2A Curriculum At A Glance

This course is designed for 7th Grade Pre-Law Studies students (2A). Moreover the course provides both traditional and multimedia instruction to promote the understanding of constitutional frameworks for criminal justice procedures and policies, not to produce Constitutional scholars per se, but to enable student proficiency in the scholarly study of law and its application. The methodology of the course is delivered through processes and project-based learning. Students are confronted with real-world issues that provide opportunities for exercising the problem-solving skills central to legal, political, social, and civics literacy education. This course will provide opportunities for students to become more socially, politically, and legally knowledgeable and to participate in government as active and productive citizens.

Fall Semester

Module I: Constitutional Law*

Module I provides and promotes a working familiarity with key terms, clauses, cases, and chronologies in U.S. Constitution, a keen understanding of constitutional frameworks for civil and criminal procedures and policies, with relevant considerations of real-life issues and situations dealing with civil liberties and civil rights.

Module I topics include:

• The Structure, Function, and Principles of the Constitution

• Separation of Powers and Federalism

• Individual Rights and Liberties

• The Power of the Court: The Judicial Process and Judicial Review

Module II: First Freedoms: Constitutional Rights

Module II provides introduces students to constitutional law and civil rights law. The topics are controversial. Many reasonable people disagree about whether the government has done enough, too much, or too little to protect the rights of people. Students will explore the importance of free speech, religious freedom, due process, equal protection, the right to privacy, nondiscrimination in a republic and the ways that government can regulate and protect its citizens from infringements and violations.

Module II topics include:

• Freedom of Religion

• Freedom of Press

• Freedom of Speech

• Expression in Special Places

• Right to Privacy

Spring Semester

Module III: The Litigation Process: Civil Procedure II

Module III provides students with an enhanced understanding of civil procedure that spans the entire process of bringing a civil action to trial, the trial itself and the appellate review of the trial. It deals with such fundamental concepts as the formulation of the claim (pleadings), trial preparation (discovery), important pre-trial motions, and basic procedural devices employed during the trial. Considerable time is also devoted to the concepts of personal and subject matter jurisdiction as well as to the special question of federal jurisdiction.

Module III topics include:

• Personal Jurisdiction and Subject Matter Jurisdiction

• Preliminary Injunctions

• The Erie doctrine

• Appeals

• Class Action Lawsuits

Module IV: Advanced Topics in Constitutional Law: Civil Rights, Human Rights, and Constitutional Rights Cases

Module IV offers students an in-depth examination of issues of discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, gender, and sexual orientation in a wide range of contexts. Some attention will also be given to Constitutional protections of fundamental rights relating to privacy, sexuality, and familial and reproductive autonomy. Specific topics to be considered will include residential and educational segregation; affirmative action; voting rights; marriage equality; and the history, purpose, and jurisprudential development of the Fourteenth Amendment. Throughout the module, students will be invited to reflect upon the role of lawyers and courts in promoting equality, and on the ways in which American legal and societal structures may enable or constrain those efforts.

Module IV topics include:

• Civil Rights and Discrimination

• Due Process Clause

• Civil and Court Procedures

• Famous Supreme Court Cases

• Legal Research and Writing

* Required courses for ABA accredited law school students.