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This seminar explores doctrinal, strategic, and ethical issues related to social justice lawyering and impact litigation in today's legal environment. The course will draw on the instructor's decades of experience litigating immigration and civil rights law reform and class action cases in federal courts nationwide as founder and director of the ACLU Immigrants Rights' Project and on service in the Obama and Biden administrations at DHS and DOJ. The course will explore strategies for advancing the constitutional and civil rights of vulnerable communities in a range of areas that may include policing and criminal justice reform, immigrant justice, LGBTQ+ equality, labor rights, and other social justice issues. We will discuss such topics as bringing test cases, identifying plaintiffs; conducting coalition litigation; strategic pleading; the role of amicus briefs; suits for damages versus injunctive relief; standing and mootness; ethical problems; attorneys' fees; using the media; and the role of government and agency lawyers. Specific issues will be informed by student interest. The emphasis will be on suits against the federal government but litigation against states and localities (as well as private entities) will also be discussed. Guests with a range of views and with expertise in different areas will be invited. Enrollment is limited and the seminar is not open to 1L students. Students are expected to submit a series of reflections (totaling 18 pages) in response to seminar issues and guest speakers. In a very limited number of cases, a student may request Research (R) credit to write a substantial research paper on an approved topic of current significance. R credit is rarely available and only with the instructor's prior consent early in the quarter. Students approved for R credit will transfer from section (01) into section (02) after the term begins. Elements used in grading: Class participation (50%) and written submissions (50%). CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students are asked to complete and submit a Consent Application Form available on the SLS website (Click Courses at the bottom of the homepage and then click Consent of Instructor Forms). See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline. Admitted students must attend the first class meeting (or receive advance permission to miss class) to maintain their enrollment in the seminar. Early drop deadline: Admitted students may not drop this seminar after the first week of classes, i.e., April 4. 2025.

Statutory law is the dominant source of contemporary law, and it is the form of law that lawyers are likely to confront most often in almost any area of practice. It is also an area of vibrant intellectual debate, as scholars, Supreme Court justices, and others debate the methods and aims of statutory interpretation. This course will stress both the practical and theoretical dimensions of interpretation. Students will learn and apply the methods of statutory interpretation. We will also spend considerable time on contemporary controversies, such as debates about textualist, purposive and dynamic interpretation; about the use of legislative history and canons of construction; about the special interpretive problems that arise in the context of direct democracy; and about the democratic and constitutional foundations of statutory interpretation itself. Readings will draw from political science as well as law. Elements used in grading: Class participation and final exam. Special Instructions: Students cannot take both Legislation LAW 7048 and Statutory Interpretation LAW 7041 due to overlapping content.

This seminar will focus on how the law regulates the lives and bodies of trans and queer people. We will approach the material primarily through the lens of constitutional law, exploring how courts have used--or might use--federal or state constitutional provisions to address a wide array of issues involving gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. The core of the class will relate to contemporary controversies concerning gender identity and sexual orientation (including, for example, how gender is defined, recognition of nonbinary identities, access to gender-affirming healthcare, relationship rights of same-sex couples, and religious liberty debates, among others), and will critically examine how legal regulation of gender and sexuality intersects with other identity-based categories including race, class, and disability. We will maintain an interdisciplinary focus throughout as we consider how social, cultural, and political forces shape, and are shaped by, legal doctrine. Special Instructions: Students have the option to write a long research paper in lieu of the final exam with consent of instructor. After the term begins, students enrolled in the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Written Assignments; Exam or research paper.

(Formerly Law 715B) Recent events in our country have dramatically highlighted the fact that we are not a post-racial society, and that structural racism and implicit bias are as harmful to people and institutions as intentional discrimination. Currently, plaintiffs can only show a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment - and several other antidiscrimination laws - by proving intentional discrimination. This seminar will examine this "intent standard" and its significant barriers to racial justice litigation. The course will review social science research, including studies on implicit bias, racial anxiety, stereotyping, and other concepts, to explore how contemporary discrimination manifests. We will address how legal advocates and the law can utilize such research to challenge and remedy discrimination through strategic litigation. We will examine real-world examples of this, including in the context of school discipline and the school-to-prison pipeline. Meeting dates: This class will meet on three Fridays, October 21, October 28 and November 4. Students must attend all three classes. Early drop deadline: Students may not drop this course after the first class. Elements used in grading: Written assignments (reflection papers) and class participation.

