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Delivering The Goods: Herein Of Mead, Delegations, And Authority, Patrick Mckinley Brennan Jun 2010

Delivering The Goods: Herein Of Mead, Delegations, And Authority, Patrick Mckinley Brennan

Patrick McKinley Brennan

This paper argues, first, that the natural law position, according to which it is the function of human law and political authorities to instantiate certain individual goods and the common good of the political community, does not entail judges' having the power or authority to speak the natural law directly. It goes on to argue, second, that lawmaking power/authority must be delegated by the people or their representatives. It then argues, third, that success in making law depends not just on the exercise of delegated power/authority, but also on the exercise of care and deliberation or, in the article's terms, …


Are Catholics Unreliable From A Democratic Point Of View? Thoughts On The Occasion Of The Sixtieth Anniversary Of Paul Blanshard's American Freedom And Catholic Power, Patrick Mckinley Brennan Feb 2010

Are Catholics Unreliable From A Democratic Point Of View? Thoughts On The Occasion Of The Sixtieth Anniversary Of Paul Blanshard's American Freedom And Catholic Power, Patrick Mckinley Brennan

Working Paper Series

From 1949 to 1950, Paul Blanshard’s American Freedom and Catholic Power dominated the New York Times best-seller list for eleven months, having captured the attention of American intelligentsia with its claim that “the Catholic problem is still with us” and its call for the formation of a “resistance movement.” Sixty years later, Blanshard’s bigotry is no longer defended in educated circles. Questions remain, though, concerning why Blanshard’s ideas made progress in some of the smartest American minds and throughout much of the culture. Was Blanshard onto something subversive about Catholics? Are Catholics’ commitments not compatible with the demands of American …


Are Legislation And Rules A Problem In Law? Thoughts On The Work Of Joseph Vining, Patrick Mckinley Brennan Feb 2010

Are Legislation And Rules A Problem In Law? Thoughts On The Work Of Joseph Vining, Patrick Mckinley Brennan

Working Paper Series

Written for a conference at Villanova Law School held to celebrate and explore the work of Joseph Vining over forty years, this paper considers the adequacy of Vining’s phenomenology of law. Specifically, it inquires into the accuracy of Vining’s startling claims that “legislation is a problem in law, not central to law” and “rules are nowhere to be found” in law. The argument of the paper is that when -- but only when -- law is understood to be an ordinance of reason in the mind of him or them who have care of the community, for the common good, …


R (On The Application Of E) (Respondent) V Governing Body Of Jfs And The Admissions Appeal Panel Of Jfs (Appellants) And Others (Case Note) [2009] Uksc 15, Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler Jan 2010

R (On The Application Of E) (Respondent) V Governing Body Of Jfs And The Admissions Appeal Panel Of Jfs (Appellants) And Others (Case Note) [2009] Uksc 15, Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler

Dr. Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler

This case-note offers comparative perspectives on the UK Supreme Court’s judgment in the JFS case (alleged racially discriminatory school admissions policy) and the Israeli Supreme Court’s judgment in the Emanuel Haredi school case (alleged Ashkenazi/Sephardi segregation arrangements).


The Constitutional Canon As Argumentative Metonymy, Ian C. Bartrum Jan 2010

The Constitutional Canon As Argumentative Metonymy, Ian C. Bartrum

Ian C Bartrum

This article builds on Philip Bobbitt's Wittgensteinian insights into constitutional argument and law. I examine the way that we interact with canonical texts as we construct arguments in the forms that Bobbitt has described. I contend that these texts serve as metonyms for larger sets of associated principles and values, and that their invocation usually is not meant to point to the literal meaning of the text itself. This conception helps explain how a canonical text's meaning in constitutional argument can evolve over time, and hopefully offers the creative practitioner some insight into the kinds of arguments that might accomplish …


How Shall I Praise Thee? Brian Leiter On Respect For Religion, Andrew Koppelman Jan 2010

How Shall I Praise Thee? Brian Leiter On Respect For Religion, Andrew Koppelman

Faculty Working Papers

In two recent papers, Brian Leiter argues that there is no good reason for law to single out religion for special treatment, and that religion is not an apt candidate for respect in the "thick" sense of being an object of favorable appraisal. Both arguments depend on a radically impoverished conception of what religion is and what it does. In this paper, I explain what Leiter leaves out, and offer an hypothesis about why. I also engage with some related reflections by Simon Blackburn and Timothy Macklem, both of whom influence, in different ways, Leiter's analysis.


