POL 435 Seminar in Judicial Processes and Politics

3 hours 

Seminar devoted to advanced study of both state and federal courts in the United States as actors and arbiters in major constitutional and political disputes. Examination of the public policy contribution of courts, and the role of judges, lawyers, litigants and pressure groups in the judicial process. Emphasis is placed on how court decisions influence the negotiation and accommodation that occur in the United States between the values of dominant cultures and those of culturally diverse groups (racial, ethnic, religious, gender).