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Embracing Constitutional Law
Embracing Constitutional Law
Ave Maria University is renowned for its classroom instruction and the impactful classes offered on campus. The Constitutional Law course numbers among the most memorable. Those who have taken “Con Law” feel that they have become part of a living tradition both at Ave Maria University and within the United States.
The course has existed since the very inception of the Politics Department. Dr. Seana Sugrue inherited it when she joined the faculty in the fall of 2004 at the time that the University had moved from Ypsilanti, MI, to its temporary location in the Vineyards in Naples. She has taught it every fall since she arrived. To create the course, Dr. Sugrue drew upon her work with Dr. Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, under whose auspices she had participated in teaching Civil Liberties. She knew from her time at Princeton that what made the course so popular there was that students want the opportunity to test their arguments and beliefs in a serious and respectful manner through intensive interaction with the instructor. She also knew that the issues considered in Con Law are of perennial interest as they involve debates about the meaning of liberty and equality as well as who gets to decide the law.
What students are apt to remember most about Con Law is their moot court experience. They are assigned to teams in which each plays the role of a lawyer and they make legal arguments based on a set of hypothetical facts. Dr. Sugrue plays a tough judge intent on interrupting and throwing students off of their scripts. Students must think on their feet in responding to questions that they may not have anticipated. Some students find the experience exhilarating. Others are just glad it is over. For all, it leaves an impression as they discover their own powers of persuasion and perseverance under pressure. Students also can’t quite get over the transformation they witness on the day of moot court of mild-mannered Dr. Sugrue into mildly mean “Judge Sugrue.” But as Dr. Sugrue explains, if they can hold their own with her, they can feel confident when their future boss demands answers to pressing questions.
While the moot court is considered a peak experience, it is just one of many opportunities students are given to hone their speaking skills as they learn legal reasoning. All students also present an in-depth case brief and provide their own analysis as to whether the case law is sound on the basis of past precedent as well as moral considerations. One of the discoveries students make in the class is that the arguments in legal decisions are often inconsistent and shaped by underlying political influences. Many metaphorical light bulbs ignite when students examine classic cases such as Marbury v Madison and better understand the contemporary political environment.
Some students find that Con Law is also a useful way to discern whether they might like to apply to law school after graduation. While it is an undergraduate course, the methodology of Con Law is quite similar to what is found in traditional law schools. Cases are the focus of study and the Socratic method is used. Dr. Sugrue jokes with her students that she has saved many students thousands of dollars in tuition because, after the course, some students definitely rule out law school. Yet some discover an unexpected love for the law and go on to invest in a legal education, confident that it is the right choice.
The topics discussed in the class are of acute interest to Catholics and to all Americans. Among them are church-state relations, which are studied through the lens of the establishment and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment. Students debate what role religion can officially play in the public square by examining the effects of the infamous “Lemon Test” as they deliberate about whether and how a state can be truly neutral or even-handed. They are often surprised to discover how limited is the protection provided by the free exercise clause of the First Amendment to those who wish to worship according to the dictates of their conscience.
Other areas of jurisprudence of great interest to Ave students include the Supreme Court’s treatment of sexual morality, abortion and euthanasia as constitutional issues. Students discover how the Supreme Court has crafted “privacy rights” – and increasingly is protecting a right to create one’s own identity – within the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution through a controversial principle called “substantive due process.” They also examine different philosophical perspectives about the value of human life and come to comprehend how these influence laws that will determine which lives will receive the protection of law.
However, Dr. Sugrue reminds her students frequently that many important cases are not decided based on civil liberties or civil rights. What can have greater practical significance to the policies students care deeply about are federalism – especially the division of powers between the federal government and the states – as well as separation of powers between the co-equal branches of government.
Still, making sense of the strange world of Constitutional Law requires students to trust in the process of the course as the learning curve they experience is quite steep. Dr. Sugrue lets students know that they will feel quite disoriented for the first six weeks as they discover this new way of reasoning. She has also structured the course so that students who invest the time will not have their grades suffer as they ride the learning curve. She does not “give away an A” and has high expectations.
Senior politics major, Amy White, said of the course: “Dr. Sugrue’s Constitutional Law class is, in my opinion, the epitome of what Ave Maria classes strive to be: Engaging, academically challenging, and intellectually transformative. By taking part in this class, I have become better equipped to understand the constitutional implications of several and diverse issues, from abortion laws to privacy rights to freedom of speech. The relevancy of the class material to understanding real-world issues is astounding, and the practice of considering the contrary reasonings behind rulings will undoubtedly contribute to any diligent student’s critical thinking capabilities. Truly, I can’t recommend this class highly enough.”
Dr. Sugrue confesses that while she loves all of her courses, Con Law and the students who have bravely and boldly taken it with her, hold a very special place in her heart. “Ave students are smart, disciplined, polite, and filled with love. Give them the tools to engage in the world and they will transform it,” she said.
