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Sacred Cows, Holy Wars: Exploring The Limits Of Law In The Regulation Of Raw Milk And Kosher Meat, Kenneth Lasson Dec 2013

Sacred Cows, Holy Wars: Exploring The Limits Of Law In The Regulation Of Raw Milk And Kosher Meat, Kenneth Lasson

Kenneth Lasson

SACRED COWS, HOLY WARS Exploring the Limits of Law in the Regulation of Raw Milk and Kosher Meat By Kenneth Lasson Abstract In a free society law and religion seldom coincide comfortably, tending instead to reflect the inherent tension that often resides between the two. This is nowhere more apparent than in America, where the underlying principle upon which the first freedom enunciated by the Constitution’s Bill of Rights is based ‒ the separation of church and state – is conceptually at odds with the pragmatic compromises that may be reached. But our adherence to the primacy of individual rights …


The Voice Of Reason—Why Recent Judicial Interpretations Of The Antiterrorism And Effective Death Penalty Act’S Restrictions On Habeas Corpus Are Wrong, Judith L. Ritter Nov 2013

The Voice Of Reason—Why Recent Judicial Interpretations Of The Antiterrorism And Effective Death Penalty Act’S Restrictions On Habeas Corpus Are Wrong, Judith L. Ritter

Judith L Ritter

By filing a petition for a federal writ of habeas corpus, a prisoner initiates a legal proceeding collateral to the direct appeals process. Federal statutes set forth the procedure and parameters of habeas corpus review. The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) first signed into law by President Clinton in 1996, included significant cut-backs in the availability of federal writs of habeas corpus. This was by congressional design. Yet, despite the dire predictions, for most of the first decade of AEDPA’s reign, the door to habeas relief remained open. More recently, however, the Supreme Court reinterpreted a key portion …


Correcting A Fatal Lottery: A Proposal To Apply The Civil Discrimination Standards To The Death Penalty, Joseph Thomas Nov 2013

Correcting A Fatal Lottery: A Proposal To Apply The Civil Discrimination Standards To The Death Penalty, Joseph Thomas

Joseph Thomas

Claims of discrimination are treated differently in the death penalty context. Discrimination in employment, housing, civil rights and jury venire all use a burden-shifting framework with the preponderance of the evidence as the standard. Discrimination that occurs in death penalty proceedings is the exception to the rule -- the framework offers less protections; there is only one phase of argumentation, with a heightened evidentiary standard of “exceptionally clear proof.” With disparate levels of protections against discrimination, the standard and framework for adjudicating claims of discrimination in the death penalty is unconstitutional.

Death is different as a punishment. But does discrimination …


The Export Clause And The Constitutionality Of A Cap And Trade Mitigation Policy For Carbon Dioxide, Ross Astoria Nov 2013

The Export Clause And The Constitutionality Of A Cap And Trade Mitigation Policy For Carbon Dioxide, Ross Astoria

Ross Astoria

The Export Clause of the Constitution prohibits the taxing of “Articles exported from any State.” In this paper I examine the effect that Export Clause jurisprudence might have on the choice of national carbon dioxide mitigation policies. I conclude that it is unlikely that a “downstream” price on carbon dioxide emissions could include exported hydrocarbons. One corollary is that, since cap and trade policies are “downstream” pricing mechanism, it would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to craft cap and trade so as to cover exported hydrocarbons. In contrast, an “upstream” carbon tax does not suffer from this constitutional infirmity. I therefore …


Supreme Court Wrestles With Prayer At Public Meetings, Alan E. Garfield Nov 2013

Supreme Court Wrestles With Prayer At Public Meetings, Alan E. Garfield

Alan E Garfield

No abstract provided.


The Declaration Of Independence As Canon Fodder, Mark A. Graber Oct 2013

The Declaration Of Independence As Canon Fodder, Mark A. Graber

Mark Graber

No abstract provided.


Constructing Constitutional Politics: The Reconstruction Strategy For Protecting Rights, Mark Graber Oct 2013

Constructing Constitutional Politics: The Reconstruction Strategy For Protecting Rights, Mark Graber

Mark Graber

No abstract provided.


