Honors College 397C - ST-Law in Action

This course will examine how lawyers, social activists, and everyday people have used litigation to change the social and legal landscape in the post-war United States. Through reading numerous in-depth case studies of seminal civil and criminal cases, we will explore such questions as: How and why have social movements used "the law" to advance their causes? What are the pros and cons of using litigation to achieve social change (or right a wrong), versus other tools such as direct action, lobbying, and community organizing? How have lawyers constrained or expanded the vision of social justice movements? What dilemmas do lawyers--who are ethically bound to zealously advocate for the interests of individual clients--face when they are additionally interested in advancing "a cause"? How effective is litigation in actually achieving the goals originally envisioned by lawyers, activists, and litigants? Cases explored may include issues such as civil rights, women's rights, free speech, GLBT rights, disability rights, environmental justice, criminal justice, poverty lawyering, immigration rights, and the rise of conservative social movement lawyering.

Junior and Senior Commonwealth Honors College Students, others by permission of the Instructor.