The course materials and discussions span constitutional law, the political and legislative processes, and health law of the United States. Course topics include abortion, contraception, personhood, and artificial reproduction. These issues overlap with civil and criminal prosecution for fetal endangerment, and reproductive rights. This course is historically grounded, spanning early matrilineality and hypodescent laws to the eugenics era, and concluding with contemporary debates related to sex equality, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, and religious concerns. This course requires substantial reading, preparation, organization, and the ability to analyze subtle nuances between various judicial decisions, legislative enactments, ethics, and legal rules.

Students will gain significant exposure to legal writing and will work to develop and hone these critical skills by drafting daily position papers on the readings assigned for each class.

This course is an introduction to civil litigation. It will focus on the practice of civil litigation, including an introduction to the rules, statutes, and common-law doctrines governing parties and proceedings in our civil justice system. Topics to be covered may include the structure of our courts, pleadings, standing, justiciability, limitation periods, relitigation, jurisdiction, injunctions, discovery, confidentiality and privilege, summary judgment, class proceedings, the trial process, and costs.

The class discussions will address how these principles can advance the underlying objectives of our civil justice system, including the plaintiff's pursuit of a remedy and the desire to be heard, the defendant's wish to avoid needless litigation, and the public's interest in an effective and efficient court system.