Accounting For Federalism In State Courts - Exclusion Of Evidence Obtained Lawfully By Federal Agents, Robert M. Bloom, Hillary J. Massey Oct 2013

Accounting For Federalism In State Courts - Exclusion Of Evidence Obtained Lawfully By Federal Agents, Robert M. Bloom, Hillary J. Massey

Robert Bloom

After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, Congress greatly enhanced federal law enforcement powers through enactment of the U.S.A. Patriot Act. The Supreme Court also has provided more leeway to federal officers in the past few decades, for example by limiting the scope of the exclusionary rule. At the same time, many states have interpreted their constitutions to provide greater individual protections to their citizens than provided by the federal constitution. This phenomenon has sometimes created a wide disparity between the investigatory techniques available to federal versus state law enforcement officers. As a result, state courts sometimes must decide whether …


The Constitutional Infirmity Of Warrantless Nsa Surveillance: The Abuse Of Presidential Power And The Injury To The Fourth Amendment, Robert M. Bloom, William J. Dunn Oct 2013

The Constitutional Infirmity Of Warrantless Nsa Surveillance: The Abuse Of Presidential Power And The Injury To The Fourth Amendment, Robert M. Bloom, William J. Dunn

Robert Bloom

In recent months, there have been many revelations about the tactics used by the Bush Administration to prosecute their war on terrorism. These stories involve the exploitation of technologies that allow the government, with the cooperation of phone companies and financial institutions, to access phone and financial records. This paper focuses on the revelation and widespread criticism of the Bush Administration’s operation of a warrantless electronic surveillance program to monitor international phone calls and emails that originate or terminate with a United States party. The powerful and secret National Security Agency heads the program and leverages its significant intelligence collection …


A New Introduction To American Constitutionalism, Mark Graber Oct 2013

A New Introduction To American Constitutionalism, Mark Graber

Mark Graber

A New Introduction to American Constitutionalism is the first text to study the entirety of American constitutionalism, not just the traces that appear in Supreme Court decisions. Mark A. Graber both explores and offers original answers to such central questions as: What is a Constitution? What are fundamental constitutional purposes? How are constitutions interpreted? How is constitutional authority allocated? How do constitutions change? How is the Constitution of the United States influenced by international and comparative law? and, most important, How does the Constitution work? Relying on an historical/institutional perspective, the book illustrates how American constitutionalism is a distinct form …


Court To Decide If Voters Can Ban Affirmative Action, Alan E. Garfield Oct 2013

Court To Decide If Voters Can Ban Affirmative Action, Alan E. Garfield

Alan E Garfield

No abstract provided.


Grains Of Sand Or Butterfly Effect: Standing, The Legitimacy Of Precedent, And Reflections On Hollingsworth And Windsor, Maxwell L. Stearns Oct 2013

Grains Of Sand Or Butterfly Effect: Standing, The Legitimacy Of Precedent, And Reflections On Hollingsworth And Windsor, Maxwell L. Stearns

Maxwell L. Stearns

One test of whether a scholarly work has achieved canonical status is to ask respected scholars in the field which works, setting aside their own, are essential reads. William Fletcher’s article, The Structure of Standing, now in its twenty-fifth year, would almost certainly emerge at the top of any such lists among standing scholars. And yet, while many at this conference have built upon Fletcher’s insights, there remains notable disagreement concerning standing doctrine’s normative foundations. The central dispute concerns whether standing doctrine should be celebrated as furthering a “private-rights,” or instead, condemned as thwarting a “public-rights,” adjudicatory model. In a …


Private-Rights Litigation And The Normative Foundations Of Durable Constitutional Precedent, Maxwell L. Stearns Oct 2013

Private-Rights Litigation And The Normative Foundations Of Durable Constitutional Precedent, Maxwell L. Stearns

