So, I am a graduating senior and this is not only the best class, but also the best professor. Yes, I did do well in the class, but even if I was getting a c in this class, I would still leave this review. I was one of those students who would email the professor a lot asking for help and he was just so patient and so helpful. I really was surprised, I had never met a professor like him. He is super caring of his students and he will give you an opportunity to boost your grade. I MEAN THIS! I don't know what else to say to express how good of a professor he is, but I will DEFINATELY take another class with him next quarter. Oh and it was a class that was only hour 15, which was very well crafted. I have tooken a class that was similar and it was 3 hours , but I preferred the one hour version more. Thank you professor !!!

Huppin is an extraordinary professor!
Really, even if you do not possess an interest in law/legal studies you will be motivated by him.
He motivates students to think for themselves and come to rational conclusions with the evidence and knowledge given. Taking his class will be an asset for you in your daily life and the way that you analyze situations.
Really, he is a gleaming professor in the dulling Communications department at UCLA.
I feel as if my experience in his class is a treasure, as he said himself, in the years to come your favorite professors may not remain. Go for a spin!

One of the best professors I have ever had! He is engaging, down to earth, and very fair. I don't have a particular interest for law but this was still one of my favorite classes! Midterm and final are also pretty easy--he really wants his students to do well.

This class had cases which he would go over in class. He was always available in office hours. There were two short papers which helped your grade. I enjoyed the class.

I really enjoyed Professor Huppin's first amendment law class. We only met once a week: on Monday nights for three hours. There were two monday holidays this quarter, and the midterm and final were administered during lecture time, so the grand total of lectures was 6. During these six lectures, he laid out the basic doctrines and fundamentals of first amendment law, and used past cases for evidence. It was a really interesting class because the cases were pertinent to society now, and taking the class helped me better understand the true limits of "free speech." This class was very easy, no textbook required (just a couple of court cases from online to read every week), no homework, only the midterm (45%) and the final (55%) were counted. He also posts all of his lecture slides, and hosts a midterm and final review session, making studying much easier! Overall, if you are interested in first amendment law, and not looking to be overwhelmed, I highly recommend this class!

"huppin is a decent professor. i'm not quite so sure why his reviews are so glowing"

To answer this reviewer'a question; it is very simple, Huppin posts a lot of glowing reviews himself, and/or asks students to write good reviews for him. This information comes from a reliable source within the CS department. Bottom line, discard the super positive reviews, because they are fake.

Huppin clearly knows his stuff. A Stanford law graduate, he's knowledgeable about what he teaches, though his explanations can sometimes use some improvement. One of the only things that bothered me about him is how he answered questions- there were many instances someone would ask a simple clarification question on a powerpoint slide, and he would go off on a 10, sometimes 15 minute explanation that was clearly unnecessary and extraneous, sometimes not even answering the question directly.

That being said, I loved this course- first amendment law. Of course I don't know how the class compared to a real law school class, but Huppin planned the curriculum thoughtful and carried crucial themes along as we went through the weeks. The class was simply a lot of reading- about 70-100 pages of court cases per week. The midterm and final are very fair. I got scored a 88% on the midterm, 99% on the final, and came out of the class with an A. If you're at all interested in first amendment law, I highly recommend this course.

Huppin is a great professor. I took 171 and 146 and although the courses are completely different, both classes were very interesting. Two simple papers, midterm and non cumulative final (146- both exams are multiple choice- tricky questions). He is very approachable and helpful, always responds to emails and definitely does not lecture on "murdering step-children, humans are robots, rape is an adaptation.. etc" It is obvious that the student does not fully understand the material and that is unfortunate. Overall, I would definitely recommend Huppin. He invites cool guest speakers, interesting video clips (anything from Finding Nemo to About Last Night). It is not an easy A but the material is very interesting!

I took 171 with Huppin last Spring and am currently taking 146 with him right now. Since all of these reviews are for 146, I wanted to write one about 171, but first I wanted to address the first posting. As is stated numerous times below, the first post regarding 146 is completely off-base. This class is interesting, informative, and does not in any way promote rape, murdering step-children or the other ridiculous claims this student has mistakenly heard. Huppin always presents a unbiased view and makes sure that we know that he isn't trying to preach a certain view. Anyway, just know this is class is a very interesting class, that is quite enjoyable. Two short papers, a multiple choice midterm and final, and interesting class discussions.

So onto 171. I really enjoyed this class. I remember Huppin saying something about how this class was taught like a law school class, but don't let that scare you. He is a very fair grader, usually curves, wants his students to do well, and is always there if you have questions about anything. This class centers on First Amendment Law and Huppin provides a nice variety of court cases that demonstrate some of the more interesting issues concerning freedom of speech and press. We covered free speech issues ranging from movie ratings to porn. The readings consist of court cases and the test are hypothetical situations to which you have to apply your knowledge of the court cases. I liked this class because it made me really think about the material I was learning. There isn't much memorization, he made it clear that he didn't just want students to come to the tests and write everything they had memorized. His tests are short answer so you we able to argue and defend your answers (having taken both his multiple choice and his short answer tests, I have to say I like the short answer better). Along with the midterm and final (which are not cumulative) there are two short papers which tend to be grade boosters. Don't let the law basis of this class scare you, it is still one of my favorite Communication Studies upper divs and I have taken quite a few of them.

Bottom line: take Huppin -- he is a cool professor, is concerned with student learning, makes sure his lectures and are engaging, shows funny clips and movies in class, gets guest speakers to come speak, tells good stories about his family, and is an extremely smart guy.