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Federalism Seminar

I (with the help of my research assistant) am in the process of creating a proposal for a 2-credit “Federalism Seminar.”  I plan to spend the first 2-3 classes on Vertical Federalism, and then spend each of the remaining class sessions on a “hot” topic that raises significant federalism issues.  The goal would be to understand the way in which regulatory efforts at the federal, state and local level interact in a variety of substantive contexts. 

My tentative wish list of topics includes:  Medical Marijuana; Same-Sex Marriage; Climate Change; Health Care Reform; Immigration Federalism; Regulation of Convicted Sex Offenders; School Finance Reform/Education Policy; and Regulation of Religious Land Uses. 

For each topic I would compile (a) the relevant federal constitutional provision, statute or regulation; (b) a sampling of state/local regulations; (c) a leading case and (d) a secondary source (newspaper article or law review article) to provide context. 

Any suggestions or recommendations for the syllabus (particularly from someone who has put together a similar course) would be greatly appreciated. And, of course, I will be happy to share the syllabus with anyone who is interested once it is complete.   

New Semester, new ideas

Just back from a fascinating weekend in NOLA, where, among other things, I attended much of this amazing Black-Jewish dialogue group. I came home with a cold, an abiding appreciation for Black Catholic masses, and a belly full of beignets. Clearing out my inbox this morning, I just stumbled upon Simon Stern's thoughtful draft syllabus on law and literature, which he helpfully posted on SSRN here. I know that in the past we've posted some syllabi here on Prawfs under the research canons project. That said, I think it's great that Simon (who now teaches in my hometown of Toronto (pronounced Tchrano)) has uploaded to SSRN his really neat syllabus, which includes HLR notes by Jeannie Suk and Prawfsfest MVP Dave Fagundes. 

If you can suggest a link to a "quirky" course syllabus in the law school curriculum, ie, one that integrates readings from a variety of areas, please share it in the comments. And feel free to nominate your own syllabi in the comments or upload it to SSRN if it's yours.