Human Rights and the Supreme Court - Einzelansicht

The Supreme Court has been named the “least dangerous branch” in the Federalist Papers, yet since the early years of the United States it has shaped the political system time and again. Decisions like Marbury v. Madison (1803) are still important two centuries after they were rendered. The course will commence with an introduction into the court’s position in the US government, the selection and the role of Justices, the decision making inside the court, and the political controversies which have engulfed the court every now and then – from the Dred Scott case (1856) to Obergefell v. Hodges (2015). The main emphasis will then be on major human rights decisions, but also on decisions in areas such as federal-state relations, separation of powers, First Amendment rights, substantive and procedural due process, equal rights, privacy, race relations. Finally, we will examine some of the cases of the current Supreme Court term.

Baum, Lawrence: The Supreme Court, 12. Aufl., Washington, D.C. 2015

Dreyer, Michael: Trump und der Supreme Court“, in: Atlantische Themen. 100 Tage Trump-Administration. The Road Ahead – Analysen zur Trump-Administration Nr.1 (2017), 6-9

Dreyer, Michael: Der Supreme Court: Hüter der Verfassung oder Interpret der Gegenwart?“ [mit Nils Fröhlich], in: Christian Lammert, Markus B. Siewert, Boris Vormann (Hrsg.), Handbuch Politik USA, Wiesbaden 2016, 155-179

Landynski, Jacob W., Saul K. Padover, The Living U.S. Constitution, 3^rd edition (New York: Plume 1995)

Wer die erste Sitzung der Lehrveranstaltung versäumt, ohne sich vorher schriftlich oder persönlich zu entschuldigen, kann den Anspruch auf einen Platz in der LV verlieren, wenn es mehr Interessenten als Plätze gibt. Dies gilt ungeachtet der Platzzuweisung durch Friedolin und ist im Einklang mit der grundsätzlichen Aufhebung der Anwesenheitspflicht.

To be announced in class. Research paper and further credit requirements.

The seminar will read and examine selected Supreme Court verdicts and their impact on the human rights development of the United States.

Both BA- and MA-students of political science and transdisciplinary programs with an interest in the intersection of American politics, American institutions, and human rights.