Spring 2027

The First Amendment

Examines First Amendment cases and literature, focusing on basic principles, purposes, and assumptions within historical and contemporary controversies.

offering recorded3–4 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Craig Fischer3.8/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Craig Fischer

The course required heavy reading before class and three challenging papers. Some students found assignment instructions vague and difficult to navigate, leading to frustration with grading expectations.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Analyze the structure and substance of judicial opinions at the appellate level.

  • Explain the role of the lawyer in the judicial system of the United States.

  • Apply legal research and writing skills in class assignments, demonstrating improvement through revision and feedback.

  • Evaluate and synthesize complex fact patterns giving rise to First Amendment claims.

  • Engage in discussions regarding historic and current legal debates on the meaning of free expression and the appropriate reach of the First Amendment.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Sophomore standing and (POLI SCI 104 or LEGAL ST/​POLI SCI 217)

POLISCI 470

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.00/5 from 11 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Craig Fischer

Craig Fischer made complex court cases accessible through enthusiastic lectures, though students disagreed on clarity, with some finding his energy overwhelming and assignment instructions vague. The course required heavy reading and three papers, which were described as challenging or poorly structured by critics, but Fischer remained available for advice and support.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.61 GPA, 78.6% A/AB (n=28 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.48 GPA, 76.1% A/AB (n=46 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.76 GPA, 91.3% A/AB (n=46 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Howard Schweber

Historical reviews describe Howard Schweber's teaching as engaging but fast-paced and difficult to follow. Students reported that he assigned heavy reading loads and lengthy take-home exams. Reviewers found his lectures entertaining and noted he provided exam answers during class, while others found his explanations challenging to track without recording.

BRENDON WESTLER is recorded teaching in Fall 2018. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

CRAIG FISCHER is recorded teaching in Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

DONALD ALEXANDER DOWNS is recorded teaching in Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

HOWARD SCHWEBER is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Spring 2019, Fall 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ROBERT BURTON is recorded teaching in Fall 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 500

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Craig Fischer

Craig Fischer taught complex constitutional law concepts with high energy and humor, making difficult court cases accessible. Students often found his lectures engaging and his approach to legal writing supportive.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.61 GPA, 78.6% A/AB (n=28 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.48 GPA, 76.1% A/AB (n=46 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.76 GPA, 91.3% A/AB (n=46 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Craig Fischer

The course required heavy reading before class and three challenging papers. Some students found assignment instructions vague and difficult to navigate, leading to frustration with grading expectations.

Past student reviews · Craig Fischer

Opinions on Fischer’s teaching style were divided; while some found his passion overwhelming or his explanations confusing, others valued his availability for questions and his focus on explaining legal nuances.

Topics

  • First Amendment principles and case law
  • Historical and contemporary free speech controversies
  • Role of lawyers in the U.S. judicial system

Skills

  • Analyze appellate judicial opinions
  • Apply legal research and writing skills
  • Evaluate and synthesize First Amendment fact patterns
  • Engage in discussions on free expression debates

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2025

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2025 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1286 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
POLISCI 470 · Spring 2027

The First Amendment

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
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  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:778:015954",
    "course_id": "POLISCI 470",
    "course_uid": "course_e7b4fd0e5787ff4ba6a21cc2",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "015954",
    "source_subject_id": "778",
    "title": "The First Amendment",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "c5ef6f5909156e064ddff391aaa5c499085ee444996c6b5ffc4c71ce1858423f",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}