mode will be Synchronous Online.
Quota=12.
Prerequisites:
First Day Assignments:
Final Exam Schedule:
This course will have:
Exam:
Paper:
Satisfies Senior Upper Level Writing Requirement: Yes
Experiential Course Type: No
Bar Course: No
DistanceEd ABA: No
Pass-Fail Student Election: Unavailable (Instructor Preference)
Course Materials
No book required for this course
Course Materials: Reading materials are available online at: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/kn1q9i47tc9lm57vjefy4/AG6r1diVRxA1BOheM2Gt31Q?rlkey=5g5jukm5hc5ljpu918vyw2kmf&st=dzx2dp0j&dl=0 and also will be sent directly to enrolled students.
