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How To Teach Trump v. Barbara?

The Barnett/Blackman casebook split up the case into six excerpts that stretch across sixty pages that can be taught in two classes.

Josh Blackman | 8.17.2026 2:53 PM

Trump v. Barbara is one of the Supreme Court's most consequential decisions in recent memory. Most landmark decisions evolved as part of a long-line of cases. Slaughter followed from Seila Law which followed from Justice Scalia's Morrison dissent. Dobbs followed from Casey which followed from Roe. Students for Fair Admission followed from Grutter which followed from Bakke. On rare occasion, the Supreme Court decides an issue in an open field. Heller was one such case where the Supreme Court had to establish an entire new area of jurisprudence. Barbara is another. Both cases were based on text, history, and tradition, and both cases split 5-4 on the constitutional question.

The challenge of teaching Barbara is significant. There are many difficult pedagogical choices. First, where should it even go in the curriculum? It doesn't really fit in with discussions of the Fourteenth Amendment........

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