SYLLABUS

PUBP 4833: The Fourteenth Amendment

from the perspective of Race, Sex and Gender
Sadler Poe
Spring 2011
T 4:35-7:25 pm

Instructor contact information

Office: Alston & Bird LLP

Atlantic Center Plaza
1180 West Peachtree Street, 15th Floor
(14th Street & West Peachtree Street)
Email: sadlerpoe@comcast.net
Telephone: (404) 831-0026

Course Materials

Required Text: Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies, 3d ed.

Erwin Chemerinsky
(Available at Engineer’s Bookstore)

Other materials: Edited cases and other materials will be available online or
on reserve. Edited cases will ordinarily be less than 20
pages.

Course Objectives

To gain exposure to the analytical skills necessary for the study of law

To practice writing succinctly and clearly

To develop a fundamental understanding of the significance of the 14th

Amendment for our federal system and our personal rights through an
examination of the impact of due process and equal protection clauses on race,
sex and gender.

Course Requirements and Grades

Class Participation.....10%
Case Briefs.................10%
Term Paper.................30%
Final Examination......50%

Class Participation: The class will be taught using a combination of lecture and
Socratic method. The latter, which is the foundation of most law school classes,
uses questions from the instructor and answers from the students to develop
analytical skills and an understanding of the materials. Attention to the lecture

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 and careful reading of the written assignments are essential for successful
participation in the Socratic dialog. Questions will be posed to students in
alphabetical order so that they can anticipate the classes in which they will be
called upon.

Case Briefs: In the classes on February 1, February 15 and April 12, students will
be required to turn in a written brief (maximum length—2 pages) of one of the
assigned cases. The format for the case briefs will be provided in the initial class.
The principal purpose of the case brief is to hone one’s analytical skills by
drawing from the case only the essential facts, issues, reasoning and conclusions.
Second, the briefs will provide practice for analytical writing.

Term Paper: Instead of a mid term examination, the course will require students
to submit a paper of approximately 2,500 words based upon the information
contained in the class assignments, lectures and discussions. Term paper topic
will be posted during the class on February 22.

Final Examination: The final examination will cover the material presented
during the entire course. The examination will consist of short answer and
discussion questions.

Attendance

Class attendance is not required. Two caveats. First, class participation

constitutes 10% of the grade. Second, the instructor believes the class will prove
quite difficult for those who do not keep up with the assignments and attend the
classes.

Honor Code

The Academic Honor Code as set forth in the Georgia Tech General Catalog
applies to all aspects of this course.

Group study and discussion of the assignments are encouraged; however, there
can be no collaboration on the written portion of any assignment. Copying,
correcting or editing someone’s written work product or allowing someone to
copy, correct or edit your written work product is a violation of the Academic
Honor Code. Submitting any written work product other than your own is also a
violation of the Academic Honor Code.

For any questions regarding these or any other Academic Honor Code issues,
please consult the instructor or http://www.honor.gatech.edu.

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Course Outline

Class Date Assignment

January 11 Introduction to the course. Review syllabus. Review template

for briefing cases

Chemerinsky, pp. 9-32

Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1856)

January 18 The 14th Amendment, early history

Chemerinsky, pp. 491-499

Slaughter-House Cases, 83 U.S. 36 (1873)

January 25 Incorporation of the Bill of Rights

Chemerinsky, pp. 499-507

Twining v. New Jersey, 211, U.S. 78 (1908)

Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932)

February 1 Economic Substantive Due Process

Chemerinsky, pp. 605-629

Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905)

Footnote 4, United States v. Carolene Products Co., 304 U.S.

144 (1938)

Case brief of either Twining or Powell due

February 8 Equal Protection—Analytical method

Chemerinsky, pp. 668-689

Railway Express Agency v. New York, 336 U.S. 106—

underinclusive statute

New York City Transit Authority v. Beazer, 440 U.S. 568—

overinclusive statute

Discuss how to write a paper

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 Class Date Assignment

February15 School Segregation by race

Chemerinsky, pp. 690-709

Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356 (1886)

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)

Case brief of either Railway Express Agency or Beazer due.

February 22 School Desegregation Remedies

Chemerinsky, pp 721-732

Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School

District No. 1, 551 U.S. 701 (2007)

Distribution of Term Paper Topic

March 1 Racial Classifications Benefiting Minorities

Chemerinsky, pp. 732-748

Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 US 306 (2003)

Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 US 244 (2003)

March 8 Gender Classifications—Rights of Women

Chemerinsky, pp. 749-766

Fronteiro v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677 (1973)

Geduldig v. Aiello, 417 U.S. 484 (1974)

March 15 Gender Classifications—Rights of Women

Continue discussion of Frontiero and Geduldig

United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515 (1996)

Term Paper due this week

March 22 Spring Break. No class

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 Class Date Assignment

March 29 Discuss Term Paper

April 5 Right to Procreate—or not (Right to Privacy)

Chemerinsky, pp. 813-819

Skinner v. Oklahoma, 316 U.S. 535 (1942)

Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965)

April 12 Right to Abortion (Right to Privacy)

Chemerinsky, pp. 819-830

Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)

Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992)

Case brief of either Skinner or Griswold due.

April 19 Government Regulation of Abortion

Chemerinsky, pp. 830-837

Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124 (2007)

April 26 Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Relations (Right to Privacy)

Chemerinsky, pp. 787-789, 844-846

Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996)

Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003)

May 5 Final Exam 2:50-5:40 (tentative)

May 9 All grades entered

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