532 Constitutional Litigation (Feehan & McDaniel)

LAW532

Constitutional Litigation

(Feehan & McDaniel)

Prerequisite courses: 

Prerequisite for:

Instructor(s): Justice Kevin P. Feehan & Leah McDaniel

Course credit: 3

Method of presentation: Lecture 

METHOD OF EVALUATION

The primary method of evaluation in this course is a moot court worth 70% of the Grade.

The remainder of the grade in the course will be made up of:

• one (1) drafting assignment worth 20% of the grade

• class participation worth 10% of the grade

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course will address current issues in constitutional litigation, particularly those involving the Charter. It will also focus on issues pertaining to constitutionally protected aboriginal and treaty rights. The emphasis will be on both substantive knowledge of constitutional litigation issues and the development of skills within that framework. Subjects such as pleadings, interventions, the gathering and use of extrinsic evidence, including legislative facts, historical documents and expert reports, preparation of written briefs and appropriate constitutional remedies will be covered.

The course will offer an overview of the stages of Charter review, including the special role of s.1 of the Charter. It will also provide an overview of the stages of review in aboriginal litigation. Students will be given the opportunity to draft pleadings or an application to obtain intervener status in a Charter case. The moot court assignment will involve the preparation of a written brief with reference to evidence in support of the position being advanced. Students will participate in brief moot court arguments. They will have a degree of choice in selecting the type of case in which they wish to participate. This course will allow them to combine an awareness of fundamental constitutional law principles with the practical methods for creating winning arguments.

SPECIAL COMMENTS

The instructors have considerable experience as practitioners in the fields of constitutional and aboriginal law and civil litigation, respectively. Guest lecturers will also be invited to address select topics. The course will be of particular value to those with interests in Constitutional, Aboriginal and criminal law.

Description updated 2023-24. Please contact the instructor for any specific questions you may have related to this particular course section.

REQUIRED TEXTS (IF ANY):

Peter Hogg, Constitutional Law of Canada (Student edition)