355 Harris Ave.
This timely course focuses on recent rulings and developments in the U.S. Supreme Court as well as the increasing use of its “shadow docket.” We discuss the impact of its perceived 6-3 conservative majority in recent cases and our understanding of the Roberts Court. We will also discuss report findings of President Biden’s Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, which considered proposals to modify the appointment process of its justices.
Instructor: Paul Chen
Paul Chen has a B.A. in English, an M.A. in inter-cultural studies, a J.D. in Law and a Ph.D. in political science. He teaches courses on the Supreme Court, and the relationship between the law, courts, politics and society at Western Washington University. “You don’t need an education to know how to choose between good and bad,” he tells students. “What education does is to help you know how to choose between good—and another good.”
