Seminar in Political Science
Political Science 401
1-2:15 TR C123

Fall 2001

Instructor: Peter Watkins                                                                                                                                           
Office: CEC 208                                                                                                                                                             
Office Phone: x6350                                                                                                                                                      
peterw@saintjoe.edu

Introduction

According to Lawrence Baum, "those who seek to understand government and politics in the United States must inquire into the Supreme Court." This semester is devoted to an intensive study of the U. S. Supreme Court.

The "road map" we will use this semester is derived, to a considerable extent, from Baum's text, The Supreme Court. Baum's text revolves in part around an attempt to answer a series of questions. Baum notes that "Each question is the subject of one of the book's chapters." These questions are: "Who are the people who serve on it [the Supreme Court], and how do they get there? What determines which issues and cases the Court decides? In resolving the cases before it, how does the Court choose between alternative decisions? In what policy areas is it active, and what kinds of policies does it make? Finally, what happens to the Court's decisions after they have been handed down, and what impact do they actually have?"

In addition to considering the answers that Baum and others have proposed to the questions he asks, we will also spend some portion of this semester considering four cases decided by the Court. The cases are Marbury v. Madison, Lochner v. New York, Oregon v. Smith and R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul.

You are required to purchase five texts for this class. In addition to the text by Baum, you should purchase the following books:

All of the texts are available at the bookstore. If you are unable to get a copy of these books for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

A very large number of readings will also be placed on Reserve. The occasional reading can also be found at Lexis-Nexis.

Class Schedule

The course schedule can be found below. On it you will find a weekly breakdown of reading assignments and due dates, noted in parentheses, for assigned work. In order to participate fully in this class all readings must be completed by the date noted in the calendar. Half a letter grade (e.g. C+ to C) will be deducted every day a writing assignment is handed in late. I will discuss exceptions to these rules at our first class meeting.

August 21-23: Introduction, Video: This Honorable Court

August 28-30: Lawrence Baum, The Supreme Court, Ch. 1, Joan Biskupic, "Clerks Gain Status, Clout in the Temple of Justice," Washington Post, January 2, 1994 (Available at Lexis-Nexis), Mark Tushnet, "Thurgood Marshall and the Brethren," Georgetown Law Journal 80 (August 1992) (Available at Lexis-Nexis), Sean Donohue, "Behind the Pillars of Justice: Remarks on Law Clerks," The Long Term View 3 (Spring 1995) (Available on Reserve)

September 4-6: William E. Nelson, Marbury v. Madison: The Origins of Judicial Review, Alexander Hamilton, "From The Federalist 78," in The Lanahan Readings in the American Polity, eds. Ann G. Serow and Everett C. Ladd (Available on Reserve), Eugene Rostow, "The Democratic Character of Judicial Review," in The Lanahan Readings in the American Polity, eds. Ann G. Serow and Everett C. Ladd  (Available on Reserve)

September 11-12: Meetings to discuss papers

September 18-20: Lawrence Baum, The Supreme Court, Ch. 2, Stephen Carter, "The Confirmation Mess," in The Lanahan Readings in the American Polity, eds. Ann G. Serow and Everett C. Ladd (Available on Reserve), The New York Times on the Web Packet (Available on Reserve), Hearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and Courts on "Should Ideology Matter? Judicial Nominations 2001," June 26, 2001 (Available on Reserve), Gregory Caldeira and John R. Wright, "Lobbying for Justice: The Rise of Organized Conflict in the Politics of Federal Judgeships," in Contemplating Courts, ed. Lee Epstein (Available on Reserve), Sheldon Goldman, "Judicial Appointments and the Presidential Agenda," in The Presidency in American Politics, ed. Paul Brace, Christine B. Harrington, and Gary King (Available on Reserve), Jeffrey A. Segal, Charles M. Cameron, and Albert D. Cover, "A Spatial Model of Roll Call Voting: Senators, Constituents, Presidents, and Interest Groups in Supreme Court Confirmations," American Journal of Political Science 36 (February 1992) (Available on Reserve)

September 25-27: Paul Kens, Lochner v. New York: Economic Regulation on Trial, Bibliography due (9/27)

October 2-4: Lawrence Baum, The Supreme Court, Ch. 3, Gregory Caldeira and John R. Wright, "Organized Interests and Agenda Setting in the U.S. Supreme Court," American Political Science Review 82 (December 1988) (Available on Reserve), Saul Brenner and John F. Krol, "Strategies in Certiorari Voting on the United States Supreme Court," Journal of Politics 51 (November 1989) (Available on Reserve), Robert L. Boucher Jr. and Jeffrey A. Segal, "Supreme Court Justices as Strategic Decision Makers: Aggressive Grants and Defensive Denials on the Vinson Court," Journal of Politics 57 (August 1995) (Available on Reserve)

October 9-18: Carolyn N. Long, Religious Freedom and Indian Rights: The Case of Oregon v. Smith, Working thesis due (10/11)

