PLAP 3810

Like a Supreme Court history/overview/case study/gossip column rolled into one. A great introduction of constitutional law in a way that is very accessible and applicable outside of this particular class. Thanks to O'Brien, got to go to see an oral argument in the Supreme Court.

Amazing class!! Professor O'brien is my favorite professor at UVA!

Decent class, the professor has a wonderful attitude. I would not say it is for everyone though, it requires some passion for politics, especially the court system

information was pretty interesting, but there's A LOT. sometimes it's hard to understand all the rulings and keep track of all them. I thought lecture was really hard to follow even though he had outlines for each one. he got sidetracked a lot, i thought. very good class for those who are interested in law school or a career in politics. my ta jesse was pretty good except because there was a lot of information to cover and he focused a lot on opinions of students and waited for people to respond (which is good, but not when there's a lot of material to cover) we didn't cover everything in discussion, but he was very available during office hours to discuss/go over specific cases or any questions. midterm, final, mock court (which was a pretty big portion of the final grade).

Good class, a lot of info, but worth it. Prof. is hilarious and really knows his stuff, and teaches it pretty well. Readings are tough, but if you do them and brief the cases you should get an A- or B+ no problem.

You can get by in the class without thoroughly reading the cases; however, I highly recommend not falling behind on the cases. O'Brien is very smart and has an extensive background in constitutional law. If you have any desire to go to law school, take this class. The moot court is fun, the midterm is the hardest since you only have 50 minutes, but the final is not that bad since it's exactly like the midterm but you have three hours to do it. Take this class.

If you are at all interested in law school, take this class. It's not too hard, its really just about various Supreme Court cases.

This is possibly one of the hardest politics classes I've taken at UVA. The final is out of control hard and is worth 40% of your final grade.

Davis, one of the TAs, is a smart guy, but he grades discussion participation very harshly (ex: a 0 for the day if you don't say anything constructive). I found my grade hard to improve after the moot court. The final is absurdly difficult, esp. the multiple choice.

By far, one of the hardest classes at UVA. ABSURDLY DIFFICULT. The amount of reading before the midterm was manageable, however after the midterm everything gets harder and harder. The midterm is borderline impossible because you have to write down so much information in 50 minutes. The moot court was fun, but writing the paper was long and took a lot of time because of the amount of research you must do to formulate your answer. The final is impossible. You have to know so much information about different cases. Most students take the full 3 hours to complete the exam. I would not recommend this to anyone expect those who have a desire to go to law school (apparently it is what you will have to do during your first year in law school). AVOID THIS CLASS AT ALL COSTS!