U.S. Govt: Crime, Law and the Constitution evaluates the origin and application of due process rooted in British law and found in the United States Constitution. The course will analyze issues related to the federal and state criminal justice systems including: policing, arrest, arraignment, trial, sentencing, and incarceration/alternative rehabilitation. At the federal level, students will evaluate the impact of federal laws such as the 1994 Crime Bill and precedents set by Supreme Court cases. At the state level, students will examine key California laws such as the Three Strikes Law.  Case studies will include recent trials, and the coursework will include field trips and guest experts from the Bay Area. Students will participate in a mock trial and produce a research based podcast or documentary related to criminal justice.

U.S. Govt: Race, Gender and Power is a course that explores personhood and its construction in the American political system. Since the drafting of the Constitution, the US political system has restricted access to legal rights and protections of personhood; in particular for women and People of Color. In turn, this creates unique political realities for the Black, Chicanx/Latinx, Asian American, Native American, Feminist and LGBTQ experiences within the US political system. This course will examine the Constitution and the federal and state governments it creates from the perspectives of these communities, as well as how the Constitution, judicial system, media, and political parties have been used by the People to achieve greater access to freedom and equality. In short, this course will examine who exactly has historically been included in the American collective of “We the People”, how this has changed over time, and what this means for our society today.

The honors curriculum for this course will include additional componentss to add depth and rigor in assignments, readings and tests, as well as more complex Supreme Court cases.

Class receives honors weighting in SI weighted GPA and UC/CSU GPA calculations.

This course will analyze the changing demographics of San Francisco from a Gold Rush town to a blue-collar manufacturing and shipping center to a technology hub, and how those changes impacted the City’s politics. Students will learn about the evolution of the “strong mayor” system of government and the relationship between the executive (Mayor’s Office) and legislative (Board of Supervisors) branches of City government. Students will also examine San Francisco as a case study in federalism by evaluating how the national government (e.g. the Hetch Hetchy water system and the New Deal programs) and the California state government (e.g. the “great freeway revolt”) have shaped the City and County of San Francisco. Furthermore, students will study how San Francisco became a center of the civil rights, free speech, anti-war, and gay rights movements, particularly from the 1960s to the present.