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How does the US Constitution protect our fundamental rights?
Dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and expert on US constitutional law- Lecture Info
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What is a Fundamental Right?
We get married to our loved ones, raise our kids, and travel freely. Sometimes, we gather with others and fight for what we believe is justice. What makes it possible for us to think and live as we wish to? American constitution scholar Erwin Chemerinsky gives us the answer in his lecture.
In his lecture, 'What is a Fundamental Right?', Erwin Chemerinsky explains the individual freedoms given to Americans at birth - their fundamental rights. He details pertinent cases of freedom of expression, self-determination, freedom of religion, and the rights of the accused, and we see how the ever-changing US Constitution can serve as a guide to determine exactly what those freedoms entail.
How do the US courts behave now? Are they filled with fundamentalists who advocate sticking to the original text of the Constitution? Or are they filled with non-fundamentalists who believe that the interpretation of these constitutional laws needs to change with the changing American cultural and technological landscapes? The more we learn about the US court system, the more fascinating it becomes. Find out everything you thought you needed to know - and more - about US constitutional law through the lectures of Erwin Chemerinsky.

Erwin Chemerinsky
Dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (2017 ~ ) Inaugural Dean of University of California, Irvine, School of Law (2008~2017) Professor of law at Duke University School of Law (2004~2008) Professor of law at the University of Southern California (1983~2004) Assistant professor of law at DePaul University College of Law (1980~1983)
Erwin Chemerinsky is an American scholar of the US Constitution and current dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law. As a professor, he has been educating students on US law for over 40 years at prestigious institutions such as DePaul University, the University of Southern California, and Duke University. His research has focused on the US Constitution and federal civil cases.
His research focuses on the First Amendment of the Constitution, the federal court, and criminal proceedings and appeals, and he has represented clients in a multitude of high-profile cases over the years.
He has published multiple law review articles and books on subjects such as the Constitution, criminal proceedings, and federal jurisdiction, and his writings have had far-reaching impacts on both academia and national law. His previous books include “Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies,” “The Case Against the Supreme Court,” and “Free Speech on Campus,” and he recently published “Presumed Guilty: How the Supreme Court Empowered the Police and Subverted Civil Rights.”
In addition to publishing books, he has published more than 200 columns and op-eds for prominent newspapers like the Los Angeles Times and The Seattle Times.
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