Maxwell L. Stearns

This chapter advances a simple thesis that runs counter to much public-law scholarship. Holding all else constant, the more difficult, or costly, constitutional rulings are to obtain, the more durable the resulting precedent; conversely, the easier, or cheaper, such rulings are to obtain, the less durable the resulting precedent. Most public-law scholarship implicitly rests on the opposite premise that the relative ease or difficulty of obtaining constitutional rulings should correlate positively, not negatively, with the relative importance or unimportance of the asserted right. Within a public-rights adjudicatory model, important constitutional rights justify relaxing traditional constraints on constitutional decisionmaking, including ripeness, …


Constitutional Review In New Democracies, Sujit Choudhry, K. Glenn Bass Sep 2013

Constitutional Review In New Democracies, Sujit Choudhry, K. Glenn Bass

Sujit Choudhry

The establishment of a judiciary with the power of constitutional review — determining whether government actions comply with the constitution’s provisions — is now considered a standard component of a democracy. It is increasingly common to entrust the power of constitutional review to a specialised constitutional court that can issue authoritative decisions on the constitutionality of laws and government actions and can interpret the constitution’s provisions. A constitutional court can play many important roles, including reviewing the constitutionality of legislation, protecting individual rights, providing a forum for the resolution of disputes in a federal system, enforcing the separation of powers, …


Equilibrium, Adam Lamparello Sep 2013

Equilibrium, Adam Lamparello

Adam Lamparello

No abstract provided.


The Supreme Court, Cafa, And Parens Patriae Actions: Will It Be Principles Or Biases?, Donald G. Gifford, William L. Reynolds Sep 2013

The Supreme Court, Cafa, And Parens Patriae Actions: Will It Be Principles Or Biases?, Donald G. Gifford, William L. Reynolds

William L. Reynolds

The Supreme Court will hear a case during its 2013-2014 term that will test the principles of both its conservative and liberal wings. In Mississippi ex rel. Hood v. AU Optronics Corp., Justices from each wing of the Court will be forced to choose between the modes of statutory interpretation they usually have favored in the past and their previously displayed pro-business or anti-business predispositions. The issue is whether the defendant-manufacturers can remove an action brought by a state attorney general suing as parens patriae to federal court. Beginning with their actions against tobacco manufacturers in the mid-1990s, state …


The Rule Of Law And The Law Of Precedents, Daniel A. Farber Sep 2013

The Rule Of Law And The Law Of Precedents, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.


The Dead Hand Of The Architect, Daniel A. Farber Sep 2013

The Dead Hand Of The Architect, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.


Constitutional Cadenzas, Daniel A. Farber Sep 2013

Constitutional Cadenzas, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.


Place-Based Theory Of Standing, A, Daniel A. Farber Sep 2013

Place-Based Theory Of Standing, A, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.


The Constitution's Forgotten Cover Letter: An Essay On The New Federalism And The Original Understanding, Daniel A. Farber Sep 2013

The Constitution's Forgotten Cover Letter: An Essay On The New Federalism And The Original Understanding, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.


Access And Exclusion Rights In Electronic Media:Complex Rules For A Complex World, Daniel A. Farber Sep 2013

Access And Exclusion Rights In Electronic Media:Complex Rules For A Complex World, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.


Can We Find A Balance Between Privacy Andsecurity?, Alan E. Garfield Sep 2013

Can We Find A Balance Between Privacy Andsecurity?, Alan E. Garfield

Alan E Garfield

No abstract provided.


Religious Pretenders In The Courts: Unmasking The Imposters, John O. Hayward Sep 2013

Religious Pretenders In The Courts: Unmasking The Imposters, John O. Hayward

John O. Hayward

When courts decide First Amendment “Free Exercise” cases, they often are confronted with the daunting task of defining what exactly is a “religion.” This article examines how judicial definitions and interpretations of religious faith have evolved over many decades, including legal recognition of Wicca (modern day witchcraft) and Hare Krishna as “religions,” as well as courts steering clear of the issue whenever possible, for example, when faced with an adherent of the “Church of Body Modification” who claims her employer’s dress code violates her religion. It also explores how courts have sought to uncover deception and fraud hiding behind disingenuous …


