Constitutional Theory

Professor Fleming

Spring 2013

Syllabus

Materials for Course

I. Required

Walter F. Murphy, James E. Fleming, Sotirios A. Barber & Stephen Macedo, American
Constitutional Interpretation (4th ed. 2008) (“ACI”)
Robert H. Bork, The Tempting of America (1990)
Ronald Dworkin, Life’s Dominion (1993)
John Hart Ely, Democracy and Distrust (1980)
James E. Fleming, Securing Constitutional Democracy (2006)
Supplemental Readings (“SR”)

These books are available in the Bookstore and on reserve in the Library. SR will be available
on Blackboard. The handouts distributed in class are required reading for the course.

II. Recommended

Sotirios A. Barber & James E. Fleming, Constitutional Interpretation (2007)

Jack Balkin, Constitutional Redemption (2011) and Living Originalism (2011)
James E. Fleming & Linda C. McClain, Ordered Liberty: Rights, Responsibilities, and
Virtues (2013)
William F. Harris II, The Interpretable Constitution (1993)
Antonin Scalia, A Matter of Interpretation (1997)
Cass R. Sunstein, The Partial Constitution (1993)
Robin West, Progressive Constitutionalism (1994)
Keith Whittington, Constitutional Interpretation (1999) & Constitutional Construction (1999)

All of the recommended books are on reserve in the Library.

Administrative Details

Office: Room 1070A Phone: (617) 353-2942

Email: jfleming@bu.edu Fax: (617) 353-3077
Office Hours: 12:00-1:00 Thursday or by appointment
Paper: you may write a 30 page seminar paper, which you may use to satisfy the School’s writing
requirement
Final Examination: or you may write a take-home final examination
Reaction Papers: you are required to write three short papers reacting to the readings; the first is due
by February 7, the second by March 7, and the third by April 18
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Assignments

Assignment 1: January 17

I. THE PROBLEMS OF CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION :

WHAT IS THE CONSTITUTION ?
WHO MAY AUTHORITATIVELY INTERPRET IT?
HOW IS IT TO BE INTERPRETED ?

A. Introduction: What, Who, and How

Interpreting a Constitution, 1-21 (recommended)

B. Competing Conceptions of What, Who, and How

1. Case

Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 1476-1508

2. Defenses and Critiques

Bork, Again, a Struggle for the Soul of the Court, SR 1

Dworkin, The Center Holds!, SR 2
Neuhaus, The Dred Scott of Our Time, SR 3
Sullivan, A Victory for Roe, SR 4
Holmes, The Right to Abortion Advances Quietly in State Courts, SR 5
Gewirtz & Golder, So Who Are the Activists?, SR 6

II. GENERAL THEORIES OF CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION

Assignment 2: January 24

A. Interpretivism/Originalism

1. Arguments for Interpretivism/Originalism

Bork, The Tempting of America, 133-60, 81-84

Scalia, Originalism: The Lesser Evil, 249-54

2. Case

Brown v. Board of Education, 974-79

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B. Protecting Fundamental Rights:

Personal Liberties

1. Arguments for Judicial Vindication of Fundamental Rights

Brennan, The Constitution of the United States: Contemporary Ratification, 255-61

Dworkin, Life’s Dominion, 118-47

2. Case

Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 1476-1508 (again)

Assignment 3: January 31

C. Deferring to versus Reinforcing Representative Democracy

1. Arguments for Judicial Deference to Representative Democracy

Thayer, The Origin and Scope of the American Doctrine of Constitutional

Law, 711-18

2. Arguments for Judicial Reinforcement of Representative Democracy

Ely, Democracy and Distrust, 1-14, 43-104

3. Case

United States v. Carolene Products Co., 718-26

Assignment 4: February 7, 12:45-2:10 (make-up class for February 14, when class will not meet)

D. Reinforcing Deliberative Democracy versus Securing Constitutional Democracy

1. Arguments for Judicial Reinforcement of Deliberative Democracy

Sunstein, The Partial Constitution, 123-61 (recommended)

Fleming, Securing Constitutional Democracy, 37-51, 59-60

2. Arguments for Judicial Reinforcement of Deliberative Autonomy Together with

Deliberative Democracy

Fleming, Securing Constitutional Democracy, 1-10, 19-36 (recommended), 61-62,

67-79, 89-98
Sunstein, Second-Order Perfectionism, SR 7 (recommended)
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III. ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST PROTECTING CERTAIN

“UNENUMERATED ” FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

Assignment 5: February 7, 2:10-4:10 (regular class)

A. Economic Liberties

1. Cases

Dred Scott v. Sandford, 217-28

Lochner v. New York, 1248-54
West Coast Hotel v. Parrish, 1262-69

2. Critiques of “Lochnering”

Bork, The Tempting of America, 36-49

Ely, Democracy and Distrust, 14-21
Sunstein, The Partial Constitution, 40-67
Fleming, Securing Constitutional Democracy, 41-43 (again), 134-36

3. The New Right v. the Libertarian Right on Economic Liberties

Bork, The Tempting of America, 223-30

February 14: no class (make-up class on February 7, 12:45-2:10)

