PSCI 19
Law as a Tool for Social Justice Winter 2020

This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

The law may be deployed to achieve social justice in different ways: through the use of the judicial system, by the enactment of legislation, and at times through the ballot. While we will see the law work positively, we also will examine its limitations and failures due to societal, economic and human obstacles. The class will read 3 books in full and one in part, all of which relate compelling stories. We begin with Devil in the Grove (winner, 2013 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction), which centers on a highly publicized 1949 Florida case involving 3 young black men who are defended against the charge of raping a white woman by Thurgood Marshall, then with the NAACP, at risk to his life. While we will encounter the brutal obstacles to obtaining justice in the deep South in 1949, the book also serves in part as a mini-biography of Marshall, and we will read about the great victories he achieves at the national level in the Supreme Ct. in cases involving voting, housing and education. Next is Gideon’s Trumpet, a classic in the field of constitutional law by the renowned Anthony Lewis about winning the right of a pauper to be provided with legal counsel in all state felony cases. The book elegantly describes the structure of our Federal system, delineating the tension between the rights reserved to the states in the area of criminal law, and the umbrella of protection provided to individuals by the Bill of Rights. The third book is Winning Marriage, The Inside Story of how Same-Sex Couples Took on the Politicians and Pundits – and Won (2014) by Marc Solomon. The book narrates the incredibly successful effort by those in the LGBT community and their allies to win for same-sex couples the right to marry over a relatively short time. The book focuses on the gritty political battles at the state level, ultimately moving to the Federal stage. The class will read key segments of the book, and also will read the landmark Obergfell Supreme Ct. decision establishing the right of same-sex couples to marry. The final book is JUST MERCY by Bryan Stevenson (2014), a NYTimes Notable Book, which is a moving account of Bryan¿s experiences with the US criminal justice system. It is about his establishing the Equal Justice Initiative, which has worked to free wrongfully convicted inmates on Death Row, children who have been unjustly sentenced to life without parole, mentally disabled persons who have received excessive sentences, and children who have been unjustly thrown into adult prisons. Not an abstract book, it deals with individual wrenching cases of injustice handled by the author. Adunct Instructor Bio: Richard Pollet graduated from Williams College in 1969, cum laude, with Honors in Political Science and Columbia U. Law School J.D. in 1973. He has 40+ years practicing law, the last 26 as General Counsel of J. Walter Thompson (JWT). He retired in June 2013. Subsequently he has done some consulting for WPP, the parent company of JWT. He has taught this course several times.
The Class: Format: lecture; mornings
Limit: 8
Grading: pass/fail only
Requirements/Evaluation: 10 page paper
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: seniors first, then juniors, sophomores and first-years
Materials/Lab Fee: approximately $70 for books

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