Learning Outcomes

The following is the A.B.A. Standard 301 Statement Regarding Learning Outcomes for the Constitutional Law and Civil Rights Certificate.

• Learn the contents of the U.S. Constitution and how the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts function. Develop an awareness of state and foreign constitutions.
• Develop the ability to analyze a U.S. Supreme Court case using various "tools" of interpretation such as: precedent, text, original meaning, structural principles, a moral reading, policy, and consequences. Identify the difference between originalism, living constitutionalism, and other "schools" of interpretation.
• Understand the complex relationship between constitutional law, politics, and social change.
• Recognize the source of judicial review, as well as federal legislative and executive powers in differing areas, as well as principles of federalism.
• Identify and explain the rights included in the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights, as well as learn about the basic statutes employed to implement these rights.
• Learn the relevant doctrines and key cases in each major area of constitutional law.
• Take at least one elective that exposes the student to the practice elements of constitutional law or civil rights, and one elective that exposes the students to legal theory in one or both of these areas.