The Second Amendment
Professor Lindsay Robertson explores the current landscape of Second Amendment jurisprudence. He introduces the basic interpretive methods used by different Supreme Court justices to understand the text of the Second Amendment.
Professor Robert Shalhope takes us back to the 18th century and evokes the ideological context of the Founding Fathers. He describes the different strands of political ideology which influenced the founding generation and which led to the inclusion of the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights.
Professor Robert Shalhope explores the challenges which interpreters face when seeking an originalist understanding of the Second Amendment. He describes the Supreme Court's ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), one of the most important recent decisions on the meaning of the Second Amendment.
Professor Kevin Butterfield discusses the way that historians think of the past, on the one hand, and the way that judges, lawyers, and politicians think of the past, on the other. The Second Amendment presents some of the difficulties in understanding the meaning of a text across more than two centuries.
Professor Justin Wert analyzes McDonald v. Chicago (2010), one of the most important recent Second Amendment cases. He puts the Court's decision in McDonald in the context of the history of the Court's doctrine on incorporation.
Professor Rick Tepker explores the meaning of "incorporation," the doctrine by which the Supreme Court has applied the provisions of the Bill of Rights to the individual states. He takes us through the past and present of incorporation as a constitutional phenomenon.
Professor Justin Wert, a political scientist, analyzes the politics of recent Supreme Court decision-making. He considers what the study of judicial behavior can tell us about the present and future course of constitutional decision-making.
Professor Rick Tepker discusses what kinds of powers the President does and does not have to enforce federal regulations.
In this final installment, professor Lindsay Robertson summarizes the insights of the course and looks at the current landscape to see where future cases are likely to arise.
