This advanced, practice-focused seminar examines the persistent and evolving tension between national security imperatives and civil liberties protections in the United States. The course explores how courts, policymakers, and legal advisors navigate conflicts involving surveillance, detention, free speech, due process, and executive power during times of crisis and perceived threats.
Students will analyze how lawyers advise government officials, private companies, and individuals when constitutional rights intersect with security concerns. The course integrates constitutional law, statutory frameworks, and national security policy, focusing on how legal decisions are made under pressure and uncertainty.
The seminar treats this intersection as a dynamic legal battlefield, where the balance between liberty and security is constantly renegotiated. Students will develop practical skills in constitutional analysis, litigation strategy, and policy advising in high-risk environments.
This course assumes prior study of constitutional law or public law.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Understand the constitutional framework governing civil liberties and national security.
2. Analyze conflicts between security measures and individual rights.
3. Evaluate executive and legislative powers in security contexts.
4. Assess judicial oversight of national security actions.
5. Understand legal frameworks for surveillance and detention.
6. Analyze free speech and due process issues in security settings.
7. Evaluate litigation strategies in civil liberties cases.
8. Advise clients on risk and compliance in national security contexts.
9. Navigate ethical and policy considerations.
10. Apply legal principles to real-world security scenarios.
