Hist 399 American Legal History

Course Description

This course in American legal history will focus on public and private law developments, on both the state and federal level, from our English origins to the present, all framed in the context of the political, social and economic times. Beginning with the intellectual origins of the Constitution, the debates and the ratification process, we will address issues which remain very much alive today, such as the separation of powers and federalism concerns. The subsequent adoption of the Bill of Rights, with all its implications for the assertion of civil rights today, provides a useful vehicle for studying the concept of original intent, with which the Supreme Court continues to struggle.

During the first half of the nineteenth century, much of the law's development had to do with the powers of the judiciary itself and the power of our "new" federal government over the states, particularly with respect to regulating commerce. At mid-century, we will focus our attention on race relations - the institution of slavery, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Reconstruction Amendments, etc. Two jurisprudential themes are particularly well-developed during the first half of the 20th century: free speech rights under the First Amendment (from Eugene Debs through the McCarthy hearings) and Congress's expanding power in the field of economic regulations.

During the latter half of the 20th century, we find that the modern civil rights movement dominated the legal landscape. We will examine a host of social justice issues, including affirmative action, gender and privacy, limits on free speech, and the rights of gays and lesbians.

American Legal History is a course designed for engaged, hard-working, upper-division students. Those students who have a particular interest in issues of social justice, who appreciate the need to learn from the mistakes of history, and/or who are entertaining the prospect of attending law school are well-advised to take this course.

The Professor
Michael Rooke-Ley has been a law professor the past 25 years, having taught at seven law schools, including the University of Oregon and Willamette University, and lectured widely in the United States and abroad. As a teacher, activist and scholar, Professor Rooke-Ley's fields of expertise include constitutional law and civil rights/liberties. He has served on the Gender Fairness Task Forces in both Oregon and Florida and continues to serve as a Board member of the Oregon ACLU. He is currently co-president of the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT), the largest membership organization of law professors in the nation. In January, he represented SALT on a fact-finding trip to Iraq.

In 2000, Professor Rooke-Ley taught and consulted in Croatia as a Fulbright professor, and in 1988 he served in a similar capacity in Sri Lanka. In addition, he has lectured and consulted over the years in Cuba, Germany and Bangladesh.

Professor Rooke-Ley's wife, Ilisa, is a lawyer here in Eugene, serving as a public defender who represents low-income clients accused of crimes. They have three children, ages 10, 10 and 13.

Office hours: Tuesdays, 9:00am-12noon, and by appointment, PLC 9th floor
Telephone: 344-0768 (home)
E-mail: union2757@aol.com

Course Policies

Students are expected to carefully study each reading assignment and to attend and participate in class. The professor intends that you get your money's worth in the limited time that we have together; that is to say, we will not spend all of our class time simply regurgitating the assigned readings. Rather, the lectures will often address matters not included in the readings, and the readings will often address matters not included in the lectures. Students are responsible for all of it. Thus, class attendance is extremely important, and a lack of attendance and/or thoughtful participation may result in a lower grade.

Assuming that attendance and participation requirements are met, each student's course grade will be comprised of her/his performance on a mid-term examination (50%) and on a final examination (50%). Make-ups for the mid-term exam will be permitted only in the rarest, most extraordinary and well-ducumented of circumstances.

Special Circumstances
Re-Grading: If a student wishes to have his/her mid-term or final exam re-evaluated, he/she must complete the Re-Grading Petition available from the professor. The student will be asked to provide a written explanation of why such re-grading is sought and, when necessary, supporting documentation.

Students with Disabilities: A student with a documented disability who anticipates needing accommodations in this course should immediately 1) request from the Counselor for Students with Disabilities a letter verifying the disability and 2) arrange to meet personally with the professor.

Required Texts

1) Hall, Wiecek and Finkelman, American Legal History: Cases and Materials (2nd ed.);
2) materials to be distributed during the term.

Course Schedule