October 23-25: Meetings to discuss papers

October 30-November 8: Lawrence Baum, The Supreme Court, Ch. 4, Jeffrey A. Segal and Albert D. Cover, "Ideological Values and the Votes of U.S. Supreme Court Justices," American Political Science Review 83 (June 1989) (Available on Reserve), Jeffrey A. Segal, Lee Epstein, Charles M. Cameron, and Harold J. Spaeth, "Ideological Values and the Votes of Justices Revisited," Journal of Politics 57 (August 1995) (Available on Reserve), David O'Brien, "Storm Center," in The Lanahan Readings in the American Polity, eds. Ann G. Serow and Everett C. Ladd (Available on Reserve), Peter Irons, "Brennan vs. Rehnquist," in The Lanahan Readings in the American Polity, eds. Ann G. Serow and Everett C. Ladd (Available on Reserve), Harold J. Spaeth, "The Attitudinal Model," in Contemplating Courts, ed. Lee Epstein, Joseph F. Kobylka, "The Mysterious Case of Establishment Clause Litigation: How Organized Litigants Foiled Legal Change," in Contemplating Courts, ed. Lee Epstein (Available on Reserve), Preliminary draft due (11/1)

November 13-15: Edward J. Cleary, Beyond the Burning Cross, Video: The First Amendment and Hate Speech

November 27-29: Lawrence Baum, The Supreme Court, Ch. 5

December 4-6: Lawrence Baum, The Supreme Court, Ch. 6, Final draft due (12/6)

Class Requirements

This semester you will be required to submit a paper that focuses, almost exclusively, on the judicial philosophy of a member of the U.S. Supreme Court past or present. In order to facilitate your work on this paper you are required to submit, at various points during the semester, a bibliography, a "working thesis" and a preliminary draft. The due dates for each of these assignments, including the due date of the final version of the paper, can be found in the "Class Schedule" portion of this syllabus.

The final draft of the research paper is to be a minimum of twenty pages in length. The preliminary draft is to be a minimum of fifteen pages in length. The bibliography must contain a minimum of fifteen sources. The format for the "working thesis" can be found in The Everyday Writer.

Papers must possess a cover page and must be stapled in the top left-hand corner. They must be typed and double-spaced. A font size no larger than 12 pt. must be used. The right and bottom margins are to be 1 inch wide. The left margin is to be 1.25 inches wide. The top margin, with the exception of the first page, must be 1 inch wide. The top margin on the first page must be two inches in width. Papers must be handed in during the class on the date the assignment is due. You are responsible for keeping an extra copy of you paper. Failure to follow these requirements will lead to penalties being assigned.

I strongly urge you to take all your written work to the writing clinic. The writing clinic is located in Core 212. I also urge you to consult The Everyday Writer as you begin the writing process. We will peruse the section "Doing Research" during the semester.

During week four of the semester I will spend time reviewing with each of you the writing portfolio that you submitted at the end of last semester. At this meeting I will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your writing.

In addition to the above, a portion of your grade will be determined by the quality, and to a much lesser extent the frequency, of your class participation.

Your grade will be computed in the following way:

Bibliography.................50 points
Working thesis.............50 points
Preliminary draft..........100 points
Final draft.....................200 points
Class participation......100 points

Total..............................500 points

Half of your class participation grade will be assigned at mid semester.

No extra credit is available.

A=100%-94.5%, A-=94.4%-89.5%, B+=89.4%-86.5%, B=86.4%-83.5%, B-=83.4%-79.5%, C+=79.4%-76.5%, C=76.4-73.5%, C-73.4%-69.5%, D+69.4%-64.5%, D=64.4%-59-5%, F=59.4% and below.

Office Hours

I will be available for conferences between 11-11:50 Monday and Friday, 3-3:50 Tuesday and Thursday, and 9-9:50 on Wednesday. If you would like to meet me at another time, please make an appointment to do so. Appointments can be made by calling the number listed at the top of the syllabus, by calling me at home (866-8768), or by sending me an e-mail message. If I am not home, please leave a message on my answering machine. I will get back with you as soon as I am able.

Attendance Policy

A discussion of the college's attendance policy can be found in the Saint Joseph's College 2001-2002 Catalog. See p. 45.

While your class participation grade is largely based on the quality of your participation, see the discussion above, failure to attend class will have an adverse impact on this grade.

If you are a member of an athletic team, please identify yourself during the first class session. Professor Teresa Massoels, the Faculty Athletic Representative, has prepared an information sheet for members of the faculty on this institution's "Class Attendance Policy." I will distribute this sheet to those identified as members of athletic teams. You, not your coach, are responsible for informing me of any athletic related absences.

Academic Honesty

A discussion of academic honesty can be found in the college catalog. Please familiarize yourself with this policy. It can be found in the Saint Joseph's College 2001-2002 Catalog. Please reference pp. 47-49.