New Legal Challenge To Guantanamo Confinement, Robert Sanger Aug 2013

New Legal Challenge To Guantanamo Confinement, Robert Sanger

Robert M. Sanger

We will discuss in this article a new Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus filed in the federal court relating to the non-release of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay notwithstanding the order of the Administration for their release. As of this writing, the President of the United States has issued orders releasing at least 40 detainees, including Ahmed Adnan Ajam who is the subject of the new Petition. Ironically, under the National Defense Authorization Act for the Fiscal Years 2011-20131 (“NDAA”), the President is restricted from releasing detainees under the NDAA which was enacted as a partisan rider to defense …


Public Assistance, Drug Testing And The Law: The Limits Of Population-Based Legal Analysis, Candice Player Aug 2013

Public Assistance, Drug Testing And The Law: The Limits Of Population-Based Legal Analysis, Candice Player

Candice T Player

In Populations, Public Health and the Law, legal scholar Wendy Parmet urges courts to embrace population-based legal analysis, a public health inspired approach to legal reasoning. Parmet contends that population-based legal analysis offers a way to analyze legal issues—not unlike law and economics—as well as a set of values from which to critique contemporary legal discourse. Population-based analysis has been warmly embraced by the health law community as a bold new way of analyzing legal issues. Still population-based analysis is not without its problems. At times Parmet claims too much territory for the population-perspective. Moreover Parmet urges courts to recognize …


A Comprehensive Approach To Bridging The Gap Between Cyberbullying Rules And Regulations And The Protections Offered By The First Amendment For Off-Campus Student Speech, Vahagn Amirian Aug 2013

A Comprehensive Approach To Bridging The Gap Between Cyberbullying Rules And Regulations And The Protections Offered By The First Amendment For Off-Campus Student Speech, Vahagn Amirian

Vahagn Amirian

No abstract provided.


Life And Death Decision-Making: Judges V. Legislators As Sources Of Law In Bioethics, Charles Baron Aug 2013

Life And Death Decision-Making: Judges V. Legislators As Sources Of Law In Bioethics, Charles Baron

Charles H. Baron

In some situations, courts may be better sources of new law than legislatures. Some support for this proposition is provided by the performance of American courts in the development of law regarding the “right to die.” When confronted with the problems presented by mid-Twentieth Century technological advances in prolonging human life, American legislators were slow to act. It was the state common law courts, beginning with Quinlan in 1976, that took primary responsibility for gradually crafting new legal principles that excepted withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment from the application of general laws dealing with homicide and suicide. These courts, like the …


Baker V. State And The Promise Of The New Judicial Federalism, Charles Baron, Lawrence Friedman Aug 2013

Baker V. State And The Promise Of The New Judicial Federalism, Charles Baron, Lawrence Friedman

Charles H. Baron

In Baker v. State, the Supreme Court of Vermont ruled that the state constitution’s Common Benefits Clause prohibits the exclusion of same-sex couples from the benefits and protections of marriage. Baker has been praised by constitutional scholars as a prototypical example of the New Judicial Federalism. The authors agree, asserting that the decision sets a standard for constitutional discourse by dint of the manner in which each of the opinions connects and responds to the others, pulls together arguments from other state and federal constitutional authorities, and provides a clear basis for subsequent development of constitutional principle. This Article explores …


The Concept Of Person In The Law, Charles Baron Aug 2013

The Concept Of Person In The Law, Charles Baron

Charles H. Baron

The focus of the abortion debate in the United States tends to be on whether and at what stage a fetus is a person. I believe this tendency has been unfortunate and counterproductive. Instead of advancing dialogue between opposing sides, such a focus seems to have stunted it, leaving advocates in the sort of “I did not!” – “You did too!” impasse we remember from childhood. Also reminiscent of that childhood scene has been the vain attempt to break the impasse by appeal to a higher authority. Thus, the pro-choice forces hoped they had proved the pro-life forces “wrong” by …