No Respect: Brian Leiter On Religion, Andrew Koppelman Jan 2010

No Respect: Brian Leiter On Religion, Andrew Koppelman

Faculty Working Papers

In two recent papers, Brian Leiter argues that there is no good reason for law to single out religion for special treatment, and that religion is not an apt candidate for respect in the "thick" sense of being an object of favorable appraisal. Both arguments depend on a radically impoverished conception of what religion is and what it does. In this paper, I explain what Leiter leaves out, and offer an hypothesis about why. I also engage with some related reflections by Simon Blackburn and Timothy Macklem, both of whom influence, in different ways, Leiter's analysis.


A Closer Look At Law: Human Rights As Multi-Level Sites Of Struggles Over Multi-Dimensional Equality, Susanne Baer Jan 2010

A Closer Look At Law: Human Rights As Multi-Level Sites Of Struggles Over Multi-Dimensional Equality, Susanne Baer

Articles

In many societies, deep conflicts arise around religious matters, and around equality. Often, religious collectives demand the right to self-determination of issues considered - by them - to be their own, and these demands collide with individual rights to, again, religious freedom. These are thus conflicts of religion v. religion. Then, collective religious freedom tends to become an obligation for all those who are defined as belonging to the collective, which carries the problem that mostly elites define its meaning and they silence dissent. Usually, such obligations are also unequal relating to gender, with different regimes for women and for …


Laïcité In Comparative Perspective (Conference): Foreword, Mark L. Movsesian Jan 2010

Laïcité In Comparative Perspective (Conference): Foreword, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

On June 11, 2010, the Center for Law and Religion at St. John's University School of Law held its inaugural event, an academic conference at the University's Paris campus. "Laïcité in Comparative Perspective" brought together scholars from the United States and Europe to explore the French concept of laïcité and compare it with models of church-state relations in other countries, particularly the United States. Participants included Douglas Laycock (University of Virginia), who offered the Conference Introduction; Nathalie Caron (Université Paris-Est Créteil); Blandine Chelini-Pont (Université Paul Cézanne Aix-Marseille); Nina Crimm (St. John's University); Marc DeGirolami (St. John's University); Javier Martínez-Torrón Universidad …


Fiqh And Canons: Reflections On Islamic And Christian Jurisprudence, Mark L. Movsesian Jan 2010

Fiqh And Canons: Reflections On Islamic And Christian Jurisprudence, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

Although American scholarship has begun to address both Christian and Islamic jurisprudence in a serious way, virtually none of the literature attempts to compare the place of law in these two world religions. This Essay begins to compare Islamic and Christian conceptions of law and suggests some implications for contemporary debates about religious dispute settlement. Islam and Christianity are subtle and complex religions. Each has competing strands; each has evolved over millennia and expressed itself differently over time. Moreover, although systematic treatments of Islamic law are beginning to appear in English, much remains available only in languages, like Arabic, that …


Review Essay: Religion And Politics 2008-2009: Sometimes You Get What You Pray For, Leslie C. Griffin Jan 2010

Review Essay: Religion And Politics 2008-2009: Sometimes You Get What You Pray For, Leslie C. Griffin

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.


Secretary Of State For Work And Pensions V. Sister Is, Mel Cousins Dec 2009

Secretary Of State For Work And Pensions V. Sister Is, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

This case before the Upper Tribunal concerned the rules of the state pension credit (SPC) which, in effect, provide that ‘members of religious orders’ who are ‘fully maintained by their order’ have no entitlement to a state pension credit. As the Three-Judge Panel pointed out this is the rule ‘regardless of the actual amount of their income or their other circumstances’. The case concerned both the interpretation of these two phrases and – assuming the Panel found that they applied to the claimants – the compatibility of such an approach with the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention issue).