美國憲法(英文授課)

Course description: This course provides an overview of the history, structure and power of the government, legal principles, and important cases in subfields of the US Constitution. Learning the US Constitution not only helps us understand the foundation of the US legal system but also serves as a resource to rethink constitutional issues in our country. This course will be in-person meetings in campus classroom. Students should read the assigned readings before class and discuss the materials in class. The instructor will provide the readings, which are generally case excerpts of US Supreme Court decisions concerning the constitutional issues/course topic of each week. There is no textbook for this course. Learning objectives: This course aims to ensure that students explore and understand: 1. the history of the US Constitution; 2. separation of power and federalism; 3. due process of law and equal protection; 4. fundamental rights; 5. skills of searching, reading, and briefing cases. Expected learning outcomes: After completing this class, the students are expected to: 1. deepen their understanding of the framework and main topics of the US Constitution; 2. communicate effectively in writing and orally in English on constitutional law matters; 3. know how to prepare, analyze, and answer questions concerning constitutional law in the US bar exam; 4. be able to write clear, critical and persuasive legal documents and academic papers.

No requirements for students to take this course. However, basic understanding of the US and/or Taiwanese constitutional law is recommended, and good English writing and speaking proficiency are expected.

Students can also contact the instructor via email.

1. Student's grade will be based on the following components: 1 Case briefing and presentation (20%): Each student should choose two case to brief and present in class. The two cases should be concerning different constitutional issues. In other words, a student should brief one case in week A about issue X, and the other case in week B about issue Y. Student presentation starts from Week 8. The case-presenter is required to summarize the assigned case and provide his/her questions and/or comments. The presentation should be around 20 minutes, with PowerPoint slides. The case-presenter has to upload the slides 24 hours before class. The presentation should be in English. 2 Assignments (20%): There will be four assignments over the course of the semester, and each assignment accounts for 5% of the course grade, for a total of 20%. Each assignment consists of ten multiple choice questions, which means students should select ONE correct answer from multiple answer options. Students should complete the assignment at home and submit their answers to the instructor before class. In class, we will review and discuss the answers. When writing the assignments, students may use books, assigned readings, their own notes and outlines. Students must do the assignment by themselves and are NOT allowed to consult the Internet and ask any other person. 3 Class participation (10%): Attendance is mandatory. Students are expected to actively participate in class discussion. Raising substantive questions/comments/responses in class is highly encouraged and will earn points. 4 Final paper (50%): 1800+ (no more than 2300) words in English or 4000~6000 words in Mandarin for graduate students; 1500+ (no more than 2000) words in English or 3000~5000 words in Mandarin for undergraduate students. The paper should describe an ongoing constitutional law issue and analyze it with US constitutional doctrines and cases discussed in this course. Students should prepare an oral presentation (10-15 minutes, PowerPoints not required) to briefly introduce their final paper ideas in class in Week 18 and submit the written paper by the end of June. 2. No midterm and final exam.

No required textbook. The instructor will provide the assigned readings, which are generally case excerpts of US Supreme Court decisions. On the other hand, students who are responsible for briefing cases can find the entire court decision on Westlaw database and other publicly accessible resources. Students are also encouraged to browse the SCOTUS blog (http://www.scotusblog.com/) to follow latest US Supreme Court cases.

地點

the course instructor's office

時間

Tuesday 14:00-15:00 or by appointment

聯絡方式

yhkuo@nycu.edu.tw