Assignment 6: February 21

B. Fundamental Rights Equal Protection

1. Cases

Skinner v. Oklahoma, 1141-46

Shapiro v. Thompson, 1147-55
San Antonio School District v. Rodriguez, 1099-1110

2. Arguments for Welfare Rights

Michelman, Welfare Rights in a Constitutional Democracy, SR 8

Black, Further Reflections on the Constitutional Justice of Livelihood, SR 9
Amar, Forty Acres and a Mule, SR 10
Sunstein, The Partial Constitution, 69-71, 138-40, 155-56

3. Critiques of Welfare Rights

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Bork, The Impossibility of Finding Welfare Rights in the Constitution, SR 11

Ely, Democracy and Distrust, 148-49, 162, 172-79

4. Is the Constitution a Charter of Negative Liberties or a Charter of Positive Benefits?

DeShaney v. Winnebago County Dept. of Social Services, 1608-15

C. Personal Liberties

Assignment 7: February 28

1. Personal Liberties: Antecedents from the Era of Lochner v. New York

Meyer v. Nebraska, 1442-46

Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 1447-48

2. Privacy

a. Cases

Poe v. Ullman, 158-67

Griswold v. Connecticut, 167-78

b. Arguments for Deriving “Unenumerated” Rights Through the Ninth Amendment

Ely, Democracy and Distrust, 34-41

Black, On Reading and Using the Ninth Amendment, SR 12
Fleming, Securing Constitutional Democracy, 32-34

c. Arguments against Doing So

Bork, The Tempting of America, 95-100, 166-67, 178-85

3. The Level of Abstraction in the Characterization of Rights

a. Case

Michael H. v. Gerald D., 178-87

b. A Critique of Justice Scalia’s Michael H. Jurisprudence

Bork, The Tempting of America, 235-40

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Assignment 8: March 7

4. Abortion I

a. Case

Roe v. Wade, 1453-66

b. Arguments for the Right to Abortion

Dworkin, Life’s Dominion, 81-117

c. Critiques of the Right to Abortion

Bork, The Tempting of America, 110-16

Ely, The Wages of Crying Wolf: A Comment on Roe v. Wade, SR 13
Noonan, The Root and Branch of Roe v. Wade, SR 14

Assignment 9: March 21

5. Abortion II

a. Case

Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 1476-1508 (again)

b. Arguments for the Right to Abortion: Privacy versus Equality

Dworkin, Life’s Dominion, 148-78, 50-57

MacKinnon, Reflections on Sex Equality Under Law, SR 15
Sunstein, The Partial Constitution, 257-61, 270-85

c. Calls for Taking Responsibilities as well as Rights Seriously

Dworkin, Life’s Dominion, 57-67, 150-59 (again)

Fleming & McClain, Ordered Liberty: Rights, Responsibilities, and Virtues,
SR 16

Assignment 10: March 28

6. Same-Sex Intimate Association I

a. Case

Bowers v. Hardwick, 1518-32

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b. Defenses of Bowers

Bork, The Tempting of America, 116-26

c. Critiques of Bowers

Ely, Democracy and Distrust, 162-64

Sandel, Moral Argument and Liberal Toleration: Abortion and
Homosexuality, SR 17
Sunstein, Sexual Orientation and the Constitution: A Note on the
Relationship Between Due Process and Equal Protection, SR 18
Fleming, Securing Constitutional Democracy, 51-59

Assignment 11: April 4

7. Same-Sex Intimate Association II

a. Cases

Romer v. Evans, 1111-25

Lawrence v. Texas, 1532-52
Attorney General Holder’s Letter Concerning the Defense of Marriage Act,
SR 19

b. Critiques of Lawrence

Sandel, Epilogue, SR 20
Sunstein, What Did Lawrence Hold?, SR 21

8. A Critique of the Calls for a Substantive and a Minimalist Republicanism

Fleming, Securing Constitutional Democracy, 141-71

Assignment 12: April 11

9. Same-Sex Marriage

a. Cases

Baker v. State of Vermont, 1125-41

Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, 1552-76

b. Critiques of Goodridge

Rosen, Immodest Proposal, SR 22

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Sunstein, Federal Appeal, SR 23

Sandel, Justice (section on Same-Sex Marriage), SR 24

Assignment 13: April 18

10. The Right to Die

a. Cases

Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Dept. of Health, 1577-88

Washington v. Glucksberg, 1589-1608

b. Critiques

Dworkin, Life’s Dominion, 179-217 (recommended), 237-41 (recommended)

Dworkin, Assisted Suicide: What the Court Really Said, SR 25
Fleming, Securing Constitutional Democracy, 120-23
Sandel, Last Rights, SR 26
Sunstein, Foreword: Leaving Things Undecided, SR 27, 6-10, 93-96

11. Reconceiving the Due Process Inquiry: Between Scalia and Charybdis

Fleming, Securing Constitutional Democracy, 109-19, 123-27, 139-40

IV. REPRISE ON REINFORCING DEMOCRACY AND PROTECTING FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS:

A CALL FOR PERFECTING CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY

Fleming, Securing Constitutional Democracy, 210-11, 220-27