Course Syllabus

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Southern Utah University

Fall Semester 2025

Pols 3510 Constitutional Law Syllabus

POLS 3510-30I

Course:	POLS 3510-30I
Credits:	3
Term:	Fall Semester 2025
Department:	PSCJ
CRN:	32473

Course Description

Constitutional Law— Studying constitutional law is studying the operation of the government and society of the United States looking down from the mountain top of the Supreme Court.

Consequently, consider this a survey course in “the major issues of constitutional law” in which I have chosen the underlying concepts you need to understand. The idea is to introduce you to the subjects, that taken as a whole, constitute “constitutional law.” Although this is an introductory course, it builds upon the knowledge you have already acquired in other courses in political science, history, and so on. If you have not taken the introductory course in American Government (Pols 1100) you will be at a disadvantage and may wish to consider taking that course first.

In addition to increasing your knowledge about the structural limitations of the American government, you are expected to demonstrate an interest in questioning accepted wisdom, and perhaps most importantly, an appreciation of the distinctions between structure and actual operation of government entities, between holding a political office and actually using its power, and between authority and responsibility.

This course has a boat-load of reading in the text, lectures and the additional discussion articles. Constitutional law is a full semester course in most law schools, and in some a Constitutional Law II is offered in a second semester. It is a physical impossibility to cover the entire spectrum of constitutional law issues in this course.

Required Texts

Textbook

The textbook for this course is Constitutional Law, Principles and Policies, Sixth Edition by Erwin Chemerinsky, published by Wolters Kluwer.

The textbook is the most important element of this course. If you did nothing more than read it, you would get the majority of what this introductory course offers. At no time will the weekly lecture go into the breadth and depth of the history of elements of the government as the textbook does. Just reading the lectures, without having read the assigned textbook chapter will leave the student with a superficial understanding of the subject. The textbook serves the purpose of giving you the foundation of knowledge you need. Do not pass up the opportunity to build your foundation in this subject.

Learning Outcomes

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the conclusion of this course students will possess a firm understanding of the United States Constitution, the structure and function of the Federal Government in the United States, as well as an appreciation for the relationship among the branches of the Federal Government.
Students will also develop significant insights into political, cultural and policy trends throughout U.S. history.
Civic Engagement: Students demonstrate that they possess the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make a difference in the civic life of their community and to promote the enhancement of the quality of life in a community through both political and non-political processes.
Ethical Reasoning: Students describe and analyze positions on ethical issues, apply reasoning about right and wrong human conduct, demonstrate ethical decision-making skills, and demonstrate an evolving ethical self-identity.
Critical Thinking: Students demonstrate disciplined processes of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.

Course Requirements

Exams and Grading

Grading will be based on Discussion Questions, mid-term and final writing assignments. They are “open book,” use whatever resource you want to answer the question, just cite your sources in whatever form you like. You need to demonstrate your understanding of the subject, and communicate that understanding with intelligent analysis of the issues raised in it. Practicing your writing skills will not hurt you either. Why use open book writing assignments as a final exam? With the exception of professional qualification exams like the bar exam, outside of school very few exams are given. The evaluation of the work of adults is based on their understanding of the subject, their ability to think critically and creatively about the issues being addressed and their ability to communicate their knowledge by writing well. The goal is for you to understand this information so you can use it for other courses and in your career and life, not to memorize “facts” for the short term so you can pass an exam. There will be no exams in their traditional multi-question, multiple choice form.

