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Nittersing

(6,960 posts)
Fri Jul 19, 2024, 12:29 PM Jul 2024

Professors at Colorado's law schools rethink curriculum amid "revolutionary" Supreme Court decisions

https://www.denverpost.com/2024/07/19/colorado-law-schools-curriculum-supreme-court-precedent/?share=umehhtwtnuoncnsott0t
(I'm pretty sure that's a gift link)

"Doug Spencer’s constitutional law courses will begin differently this fall than in years past.

The professor at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder plans to beef up lectures on current events, likely starting with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity and a discussion of the legalities of presidential impeachment, all in hopes of providing a more foundational understanding of the current political climate.

“We’re in a constitutionally revolutionary moment where things are changing drastically,” he said.

Spencer has instructed students on the intricacies of long-established law and the thorough reasoning that guides Supreme Court decisions only to see a string of major, precedent-setting rulings overturned in the last few years, he said.

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has recently struck down or altered foundational laws that have guided the nation for decades, including eliminating the federal right to an abortion with the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, weakening federal agencies’ power to interpret the law by overruling the Chevron decision last month, and by granting presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution earlier this month."
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Professors at Colorado's law schools rethink curriculum amid "revolutionary" Supreme Court decisions (Original Post) Nittersing Jul 2024 OP
I hope the emphasis is on how aberrant these decisions are and how absolutely out-of-step with the historical hlthe2b Jul 2024 #1
The way I studied for my Con Law Ii final was to memorize the headings of the table of contents of the case book. rsdsharp Jul 2024 #2

hlthe2b

(107,146 posts)
1. I hope the emphasis is on how aberrant these decisions are and how absolutely out-of-step with the historical
Fri Jul 19, 2024, 12:36 PM
Jul 2024

precedence--followed by discussions of both ramifications and how the court may well be reformulated to allow future cases to be brought for reconsideration of some of these issues. Also a discussion of how Congress may counter with new statutory or even constitutional changes.

I do not think any law curriculum should present this as "FINAL AND ESTABLISHED" law.

rsdsharp

(10,352 posts)
2. The way I studied for my Con Law Ii final was to memorize the headings of the table of contents of the case book.
Fri Jul 19, 2024, 12:59 PM
Jul 2024

I already knew the cases, and where they fit into the headings. That allowed me to be able to quickly create an outline, complete with all of the cases, at the start of the test.

That was 39 years ago. At that time, learning the cases was a worthwhile exercise. They were the actual law, and with minor changes, were likely to remain so for generations — if not in perpetuity.

It seems like so much wasted effort, now. Stare decisis is dead; the law is now just what the ideology of 5 members of the Supreme Court dictates.

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