Constitutional Reform

In this course, we will seek to identify problems with American constitutional democracy, and to draft and debate concrete solutions in the form of constitutional amendments: what challenges or problems (if any) does our system of government face that ought to be addressed at the constitutional level, and how should they be addressed? In other words, this course will provide an opportunity to take a step back from current events and endless doctrinal questions about what is or is not constitutional under existing law. Rather than take the US Constitution and existing case law as a given and dismiss constitutional amendment as a political impossibility, we will tackle the big-picture normative question of what exactly ought to be done with the Constitution if the Constitution itself could be changed. Participants will be divided into drafting teams in which they will discuss, negotiate, and draft constitutional amendments that they will then propose to the "constitutional convention" (the whole class) for debate and "ratification" (voting). In light of the near-total absence of scholarly discussion in this country about constitutional reform, readings will expose students to constitutional design ideas and approaches from around the world, and students will draw upon this literature in evaluating existing domestic proposals and formulating proposals of their own.