This seminar provides students with the opportunity to analyze, argue, hear oral arguments and draft opinions in cases that are currently pending before the Supreme Court of the United States. During each session, two students will present oral argument (based on the briefs that have been filed in the Supreme Court) to nine fellow students, each of whose role is to reflect the jurisprudence and attitudes of the Justice they are portraying over the course of the seminar. The nine "Justices" will then conference the case and vote as they predict their Justices will vote. In this sense, the seminar is also intended to help promote insight into the role of judicial personality and philosophy within the decisional process. The cases chosen will provide a mix of constitutional and statutory issues, as well as a mix of criminal and civil cases. At the close of each session, one "Justice" will be assigned to draft the majority opinion and other "Justice" will be assigned to write the dissent. The other sitting "Justices" can join one of these opinions, request some changes as a condition of joining, or decide to write separately. Special instructions: 1. Because this is a simulation with assigned roles, students who are accepted into the seminar may not drop without permission of the instructor. 2. Because of the nature of the writing projects (with extensive interaction with other students), the normal deadline for Winter Quarter papers is waived and final papers must be submitted by the Spring Quarter deadline. Elements used in grading: Students will be graded based on the quality of their participation as "Justices," their oral argument, and their written opinions.

The contemporary debate over the proper role of a federal judge under the Constitution turns, in large measure, on what it is we think an Article III judge is doing when she is called upon to resolve a "case or controversy." Is she looking for the fair result? If so, by whose lights? Is she a political actor, or is she instead looking for a rule of decision that has been previously established by law (a "mere translator" of the law, in Justice Frankfurter's words). If so, by natural law or positive law? These are some of the questions we will consider in discussing what role a federal judge plays when she exercises "the judicial Power of the United States" conferred by Article III of the Constitution. Elements used in grading: Class attendance, participation and a paper. No exam. Interested SLS students should complete and submit an S-Term Course Selection Form 2024 available at https://law.stanford.edu/education/s-term/ by April 30, 2024. Forms received after the deadline will be processed on a rolling basis until the class is full. S-Term early start for Autumn Quarter.

(Formerly Law 765) Much has been written in recent years about the decline of the welfare state. Numerous adjectives have been applied to describe a trend toward austerity -- death, demise, withering, reversal. One writer suggested that the welfare state had not died, it had merely "moved to Asia" along with industrialization. This seminar introduces students to the key literature, questions, and debates about the modern welfare state. We will consider the emergence, growth, and current status of the welfare state, primarily in Western Europe and North America. The course will examine classical theories about markets and the emergence of social provision. We will also consider the leading theoretical and empirical research addressing the emergence of the welfare state, looking at the American case in comparative perspective. Attention will be paid to social and political factors on state development including political parties, labor markets, gender, demographic change, and immigration. We will then turn to the trend toward austerity and retrenchment, and the effect of globalization for the future of the welfare state. Course Requirements. Participation/Discussion (25%). Students are responsible to complete all readings and to come to class prepared to actively participate in discussion. Each student is responsible to lead a portion of the discussion twice per quarter. Short Reaction Papers (25%). All students must complete 5 reaction papers related to the weekly readings of 2 to 3 pages in length. Reaction papers will include a list of questions to be addressed in that week's discussion. All reaction papers must be posted to coursework in advance of class so that the student(s) leading that week's discussion can incorporate the questions into that week's discussion. Final Options (50%). Students have the option of completing one final paper of 20 pages in length OR 4 essays of 5 -6 pages each addressing the readings in weeks that the student did NOT complete reaction papers. Topics for 20 page papers must be approved by me in advance, and may be related to a student's dissertation or master's research or may be a stand-alone topic. Papers may take the form of a research proposal and need not contain original empirical research. Shorter papers should engage thoroughly with the literature on the selected topic, and should bring additional sources other than those read for class to bear on the topic of choice. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available on the SLS website (Click Courses at the bottom of the homepage and then click Consent of Instructor Forms). See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline. Cross-listed with Sociology ( SOC 254 & SOC 354).