Grade | Range
A | 100% - 94.0%
A- | < 94.0% - 90.0%
B+ | < 90.0% - 87.0%
B | < 87.0% - 84.0%
B- | < 84.0% - 80.0%
C+ | < 80.0% - 77.0%
C | < 77.0% - 74.0%
C- | < 74.0% - 70.0%
D+ | < 70.0% - 67.0%
D | < 67.0% - 64.0%
D- | < 64.0% - 61.0%
F | < 61.0% - 0.0%

Course Outline

Week 1 Introduction to Constitutional Law and the Supreme Court

Week 2 Separation of Powers

Week 3 Federalism

Week 4 The Commerce Clause- The Empowerment of Government

Week 5 The First Amendment

Week 6 Due Process of Law

Week 7Midterm Writing Assignment

Week 8 Due Process in Criminal Law

Week 9 Equal Protection of the Law and Civil Liberties

Week 10 Supreme Court, the Bureaucracy and Federal Regulation of Society

Week 11 Constitutional Law and the Electoral Process

Week 12 Politics and Supreme Court "Reform"

Thanksgiving Break- November 24-27

Week 13 The President versus the Supreme Court

Week 14 Final

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Instructor and Submission Policies

Professor responsibilities/response time: Students should think of reading and writing assignments as being preparation for discussions of the issues with the professor and each other. Students are encouraged to contact the instructor if they have questions about the material or any other part of the course or would like to discuss them with the professor. Email is the preferred method for contacting me, I am in Arizona, not located on campus. For messages to me, I will attempt to respond as soon as possible, no later than one day from their receipt. Feedback and grades will be provided as quickly as possible.

Student responsibilities: Except in special circumstances late submission will not be accepted. Considering that it is an “open book” assignment, there is no reason the students should not do well. If you do not do the reading and only work to answer the exam questions, you are only shortchanging yourself. Similarly, if you use ChatGpt to write your essays, you will cheat yourself out of the opportunity to get an education. How much you will learn comes from how much work you do, not what grade you get in the course.
Assignments must be turned in on time and be of required length. Failure to do either or both will result in grade penalties. If your present or future employer asks you to examine an issue and submit a report in a week that gives recommendations, what would happen if you did not?

This course will provide you with an opportunity I believe is unique and which you will find helpful in your academic and professional careers. I look forward to working with you to maximize its benefits for you. You get out of my courses what you put into them.

Attendance Policy

This is an online course.

Course Fees

There are no required fees for this course.

Custom

General Course Access

The entire course, including reading assignments, quizzes, and writing assignments is available in the "Modules" section of the course page in Canvas.
My courses are designed to teach two things: critical thinking and professional discipline. The essays you will write are exercises in critical thinking in which you will be able to demonstrate your abilities to identify issues, reach conclusions based on information not emotion, and to recognize alternative and opposing positions that may have value.

Instructor's Response Time & Feedback

Students should think of reading and writing assignments as preparation for discussions of the issues with the professor and each other. Students are encouraged to contact the instructor if they have questions about the material or any other part of the course or would like to discuss them with the professor. Email is the preferred method for contacting me; I am in Arizona, not located on campus. For messages to me, I will attempt to respond as soon as possible, no later than one day from their receipt. Feedback and grades will be provided as quickly as possible.

Student Responsibilities

Grading will be based entirely on the discussion questions, midterm and final exam writing assignments. If you do not do the reading and only work to answer the exam questions, you are only shortchanging yourself. Similarly, if you use ChatGPT to write your essays, you will cheat yourself out of the opportunity to practice formal writing skills. Please do not use ChatGPT or similar software to write your essays; those that are clearly identified as having been produced that way will not be accepted. How much you will learn comes from how much work you do, not what grade you get in the course.

Disclaimer

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.

Institutional Policies & Resources

Updated required syllabus statement document, some COVID-19-related changes: https://www.suu.edu/academics/provost/pdf/statements-required-in-course-syllabi.pdf

Institutional Policies & Procedures including Academic Integrity, ADA Statement, Emergency Management Statement, HEOA Compliance Statement, Link Statement, SUUSA Statement, Zoom Etiquette.

Canvas is where course content, grades, and communication will reside for this course. For technical support, contact:
435-865-8200 or support@suu.edu (IT Service Desk)
435-865-8555 or canvas@suu.edu (Canvas Help Center)

Financial Security Statement: If you are struggling financially or wish to know more about budgeting, please visit the Financial Wellness Center in room 201C in the Sharwan Smith Center, contact Ashleigh Zimmerman at (435) 865-8436, or text the Financial Wellness line at 435-708-1952.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

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