Judge Amul Thapar teaches “Crime and the Constitution”
The Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government (CCCG) offered a new one-credit class titled “Crime and the Constitution” during the Fall 2024 semester. As outlined in its syllabus, the half-semester course discussed how America’s federal criminal law has expanded considerably, what dangers may arise from this expansion, and what students can do about it.
Honorable Amul Thapar, a circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Court, taught the course. Thapar was introduced to the CCCG by his son, a former Notre Dame student and member of the CCCG’s Tocqueville fellowship. Collectively, Thapar has taught six courses at Notre Dame in both the undergraduate and law schools. Most recently, Thapar taught two one-credit undergraduate classes titled, “Race and American Constitutionalism” and “Church, State, and the American Supreme Court.”
The class met for a total of six sessions over the course of two months, allowing students to gain a philosophical understanding of the initial purposes of constitutional order. Students in “Crime and the Constitution” began by studying America’s founding. Additionally, they looked into the development of the federal criminal code and analyzed related case law. According to the syllabus, the class focused on “the purpose of criminal law and whether America’s criminal laws and regulations have strayed from this purpose.”
With this aim, students read Harvey Silverglate’s Three Felonies a Day, a book detailing the expansiveness of criminal law governing common conduct. The book further examined vague federal criminal laws and how they have become disconnected from common law tradition, allowing for prosecutors to charge ordinary citizens with harsh federal crimes. Harvey Silverglate also appeared before the class for a remote lecture.
Tyler Castle, Associate Director of the CCCG, elaborated on the breadth and vagueness of criminal statutes discussed in this book, stating, “There’s this idea in traditional common law, you both had to commit a crime, but you also had to know that it was a crime and that you were committing it in order to be prosecuted for it.” He continued, “Judge Thapar was making [the students] think about whether we should get back to something more like that, where you have to have the intent of actually committing the crime to be prosecuted for it.”
Following a similar theme, students read Neil Gorsuch and Janie Nitze’s Overruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law. The book examined the regulations placed on American citizens that lead to individual prosecutions, driven by extensive federal criminal code that penalizes people unaware that their actions are federal crimes.
In addition, students read opinions from Supreme Court cases such as Yates v. United States, wherein a fisherman was harshly prosecuted under the government’s broad interpretation of an obstruction statute. They also read Fischer v. United States, when an individual was charged for obstructing an official proceeding of Congress during the January 6 protests at the Capitol.
Castle told the Rover, “The argument is that the federal criminal code is so extensive and so vague that there are all sorts of things that people could do and have done that are technically federal crimes without them even knowing it. Judge Thapar thinks this is an issue, and it’s something he’s passionate about, and he wanted to teach a course to educate students on the issue itself.”
When asked what inspired him to teach this class, Thapar said to the Rover, “When people, especially students, think about the federal government and how involved it is in our lives, they don’t realize the breadth of that.”
Thapar continued, “I think the class really allowed [the students] to see the breadth of the federal government’s involvement, explore whether that’s good or bad, and to ponder the issues about the federal government, the administrative state, and criminal law in general.”
On teaching the class during an election year, Thapar stated, “In Justice Gorsuch’s book, we talked about how there shouldn’t be so much polarization from simply elections and voting and having a different point of view from someone else.”
He continued, “I think we explored that in class and talked about how important it is for the students to be willing to share their point of view and [feel] free to do so without the feeling of repercussions … whether it be from their friends, or professors, or others.”
Don Stelluto, Co-Director of the CCCG, explained to the Rover the significance of a federal judge teaching the class: “Judge Thapar is not just conveying knowledge; he knows the value of major questions and skillfully and illuminatingly can weave together the examples being studied in class with major, fundamental questions that students must wrestle with.
He added, “His ability to navigate the legal process while explaining the philosophical foundations means that our students receive an unparalleled classroom experience, in which they can hear a truly full and thoughtful perspective on the issues. It’s a wonderful blending of theory and practice.”
Senior Ryan Sullivan, a student in the course, reflected on the class as one of the most interesting and rewarding academic experiences he’s had at Notre Dame: “I think that the need for more government accountability and transparency when it comes to our laws and regulations is something that hopefully every American, regardless of political affiliation, can get behind,” Sullivan told the Rover.
John Soza, a senior accountancy major who has taken a class with Thapar for the past three years, called the classes an “indelible part of his academic experience at Notre Dame.” Soza also emphasized the interactive nature of the class, saying, “Judge Thapar really wanted to hear what the students thought about the cases and issue of overcriminalization, but he also wanted students to wrestle with potential solutions to the overcriminalization problem.”
James Baird, a senior history and political science major, explained his main takeaways from the class to the Rover, saying, “I found Judge Thapar’s down-to-earth nature and manner of argument unbelievably refreshing, in contrast to all the abstract and complicated judicial opinions and philosophies I’ve had to decipher in college.” Baird continued, “I had a great time, and I recommend taking a course taught by Judge Thapar, no matter your judicial philosophy or political beliefs.”
Although “Crime and the Constitution” will not be offered in the spring, the CCCG will offer several courses on constitutional issues. For any students interested in similar courses taught by Thapar and other faculty, more information can be found on the CCCG website.
Allison Bowman is a sophomore studying Economics and Constitutional Studies. She can be reached at abowman9@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: The University of Notre Dame Law School
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