Constitutional Law Case Law Reading Workshop

Do you want to learn more about the US Constitution? Are you interested in becoming a better legal writer? Would you like to sharpen your case law reading skills? Would you like to do all of this for FREE?

Joseph Longhany, an instructor in the UCF Department of Writing and Rhetoric will host a Constitutional Case Law Reading Workshop Series. This is a perfect workshop series for legal studies students, history students, or anyone interested in learning more about the Constitution.

• Learn about how the Commerce Clause evolved and changed through more than 200 years of Supreme Court rulings

• Explore how the Necessary and Proper Clause serves as a test for the constitutionality of laws Congress passes

• Gain insights as to how the interpretation of the Constitution has changed by studying some of the most important Supreme Court Cases of all time

• Sharpen your ability to read and dissect complicated legal principles

What You Need

Pick up a copy of Josh Blackmon and Randy Barnett’s book An Introduction to Constitutional Law: 100 Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know. You can get the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Constitutional-Law-Supreme-Everyone/dp/1543813909

When

Join us on Zoom this Summer, every Wednesday at noon, starting on May 26th and running to July 28th.

What to Expect

Buckle up - over this ten-week workshop series, we are going to read 100 important Supreme Court cases. We will cover cases like Loving v. Virginia (1967), the landmark case that gave people the right to marry whomever one wants regardless of their race. We will cover infamous cases like the Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) case. And we will even cover some cases that hit close to home like the Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida (1996) case.

Each week we will review a section or two from the book, discussing key Constitutional principles, unpacking rulings and the reasoning for those rulings, progressively building a coherent narrative how our great Constitution has evolved over the past 245 years.

We will do some writing exercises to explore ideas more deeply. First, by writing and elaborating on big ideas, you will create a better working memory of key, bedrock, Constitutional principles. Second, by practicing writing in this way, you will gain vital reading and writing skills, including the following abilities:

• Analogical reasoning

• Dexterity in sentence construction

• Aptitude for legal analysis

• Construction of Issue Statements

What Will be Covered Our First Meeting

For our May 26th meeting, we will discuss Part I – pages 1-23. We will talk about some early cases like Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), Marbury v. Madison (1803), and McCulloch v. Maryland (1819). Additionally, we will read excerpts from the original judicial opinions, parsing out some of the important details, and building both analytical and critical thinking skills.

Once you have registered for the event, I will send you a reading schedule for our workshop series, so you can follow along with what we are covering each week. You are welcome to attend as many or as few events as you would like.

For more details about this workshop series, or if you have questions, email Joseph Longhany: joseph.longhany@ucf.edu