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JD Book Guide

This guide contains required and recommended materials and resources for each course in the JD program of the JFK School of Law

Required Textbooks

1 Textbook for this course, located in West Academic

Gregory E. Maggs & Peter J. Smith, Constitutional law: A contemporary approach  (5th ed. 2020). West Academic. http://eproducts.westacademic.com/. Click on the link to access the West Academic portal. You will find this textbook under My Bookshelf.

  • See "Materials provided by my school" and then agree to the terms of service. After you've done this, you should be able to access the text directly from your West Academic Bookshelf.

Barbri materials*

*Barbri is a well-regarded bar exam preparation course, so please hold off on the purchase of other commercial outlines until you have a chance to assess the benefit of using the Barbri materials. And consider that the Barbri materials are meant as “review” materials. This means that they are most helpful after some basic doctrine has been absorbed.

Additional Course Materials

Alon, T. [Tamina Alon]. (2013, October 8). PS 21 due process procedural due process [Video file]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQJsw6SpQuM

Caplan, A. (2015, March 31). Ten years after Terri Schiavo, death debates still divide us: Bioethicist. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/bioethicist-tk-n333536

Chemerininsky, E. Law Module 1: IntroductionBarbri. Retrieved from esc.barbri.com/enrolledStudentCenter/myMaterials.html?Header=CONSTIUTIONAL%20LAW

Chemerinsky. E. (2020). The state action doctrine [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.coursera.org/lecture/chemerinsky-individual-rights/the-state-action-doctrine-Z291P

Constitutional Law. (2018, October 19). Constitutional law: Unit 6: Market participant exception [Video file]. Retrieved from .https://youtu.be/I_k2RrCwfZw

Constitutional Law. (2018, October 10). Unit 6: Introduction and dormant commerce clause [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6ry4LS2PAs

Council on Foreign Relations. (2017, March 2). U.S. foreign policy powers: Congress and the President. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-foreign-policy-powers-congress-and-president

Crash Course. (2015, April 11). Presidential power: Crash course government and politics #11 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l02sK5LovI

CrashCourse. (2015, April 17). Presidential powers 2: Crash course government and politics #12 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnHb-zyWh14

de Vogue, A., Cole, D., & Kelly, C. (2020, June 29). John Roberts sides with liberals on Supreme Court to block controversial Louisiana abortion law. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/29/politics/abortion-louisiana-law-blocked-supreme-court/index.html 

The Federalist Society. (2018, September 3). Exploring federalist 51: Legislative power [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkBpbtFZ5aA

Khan Academy. (n.d.). Enumerated and implied powers of the US federal government [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-government-and-civics/us-gov-foundations/us-gov-constitutional-interpretations-of-federalism/v/enumerated-and-implied-powers-of-the-us-federal-government

Khan Academy. (2018, April 10). Marbury v. Madison | US government and civics | Khan Academy [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP1pDUwV5hE

Koh, H. H. (2018). Presidential power to terminate international agreements. The Yale Law Journal, 128https://www.yalelawjournal.org/forum/presidential-power-to-terminate-international-agreements

Natelson, R. (2003). The general welfare clause and the public trust: An essay in general understanding. University of Kansas Law Review, 52(1), 1-56. Retrieved from https://scholarship.law.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1094&context=faculty_lawreviews

National Constitution Center. (n.d.). Articles of confederation. Retrieved from https://constitutioncenter.org/learn/educational-resources/historical-documents/articles-of-confederation

Powell, H. (1999). The founders and the president’s authority over foreign affairs. William and Mary Law Review, (40)5, 1471-1537. Retrieved from https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1381&context=faculty_scholarship

ReasonTV. (2014, January 22). The growing power of the presidency [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEnhepnLg2E

Texas Law Federalist Society. (2017, February 21). Debate: Originalism v. non-originalism [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOOFJCwXkTA

Timmons H. (2019, April 3). Why Congress has a right to the full Mueller report. Quartz. Retrieved from https://qz.com/1584773/mueller-report-timeline-vs-starr-and-watergate-what-it-means-for-trump/

Wallenstein, P. (2015, August 6). Legacy of Loving v. Virginia [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.c-span.org/video/?327448-1/discussion-legacy-loving-v-virginia

Waynesburg University. (2013, September 25). Constitutionally condemned: Susette Kelo's takings clause battle to keep her pink house [Video file]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TPw1sGlwlw

YaleCourses. (2015, November 9). Multimedia/substance vs. procedure [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK05KElGMO

Recommended Course Materials

Barsa, M. (2018). Rethinking the dormant commerce clause?: Climate change and food security. Northwestern Journal of Law and Social Policy, 13(2), 40-65. https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1165&context=njlsp

Bill of Rights Institute. (n.d.). McCulloch v. Maryland (1819). Retrieved from https://billofrightsinstitute.org/educate/educator-resources/lessons-plans/landmark-supreme-court-cases-elessons/mcculloch-v-maryland-1819/ 

Congressional Research Service. (2019, July 23). Federal preemption: A legal primer. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R45825.pdf

The Court and Constitutional Interpretation. United States Supreme Court. https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/constitutional.aspx

CSPAN. (2019, February 20). History of impeachment [Video file]. https://www.c-span.org/video/?457719-1/history-impeachment

Eberele, E. J. (1987). Procedural due process: The original understanding. University of Minnesota Law School, Scholarship Repository. Retrieved from https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1303&context=concomm

Huhn, W. R. (2006). State action doctrine and the principle of democratic choice. The University of Akron. Retrieved from https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1100&context=ua_law_publications

Khan Academy. (2017, December 6) Enumerated and implied powers of the US federal government | Khan Academy [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqEw_9_sLVk

Necessary and Proper Clause.” Audio link provided in Maggs & Smith.

Powers of Congress.” Audio link provided in Maggs & Smith.

Price, Z. S. (2019). Funding restrictions and separation of powers. Vanderbilt Law Review (71)2, 357-464. https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=vlr

Rao, N. (2018). Why congress matters: The collective congress in the structural constitution. Florida Law Review, 70(1), 1-80. Retrieved from http://www.floridalawreview.com/wp-content/uploads/Rao.pdf

Watergate.info. (n.d.). United States vs Nixon – Oral Arguments. Retrieved from https://watergate.info/1974/07/08/united-states-vs-nixon-oral-arguments.html

What is Constitutional Law?

This course reviews the constitutional system of the United States, including the role of the judiciary; division of powers between the states and the federal government; powers of the president and Congress; limitations on the powers of government for the protection of life, liberty, and property; federal and state citizenship; and the constitutional protection of individual rights.

Recommended Resources

Each of the following recommendations are available on your West Study Aids Subscription. Click on each to be redirected to the resource on West Study Aids. 

1. Acing Constitutional Law

2. A Short & Happy Guide to Constitutional Law

3. Constitutional Law in a Nutshell

4. Gilbert Law Summaries on Constitutional Law, 31st

5. Constitutional Law (Hornbook)