I apologize in advance for the fact that there are no paragraph breaks in this description. It is not my fault. Please contact me directly if you have questions about the class and I will email you a more readable description. Thanks, MLD. Seminar with Concurrent Policy Lab: Rethinking Campus and School Title IX Policies and Procedures. Policy Lab Client: National Women's Law Center: Over the past six years, the issue of campus sexual assault has exploded into the public discourse. While definitive figures are difficult to obtain due to the necessarily private nature of these events, several recent studies estimate that between 20-25% of college women (and a similar proportion of students identifying as transgender and gender-nonconforming, as well as around 5-10% of male students) experience sexual assault. Survivors have come forward across the country with harrowing stories of assault followed by an insensitive or indifferent response from college administrators, launching one of the most successful, and surprising, social movements in recent memory. Statistics are equally disturbing in the middle and high school context. As a result, the federal government under President Obama stepped up its civil rights enforcement in this area, with over 250 colleges and universities currently under investigation for allegedly mishandling student sexual assault complaints. At the same time, students accused of sexual assault have complained of botched processes driven by a "campus rape over-correction" that denied them a fair disciplinary hearing. It is clear that schools are struggling to develop and implement policies and procedures that satisfy their legal obligations in this area. While the future of federal enforcement under the Trump Administration is uncertain, schools are still subject to federal and state law that require them have policies and procedures to address sexual harassment and violence. This course focuses on the legal and policy issues surrounding the highly challenging area of investigation and adjudication of sexual assault and other gender-motivated violence on college campuses and in K12 schools. It will cover the federal and state legal frameworks governing these procedures including Title IX, the Violence Against Women Act, and the Clery Act, and examine current cases as well as the rapidly-evolving legal, federal regulatory, and political environment surrounding this issue. Guest speakers working in the area will help to broaden the class's understanding of the subject matter. Students in this seminar will have the opportunity to participate in the invitation-only national conference entitled The Way Forward: Title IX Advocacy in the Trump Era, which will be held May 1-2 at Stanford Law School and is organized in conjunction with the National Women's Law Center. See [ http://conferences.law.stanford.edu/thewayforward-title9/] for more information on the conference. Concurrent Seminar and Policy Lab: The seminar is taught concurrently with the Policy Lab (also entitled "Rethinking Campus and School Title IX Policies and Procedures"). All students registered for the seminar participate in the Policy Lab, which works with the National Women's Law Center toward the development of a set of evidence-based and legally compliant model policies and procedures. Given all the controversy, surprisingly little is actually known about the policies and processes that are currently in use, nor is there any way of easily ascertaining what the majority of an institution's "peer schools" are doing with respect to solving a challenge or addressing an issue. There is no set of "best practices" to which school administrators can easily turn. Students will analyze cutting-edge issues related to school-based gender-motivated violence and work on a white paper for the NWLC that includes both legal and empirical research into the policies and procedures currently in use around the country. Throughout the class, students will have the opportunity to reflect on what they are learning and how it applies in a professional context. The eventual goal of this Policy Lab is the development in conjunction with NWLC of a free, web-based, open-source set of adaptable model policies and procedures that are targeted for different market segments (i.e., large private, large public, small private, HBCU, community colleges, and k12). Course Schedule and Optional Travel: The first three weeks of the class there will be two meetings per week, on Tuesday and Thursday from 4:15 to 6:15. Students will meet with Fatima Goss Graves, Senior Vice President for Program at the NWLC during week 2 to hear her expectations regarding the project and ask questions. During weeks 4-6 the class will meet once per week, on Thursday from 4:15-7:15 and small groups will work on their assigned sections of the project. On Thursday, May 4 (week 5), the class will meet with special guest Catherine Lhamon, former Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights and have the opportunity to discuss the project with her and receive her feedback. During Week 7, the class will take an optional trip to Washington DC to present the completed project to the staff of the NWLC on Friday May 19. The class will be housed at Stanford in Washington from Thursday May 18, and will attend a hearing of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in the morning of May 19 and then present their project in the afternoon. Travel expenses (other than incidentals) are provided. On Saturday, May 20 we will have the option to meet with other policy makers and activists as well as sightsee (including an attempted visit to the National Museum of African American History). We will return to Stanford on Sunday May 21. There will be no class during week 8. Enrollment, Assignments, and Evaluation; The Seminar and concurrent policy lab are both open to law students, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates. The seminar has two sections. Section 1 is a 2-hour seminar and students enrolling in Section 1 must also enroll in the Law 805R Policy Lab (1-hour). Section 2 is a 3-hour seminar, and students may enroll in that Section without concurrent enrollment in the Policy Lab. Regardless of the section of enrollment, all students will do the same assignments and be evaluated on the same criteria. All students will complete written work equivalent to a 26 page research paper. Law students will receive "R" credit for the seminar. Elements used in grading: Performance, Class Participation, Written Assignments, Final Paper. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available on the SLS website (Click Courses at the bottom of the homepage and then click Consent of Instructor Forms). See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline.

Today, statutes enacted by legislatures form an important part of nearly every area of law. This course introduces the production and interpretation of statutes. It covers topics including the federal legislative process, historical developments in American interpretive theory and practice, linguistic and substantive canons of construction, and administrative agencies' interpretations of statutes. Throughout, it devotes attention to recent developments in statutory interpretation--including modern textualism, debates among textualists, the uses of linguistics and new tools (e.g. corpus linguistics, AI) in interpretation, and the major questions doctrine--and we will study several Supreme Court cases from 2017-2025. The course's main text is Manning & Stephenson eds., Legislation and Regulation, 4th Edition (Foundation Press 2021). Supplementary materials, including updated readings related to administrative agencies, will also be provided. Elements used in grading: Class participation and final exam. Special Instructions: Students cannot take both Legislation LAW 7048 and Statutory Interpretation LAW 7041 due to overlapping content.