University of Baltimore School of Law | University of Aberdeen School of Law
Note: Detailed syllabi will be provided as available.
Comparative Civil Rights Law, including a case study of immigrants in the U.S.
3 credits, taught by Professor Maureen Sweeney, University of Maryland Frances King Carey School of Law
This course will provide a comparative study of the protection of civil rights in domestic legal regimes in the United States and Scotland/ the United Kingdom. We will explore basic law and legal structures for the vindication of civil rights, including such issues as:
- Policing and protection from unreasonable search and seizure, including racial profiling and national origin profiling
- Liberty rights and the writ of habeas corpus
- Rights of the accused, including the right to counsel
- Freedom from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations
- Right to family unity and parental authority
- Right to due process
Our look at civil rights protections in the United States will include for each of these topics consideration of the extent to which these protections apply or may be limited for immigrants in the U.S. For example, immigrants are – like all other persons in the U.S. – theoretically fully protected by the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable search and seizure. However, case law limits their ability to suppress evidence in immigration proceedings, leaving them largely without a remedy for Fourth Amendment violations that lead to immigration charges. Likewise, undocumented immigrants have a right to be free from discrimination in the workplace but may be ineligible for back pay and other remedies. Comparable issues will be raised in the Scottish and European contexts.
Comparative Human Rights
3 credits, taught by Elizabeth Keyes, University of Baltimore School of Law
This class is designed to introduce you to international regimes for protecting human rights and to allow you to compare approaches to specific human rights issues in the United States and in the United Kingdom, Scotland, and Europe. The class will focus on issues surrounding privacy law, rights in the context of the criminal justice system, as well as social and economic rights. It will also consider human rights violations in the context of offenses against international law. You will read a mix of cases from United States and European legal systems, as well as articles and scholarly excerpts that will enhance your understanding of the case law.
Specific topics will include:
- Human rights protection regimes
- Human rights and international criminal law
- Privacy and the media
- Privacy and crime control
- Prisoner rights
- The “Bringing Human Rights Home” movement in the United States: Case study of the right to water
- Rights relating to sexual orientation
- Migrant worker rights
- Death penalty and racial justice
- Asylum-seeker rights
- Children’s rights