The Georgetown Summer Institute in Law & Society is a 5-week, 8-credit, in-person undergraduate program. The Institute will be offered via two five-week sessions:
- Capitol Law Session One (five weeks): June 1, 2026 – July 2, 2026
- Capitol Law Session Two (five weeks): July 6, 2026 – August 6, 2026
Courses by Session
Each session, students will take two doctrinal courses and the Law Practicum, a 2-credit experiential course that will include invited guest speakers at federal, state, and local levels of government and legal practice, as well as visits to several off-campus locations to meet with attorneys, judges, and legal system officials.
SESSION ONE
GOVT 3232: Criminal Law and the Bill of Rights (3 credits): Prof. Alexandra Clark
This course explores how the Bill of Rights has shaped U.S. criminal procedure law. We study key U.S. Supreme Court decisions interpreting the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments. And we consider what those decisions demand from prosecutors, investigators, and courts during key moments in a criminal case—investigation through sentencing. We look at the constitutional underpinnings of the law of criminal investigations, charging decisions, and the grand jury, bail, plea bargaining, discovery, trials, and sentencing. Course meets Mon.–Thu., 8:30 a.m.–10:35 a.m.
GOVT 2231: Constitutional Law I (3 credits) Prof. Joseph Hartman
This course explores the ways in which judicial interpretation of the U.S. Constitution has created and allocated power to government actors. Much of the popular debate about the U.S. Supreme Court centers on claims of civil rights and liberties. The Framers of the Constitution, however, believed that the greatest protection of liberty could be found in the way government was structured, and that the promise of civil rights and liberties was of little use without decentralized government and an effective system of checks and balances. Course meets Mon.–Thu., 10:45 a.m.–12:50 p.m.
IDST 3250: Law Practicum (2 credits): Prof. Joseph Hartman
The Law Practicum course would meet at least once per week, depending on which invited guests joined us in any given week. Some of the guest speakers and experiences would be common to both concentrations (e.g., visits to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Virginia Supreme Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court). This, of course, would enrich all students’ exposure to practicing attorneys, courts, agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other dimensions of legal practice in the greater metropolitan Washington area. Others might be tailored to the specific concentrations. Course meets at least once per week, Mon.–Thu., 1:30–3:30 p.m.
SESSION TWO
Course 1 – TBD
GOVT 2232: Constitutional Law II (3 credits): Prof. Joseph Hartman
This course explores the ways that the Constitution limits governmental authority over individuals within the U.S. by examining four issues within civil rights and civil liberties, broadly conceived: (1) the right to privacy, including abortion, the right to die and intimate associations; (2) free exercise of religion and the establishment clause; (3) freedom of speech and expression; and (4) equal protection, focusing on racial, gender and LGBTQ+ discrimination. Course meets Mon.–Thu., 10:50 a.m.–12:45 p.m.
IDST 3250: Law Practicum (2 credits): Prof. Joseph Hartman
The Law Practicum course would meet at least once per week, depending on which invited guests joined us in any given week. Some of the guest speakers and experiences would be common to both concentrations (e.g., visits to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Virginia Supreme Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court). This, of course, would enrich all students’ exposure to practicing attorneys, courts, agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other dimensions of legal practice in the greater metropolitan Washington area. Others might be tailored to the specific concentrations. Course meets at least once per week, Mon.–Thu., 1:30–3:30 p.m.
GOVT 2603: International Law (3 credits): Prof. Catherine Lotrionte
This course explores the theory and practice of international law against the background of the realities of international relations. The course seeks to improve students’ ability to engage in critical thinking, analysis, and independent learning. To that end, reading, discussing, and writing about the assigned material will be the central activities of the course. The goal is to improve students’ analytical ability and capacity for effective oral presentation using a modified form of the “case method” followed in law schools and to prepare students for professional discussions of public international law that occur in the public, private, and non-profit sectors of international affairs. Course meets June 2–July 3, Mon.–Thu., 8:30 a.m.–10:35 a.m.
Program Participation
You must participate in all scheduled Institute programming. You may not partially participate in the Institute. Any outside commitments you may have—including but not limited to summer internships—cannot conflict with either class meetings or experiential components. Students who wish to take one of the courses à la carte may do so through the Georgetown School of Continuing Studies, space permitting.
If you’ve already taken one of the courses for this Institute, please reach out to Prof. Joseph Hartman, the Summer Institute in Law Associate Director, at summerlaw@georgetown.edu.