Digital Commons Network^™

Same-Sex Cynicism And The Self-Defeating Pursuit Of Social Acceptance Through Litigation, James G. Dwyer

James G. Dwyer

No abstract provided.

The Immigration Detention Risk Assessment, Mark Noferi, Robert Koulish

Mark L Noferi

In early 2013, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) deployed nationwide a new automated risk assessment tool to help determine whether to detain or release noncitizens pending their deportation proceedings. Adapted from similar evidence-based criminal justice reforms that have reduced pretrial detention, ICE’s initiative now represents the largest pre-hearing risk assessment experiment in U.S. history—potentially impacting over 400,000 individuals per year. However, to date little information has been released regarding the risk assessment algorithm, processes, and outcomes.

This article provides the first comprehensive examination of ICE’s risk assessment initiative, based on public access to ICE methodology and outcomes as a …

Toward A Meaning-Full Establishment Clause Neutrality, Bruce Ledewitz

Bruce Ledewitz

Some form of government neutrality toward religion, in contrast to a more pro-religion stance or a turn toward nonjusticiability, is the only interpretation of the Establishment Clause that can potentially lead to a national consensus concerning the proper role of religion in American public life. But to achieve that goal, neutrality theory must acknowledge and engage the need for the expressions of deep meaning on public occasions and in the public square generally. Current neutrality doctrine promotes a silent and empty public square. This article proposes an interpretation of neutrality that would allow a symbol-rich, meaning-full public square without violating …

Representative Self-Government And The Declaration Of Independence, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

Legal scholars typically treat the Declaration of Independence as a purely historical document, but as this article explains, the Declaration is relevant to legislative and judicial decisionmaking. After describing why this founding document contains legal significance, I examine two contemporary legal issues through the lens of the Declaration’s prescriptions.

Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment grants Congress the power to make laws that enforce the civil rights clauses in the amendment’s first four sections. In City of Boerne v. Flores and its progeny, however, the Supreme Court decided that it alone can identify fundamental rights and relegated Congress’s power under …

Life, Death & The God Complex: The Effectiveness Of Incorporating Religion-Based Arguments Into The Pro-Choice Perspective On Abortion, Stacy A. Scaldo

Stacy A Scaldo

While speaking on the issue of healthcare in August of 2009, President Barrack Obama told a meeting of Jewish rabbis, “We are God’s partners in matters of life and death.” While the President’s message was expressly targeting choices in healthcare and end of life decisions, the statement is representative of a shift in the public rhetoric reflective of all matters concerning life - including abortion. This, indeed, would be a remarkable change in both express policy and argument identification – one that appears to be a new weapon in the arsenal of those who identify themselves with the pro-choice movement. …

Religious Arguments And The United States Supreme Court: A Review Of Amicus Curiae Briefs Filed By Religious Organizations, Andrew S. Mansfield

Andrew S Mansfield

This paper analyzes forty-five amicus curiae briefs filed by religious organizations with the Supreme Court since Brown v. Board of Education, 348 U.S. 886, decided in 1954, through the decision in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood, 546 U.S. 320, rendered in 2006. The forty-five amicus curiae briefs were filed in nineteen cases and concern issues that are often identified as “moral.” Analysis of the amicus curiae briefs filed with the Supreme Court by religious organizations provides at least three crucial insights. First, the legal arguments presented by religious organizations, as reflected in amicus curiae briefs filed with the Supreme Court, provide …