Courses

    Examines two conflicting postulates accepted by many Americans: a belief in democracy and a belief in individualism. Democracy implies a system of group decision making with the majority able to enforce its will against the dissenting minority. It is a system that rests on the value of community autonomy and community self-definition. Individualism implies a right of the individual to resist group decisions and to adopt one's own life plan free from interference. It is a system that rests on individual autonomy and individual self-definition. This course addresses the means by which our legal system reconciles these postulates. The course explores the nature of democratic decision making, as well as the appropriate limits on the coercive authority of the state. Materials drawn from constitutional law, from criminal procedure, from political philosophy, and from a variety of other sources will be used to explore these problems.