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Norton, Helen

Distinguished Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • I research and write in the fields of constitutional law (especially first amendment and equal protection law) and antidiscrimination law. My work to date has focused primarily on the constitutional and policy implications of government speech; the constitutional and policy implications of governmental efforts to regulate lies (i.e., speakers' deliberate falsehoods); and the not-infrequent tensions between constitutional values (e.g., conflicts between listeners' and speakers' constitutional interests, or between equal protection and free speech interests).

keywords

  • constitutional law, first amendment law, equal protection law, employment discrimination law, civil rights

Publications

selected publications

Teaching

courses taught

  • LAWS 5425 - Torts
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2022
    Studies nonconsensual allocation of losses for civil wrongs, focusing primarily on concepts of negligence and strict liability.
  • LAWS 6005 - Constitutional Law
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
    Studies constitutional structure: judicial review, federalism, separation of powers; and constitutional rights of due process and equal protection.
  • LAWS 7015 - First Amendment
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
    Examines speech and religion clauses of the First Amendment. Includes the philosophical foundation of free expression, analytical problems in First Amendment jurisprudence and the relationships between free exercise of religion and the separation of church and state.
  • LAWS 8035 - Seminar: Intersection of Antidiscrimination and First Amendment Law
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2019 / Fall 2020
    Addresses past and continuing debates involving potential tensions between antidiscrimination principles and free speech, free exercise and establishment clause values. Examines constitutional protections under the First Amendment and the equal protection clause, together with an array of existing and proposed federal and state antidiscrimination laws regulating employment,housing, and public accommodations, among other areas.
  • LAWS 8120 - Special Topics in Constitutional Law
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2024
    Offers students the opportunity for in-depth discussion and study on an important topic of constitutional law. Topics may vary from year to year.

Background

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