Upcoming Courses

Mondays 5:30-8:30

This course is designed to take a particular look at our country’s laws and legal system by following a single, complex case from its very beginning to the end—when the United States Supreme Court issues its decision. Specifically, we will follow the case called Gonzales v. Oregon, from when Oregon enacted its “Death with Dignity Act” in 1994 through challenges to the law that ultimately resulted in a decision by the Supreme Court in 2006. We will review the law and consider whether the policy embodied in the law is a good policy. We will examine early challenges to the law and the challenge that ultimately ended up in the Supreme Court. We will be reading statutes, regulations, judicial opinions, briefs, and other legal documents in our journey from 1994 to 2006. In following the case from beginning to end, we will have opportunities to discuss and evaluate positions taken by the parties to the lawsuit; majority and dissenting opinions; public opinion; and the correctness of the Supreme Court’s 2006 opinion. In addition, we will consider the broader question of the wisdom of physician assisted suicide and its adoption by other states and countries.

Follow this link for the course application