Class Information
Fall 2026
7397 WRS Constitutional Design - FROOMKIN- 26003
Professor(s):
David Froomkin (FACULTY)
Credits: 3
Course Areas: Constitutional and Criminal Law
Practice Skills - (Research and Writing)
Time: 2:30p-4:00p TTH Location:
Course Outline: In this seminar on normative constitutional theory, topics will include bicameralism and presentment, congressional procedure, appointments and removals, electoral rules, oversight and impeachment, judicial review and judicial independence, and constitutional amendment. We will assess the U.S. Constitution’s rules as well as alternative or additional rules that it could have included. An overarching question will be the value of hard-wiring constitutional rules rather than permitting innovation and experimentation. We will also think about how normative arguments about constitutional design relate to interpretive arguments about constitutional law, and we will apply this analysis to some important cases on separation of powers and the law of democracy."
Course Syllabus: Syllabus
Course Notes: (Synchronous Online) The UH registration system instruction mode for this course is listed in parenthesis. Contrary to the UH information, some student materials may not be available online, such as an assigned casebook. A physical classroom may be assigned for this course to give students a location in the Law Center to join the virtual class sessions. If the course has a final examination, the final and any other assessment for the course, such as a mid-term exam, will be conducted without the need to physically come to the Law Center, such as, for example, via the EBB portal as a take home exam or under remote proctoring.
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: Yes
Pass-Fail Student Election: Unavailable (Instructor Preference)
