Digital Commons Network^™

Drugs And Small Arms: Can Law Stop The Traffic?, Christopher L. Blakesley

Scholarly Works

Professor Blakesley presides over this panel discussion on laws combating the illegal importation of drugs and small arms, and their implications for international and domestic law.

Constitutional Interpretation—The Uses And Limitations Of Original Intent, Thomas B. Mcaffee

Scholarly Works

It is fitting that in the decade of the Bicentennial of the Constitution we have seen a renewal of debate over the meaning of the Constitution and what is required to remain true to it. An aspect of that debate has concerned constitutional interpretation and the role of “original intent”—or perhaps more broadly, “original context”—in any proper approach to the interpretive process. Unfortunately, the debate is frequently approached from virtually an either/or perspective, as though the intent of the Framers must either control all constitutional questions or be used as no more than window-dressing. While some advocates of original intent …

Government–Owned Media: The Government As Speaker And Censor, Linda L. Berger

Scholarly Works

When government operates a communications medium, it may either promote first amendment values, by ensuring a diverse marketplace of ideas, or hinder them, by censoring the information and ideas it conveys. This Note proposes a synthesis of government speech and government forum analyses which would provide first amendment limitations on government-operated media while still allowing government to exercise editorial discretion.

Berger V. The Supreme Court—The Implications Of His Exceptions-Clause Odyssey, Thomas B. Mcaffee

Scholarly Works

In his 1969 Congress v. The Supreme Court, Raoul Berger evaluated the potential claims to supremacy of Congress and the Supreme Court under the exceptions clause of article III and found in favor of the Supreme Court. Berger explicated a narrow construction of Congress’ express power to make exceptions to the Court’s appellate jurisdiction, holding that Congress’ claimed power to curb judicial excess was at odds with the design of the Constitution and without historical foundation. From 1969 to 1980, Berger reaffirmed his initial reading of the legislative history of article III no less than four times, once in …

Lawyers And The Abortion Debate: Presenting A Balanced View, Thomas B. Mcaffee

Scholarly Works

The author is pleased to see the publication of A Lawyer Looks at Abortion because legal scholars have much to contribute to the understanding of public questions. Lay readers too often receive distorted impressions of legal issues from the media, and those who understand the system best are frequently too busy writing for the legal community to contribute to popular literature. Yet it is legal scholars who are best equipped to make the intricacies of law accessible to lay persons by defining and explaining legal terms and doctrine and by examining the reasoning found in relevant judicial decisions. Lawyers are …

The Rights Of Gay Prisoners: A Challenge To Protective Custody, Joan W. Howarth

Scholarly Works

This Note focuses on the specific issues raised by the traditional method of dealing with homosexuals in prison: isolation from the general prison population. This traditional segregation often results in almost twenty-four hour-a-day confinement to a cell, which severely limits access to programs and opportunities normally enjoyed by prisoners.

This Note first discusses the history and current practice of segregation of gay prisoners' as well as the broader subject of protective custody, and then outlines the judicial response to the problems of protective custody prisoners generally and gay prisoners specifically. It then critiques the judicial confusion and resulting reluctance to …

Note, A Dialogue On The Political Question Doctrine, Thomas B. Mcaffee, Christopher A. Johnson

Scholarly Works

Legal scholars have generally discussed the political question doctrine as part of the larger debate over the legitimacy of judicial review. Points of discordance aside, scholars have agreed that the doctrine is “a classic technique of judicial avoidance, a way of allowing a governmental decision to stand without involving the Court in supporting its legitimacy.” Thus, debate over the objectives, legitimacy and scope of the doctrine has traditionally proceeded from the unquestioned assumption that there exists a body of law which justifies judicial abstention from deciding some types of issues.

In recent years, however, some scholars have challenged the assumption …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Notice By Publication Is Constitutionally Inadequate In Tax Sale Proceeding, Martin A. Geer

Scholarly Works

In 1976 the Michigan Supreme Court’s determined in Doe v. State that procedural due process requires an owner of a significant interest in real property to be given notice of the state’s foreclosure petition and a meaningful opportunity for a hearing which he may challenge the state’s claim that property taxes remain unpaid without legal justification. This casenote examines the existing legal precedent during the Doe v. State decision, the Michigan Supreme Court’s decision and analysis, and the legislature’s actions following the decision.