LAW 0745: Federal Civil Rights Litigation under s.19
Fall 2021 • Section 21 • CRN 44938

Course Description

The course is intended to first teach students the basic federal constitutional and statutory doctrines necessary to litigate common current constitutional cases, specifically those arising under the Fourth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, by briefly examining the initial discussions of Reconstruction and the enactment of the Civil War Amendments and, via simulation, revisiting Virginia’s debate over whether to ratify the Constitution with or without an express provision protecting States’ sovereign immunity. The course will then focus on the federal constitutional and statutory doctrines necessary to litigate Section 1983 actions through a series of in-class simulations which will cover Fourth Amendment claims arising out of police misconduct and other improper activities, Eighth Amendment prisoner claims, Fourteenth Amendment due process claims focusing on challenges to executive actions, and Fourteenth Amendment claims focusing on the fairness of procedures used when government deprives citizens of a protected interest. The course will also cover the doctrines necessary to understand and bring those claims against state and local governmental actors.

Book List/Materials