Southern Utah University

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Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

Constitutional Law (Online)

POLS 3510-SW1

Course: POLS 3510-SW1
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: PSCJ
CRN: 32962

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.

Required Texts

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.

General Education Essential Learning Objectives for this SUU American Institutions core requirement are:

  • 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

Schedule of Assignments and Activities

Grading will be based on Discussion Questions, Midterm 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 Supreme Court Practice, Procedures, and Due Process 
Week 2 Federalism, Separation of Powers, Commerce Clause 
Week 3 Equal Protection, Criminal Due Process
Week 4 Midterm Exam 
Week 5 Constitutional Law and Administrative Process
Week 6 First Amendment Freedoms
 Week 7- Final Exam
 
 

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

Assignments must be turned in on time and be of required length. Failure to do either or both will result in grade penalties. Except in special circumstances late submission will not be accepted. Failure to turn in a response to a Discussion Question receives the grade of zero for that item. Please do not use ChatGpt or similar software to write your essays.

Attendance Policy

This is an online course.

Course Fees

There are no required fees for this course.

Custom


Students taking this course will have the opportunity to interact with an instructor who made his living in politics and government outside of academia. Having spent decades in Washington, D.C. participating in as many of the facets of national politics and government as possible, my spectrum of experience is unique. Serving as a Committee Counsel in the House of Representatives, the chief executive officer of a federal agency, a trade association executive, and lobbying firm lawyer, my interaction with the government has been as part of it and as a government relations professional attempting to influence its decisions from the outside. My intention, even in this introductory survey course, is that in addition to students receiving a foundation in the structure and operation of the government, they will benefit from an introduction to how things really get done at the highest levels of government in the United States.

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.

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

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.

Disclaimer Statement

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.