Law School for Everyone: Constitutional Law

Americans wage many of today's fiercest policy debates and culture wars as battles over constitutional meaning. It's because constitutional law is so fundamental to our democracy that law schools across the country teach the subject. It's the area of law that determines what federal and state governments are permitted to do, and what rights you have as an individual citizen of the United States.In these 12 lectures, you'll get the same accessible, well-rounded introduction to constitutional law as a typical law student—but with the added benefit of noted constitutional scholar Eric Berger's brilliant insights. Taking you through all three branches of the federal government, Professor Berger uses some of the most important legal cases in the United States to probe the open-ended nature of the Constitution's language and illustrate how legal reasoning has defined the power relationships that the Constitution governs.You'll examine pivotal Supreme Court cases to learn how interpreting the Constitution has radically affected American society. You'll consider the Supreme Court's role in deciding—and sometimes avoiding—questions of constitutionality. And you'll investigate how changes in public opinion can influence how the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution. While the open-ended nature of the Constitution's language makes constitutional law often uncertain, these lectures offer you a better understanding of its many nuances, as well as its profound importance for the future of the United States.