This course examines the War on Drugs and federal and state drug sentencing issues in America through the unique lens of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival winning documentary, The House I Live In. Judge Bennett, who appeared in the film and is an outspoken critic of congressionally-mandated minimum sentences for drug offenses, will lead students through an interdisciplinary approach to drug sentencing in America, including major Supreme Court decisions on federal sentencing issues, some of Judge Bennett’s cutting-edge sentencing opinions rejecting U.S. Sentencing Guidelines on policy grounds, and important law review, social science, and news articles. Students will learn an overview of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and experience the rare opportunity to analyze real pre-sentence investigation reports (the critical document the parties and the judge use in federal sentencing) for defendants Judge Bennett actually sentenced—including the reports for two drug cases that eventually went to the Supreme Court and resulted in major Supreme Court opinions on federal sentencing issues. If possible, the class will video- or teleconference with people featured in the Sundance documentary, and with defendants Judge Bennett has sentenced who are currently incarcerated. Judge Bennett will challenge students to examine the economic, social, racial, and political interplay at work in federal drug sentencing, with a particular focus on how drug sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses impact the poor and racial minorities.