About the Course

This three-credit course studies the role of the federal courts in the federal system. Topics include the power of Congress to regulate the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts; federal question jurisdiction; Supreme Court review of state court judgments; federal common law; sovereign and official immunity doctrines; abstention and related limitations on federal courts' jurisdiction; and (to some extent) federal habeas corpus.  The course also will examine relationships between federal courts and the other branches of the federal government, the states, and the individual.

I am willing to adjust the syllabus to address the needs and interests of students in the course.

I practiced exclusively in the federal courts as an Assistant United States Attorney for over thirteen years.  My focus since I began to teach five years ago has been almost exclusively federal.  This was my favorite course in law school. I think that you will find it to be interesting.

Class Meeting Times:

Class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. in Room 201.

Required Reading:

The primary text is Richard H. Fallon, Jr., John Manning, Daniel J. Meltzer, & David L. Shapiro, Hart & Wechsler's, The Federal Courts and the Federal System, (6th ed. 2009), along with its 2010 Supplement.  Other materials will be provided in class.  All materials other than the primary text will be available on the course website.  All required readings are essential.  Supplemental readings will be available for anyone who wants to delve into a subject more deeply.  Anything projected during class likely will be available on the course website.

Students are cautioned to read original source materials – such as statutes and cases – very closely.  On the other hand, the other pages of the textbook generally can be skimmed. Often, I will give guidance in class as to what can be skimmed and what needs to be read in detail.  Avoid falling behind.

The summer schedule is very compressed, yet it includes all 2100 minutes of in-class instruction required by the American Bar Association for three credits.  Thus, each and every class meeting covers a week’s worth of material compared to the fall and spring terms.  If you normally expect 15 to 20 pages of reading in a casebook per class hour, then it is fair to expect 45 to 60 pages of reading per class meeting on this summer schedule.  It is hard work, but you get three credits in seven weeks.

Note about textbook and assignments:

I have updates to our textbook that will be provided electronically.  The assignments are subject to change.  The following covers only the first part of the term. 

 

About the Professor:

 William C. Snyder, Esq., is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law for the 2007-2011 school years at the Syracuse University College of Law. He is teaching Federal Criminal Law, Computer Crimes, Terrorism and the Law, Prosecuting Terrorists in Article III Courts, and Evidence. In addition, he assists at the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism, a joint venture of Syracuse University's College of Law and its Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs

In April 2008, the Foundation for Defense of Democracy named Professor Snyder an Academic Fellow for 2008-2009. As such, in June, 2008, Snyder attended an intensive course in terrorism studies conducted at Tel Aviv University, including lectures by academics, military and intelligence officials, and diplomats from Israel, India, Turkey and the United States, as well as visits to police, customs, immigration and military facilities, border zones and occupied territories. Snyder also met with victims of terrorism violence and inmates convicted of terrorism offenses.

Mr. Snyder was the 2004-2005 Fellow in Government Law and Policy at the Albany Law School’s Government Law Center. A career federal prosecutor prior to joining the Government Law Center, Mr. Snyder served over 13 years as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the Western District of Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. Prior to receiving his law degree, Mr. Snyder served as an Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States and was Deputy Administrative Assistant to Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh.

As an AUSA, Mr. Snyder initiated prosecution of the largest felony case in the history of the Western District of Pennsylvania while assigned as legal counsel to the Greater Pittsburgh Violent Crimes/ Gang Task Force. In addition, he participated in intelligence investigations and drafted emergency plans while assigned to that district's Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council. He served as the district's Crisis Response Manager.

Mr. Snyder received his Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in political science with a concentration in international relations from Yale College of Yale University. He received his Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude from Cornell Law School where he served on the Cornell Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif.

Since 2005, Mr. Snyder taught National Security Law, Current Legal Issues in Government and Fact Investigation as an Adjunct Professor at Albany Law School. In 2006 and 2007 he taught Prosecuting Terrorists in Article III Courts at the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism at Syracuse University. In addition, he teaches criminal law and procedure to local police departments. He has also lectured on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act following his service on the Greater Pittsburgh Violent Crime and Gang Task Force that resulted in a ground-breaking racketeering prosecution.

Mr. Snyder is a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He is also a member of the International Bar Association.