223.8 sec. 001 - California Constitutional Law (Fall 2025)
Instructor: David A Carrillo (view instructor's profile)
Instructor: Danny Chou
View all teaching evaluations for this course - degree students only
Units: 3
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
W 3:35 PM - 6:15 PM
Location: Law 130
From August 20, 2025
To November 19, 2025
Course End: November 19, 2025
Class Number: 33159
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 0
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 24
As of: 04/04 07:13 AM
This course is about power: to make policy decisions, the sources of that power, and how to use it to resolve conflicts over policy decisions. Those policy debates occur between the California and federal governments, between branches of California’s government, and between the state government and its people. We will teach you how to understand and use your primary tool in all those contexts: California’s constitution.
The California constitution defines the structure of California’s government and establishes the basis for many of California’s laws. It includes unique provisions that cover areas as diverse as direct democracy, taxation, water rights, and labor relations. The California constitution also affords greater protection of many individual rights than the federal constitution. Indeed, the California courts have long heeded Justice William Brennan’s call in 1977 to look to state constitutions as the guardians of our individual liberties.
Despite this, most California lawyers have little or no understanding of California constitutional law. This course seeks to change this by introducing the students to the California constitution and its rich jurisprudence. The goal is for each student to develop both an understanding of and appreciation for the California constitution and its important role in California’s legal landscape.
Each week, the course will cover one aspect of California’s constitution using the California Constitutional Law casebook authored by the instructors. Because there is far more material than we can cover in a three-unit course, we will give you some opportunity to choose the topics you wish to explore. The areas of California constitutional law (represented by the chapters in the casebook) that are available for exploration include:
• State constitutional design
• Federalism, preemption, and other state–federal conflicts
• Separation of powers
• Popular sovereignty
• The legislature
• The executive
• The judiciary
• Individual rights to speech, privacy, equal protection, fundamental rights, religion, and unconstitutional conditions
• Elections
• State and local interaction
• State agency powers and limitations
• Budget and taxation
• Water law
Grades will be based on: attendance, class participation, weekly submissions and in-class presentations, and a final paper. Each student must do at least one short presentation (roughly 5–10 minutes per person) based on the weekly reading. A final course paper (approximately 15 pages) is required for this Option 1 course.
The California Constitutional Law casebook, coauthored by the instructors, is required. A free copy of the California constitution will be provided to each student. There may also be guest speakers throughout the semester.
David A. Carrillo is a lecturer in residence and executive director of the California Constitution Center.
Danny Y. Chou is a Justice on the California Court of Appeal and a former judge on the San Mateo County Superior Court. Before joining the bench, he litigated a number of the cases in the casebook.
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Requirements Satisfaction:
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Exam Notes: (P) Final Paper
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: Public Law and Policy
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Readers:
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Books:
Required Books are in blue
- California Constitutional Law
David A. Carrillo and Danny Y. Chou
Edition: First edition 2021
Publisher: West Academic
ISBN: 9781642429695
e-Book Available: unknown
Price: $314.00
Note: prices are sampled from internet bookstores. Law-school Bookstore prices are unavailable at this time.