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Quem Defende A Constituição?, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Dec 2011

Quem Defende A Constituição?, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

A fase actual de ataque à Constituição parece ser a de legislar sem lhe prestar atenção, esperando que ninguém se lembre que existe, e ninguém levante questões de inconstitucionalidade. 2012 vai ser um ano em que se vão tirar as teimas sobre quem defende e quem não defende a Constituição. Feliz Ano Novo, com controlo da Constitucionalidade!


A Constituição Laboral Em Alto Risco, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Dec 2011

A Constituição Laboral Em Alto Risco, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

A Constituição labora está a ser vítima de graves ataques. Já quase se pode ler o texto da nossa Constituição como se fora uma utopia de um país distante. Arriscamo-nos, por este caminho, a ter uma constituição nominal ou semântica, não normativa, não efectiva. E contudo ainda existe o texto, ainda existe o princípio da proibição do retrocesso, ainda existe um Tribunal Constitucional.


Inconstitucionalidade Da Abolição De Feriados, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Dec 2011

Inconstitucionalidade Da Abolição De Feriados, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Feriados celebrando datas essenciais do Estado ou da República são símbolos nacionais. Como tais, são matéria constitucional (materialmente constitucional) ainda que não constante do texto da Constituição. Abolir feriados destes, para mais sem sequer prévia discussão nacional, além de denotar um desprezo profundo pela cultura e pela História... é inconstitucional.


De Keynes Aos Desafios Futuros, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Dec 2011

De Keynes Aos Desafios Futuros, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Keynes anda esquecido pelos economistas da moda. É pena, porque o resultado, catastrófico, das políticas neoliberais está à vista. Entretanto, reflecte-se sobre como a velha esquerda moderada se deixou contaminar pelo vírus do neoliberalismo (e a velha direita social também, e mais ainda), havendo porém novas teorias e propostas no horizonte, como o capitalismo humanista, no Brasil e em Espanha, e a "next left", no Reino Unido. Será possível uma confluência coerente e frutuosa dos que não querem, de uns e de outros lados, um mundo só baseado na ganância e na aniquilação do mais fraco? É o grande desafio …


Constituição, Polícia Da Dívida?, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Dec 2011

Constituição, Polícia Da Dívida?, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Depois de em Portugal, Espanha e Alemanha (pelo menos) se falar há algum bom tempo no assunto – não sabemos de onde surgiu a primeira inspiração, mas tanto monta – , no início de Dezembro de 2011 veio da União Europeia a magna necessidade, logo secundada pelo Primeiro-ministro português, de introduzir expressamente na Constituição (já vamos ver que poderá não ser tanto assim) limites ao endividamento do Estado. Vamos fazer mais uma revisão constitucional ?


Referendar Estados De Excepção, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Dec 2011

Referendar Estados De Excepção, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

O valor do referendo, nas nossas democracias de espectáculo e demagogia, é muito discutível. Há porém casos extremos em que pode ser útil e até imprescindível. Numa crise como a presente, comandada por mercados sem rosto, é preciso dar voz ao Povo. A questão está em saber se ele falará por meios juridicamente previstos, e constitucionalmente regulados, ou se virá a tomar a Palavra por vias menos convencionais, embora sempre com relevância constitucional... Perante tais desafios, não é legítima a abstenção do constitucionalista, que não é um estrito tabelião do Direito Público.


Desafios Constitucionais, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Nov 2011

Desafios Constitucionais, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

É preciso empreender um contra-ataque constitucional. Não podem os democratas e amigos do Regime saído do 25 de Abril e do sistema político consagrado na Constituição de 76 entrincheirar-se na esperança da mera defesa do que ainda resta de cumprimento da Constituição para além dos formalismos políticos. Os juristas e os constitucionalistas têm especial responsabilidades, mas a todos deve ser dado participar, na medida das suas possibilidades. É preciso mais democracia, mais separação dos poderes, melhor aplicação da Constituição, e mais constitucionalização de todo o Direito. E não diuturna confiscação de direitos. O futuro passa pela Constituição, por muito que …


Travellers, Equality And School Admission: Christian Brothers High School Clonmel -V- Stokes, Mel Cousins Nov 2011

Travellers, Equality And School Admission: Christian Brothers High School Clonmel -V- Stokes, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

This note examines the recent Irish equality officer and Circuit Court decisions in CBS High School Clonmel v Stokes which concerned whether the rules for admission to the school – in particular a rule giving priority to children whose parents had attended the school - were compatible with the Equal Status Acts 2000-2008. The equality officer held that the rule was indirectly discriminatory and in breach of the Act. However, on appeal the Court held that while the rule had a disproportionate impact on Travellers, it was objectively justified.


Accountability, Liability, And The War On Terror -- Constitutional Tort Suits As Truth And Reconciliation Vehicles, George D. Brown Nov 2011

Accountability, Liability, And The War On Terror -- Constitutional Tort Suits As Truth And Reconciliation Vehicles, George D. Brown

George D. Brown

This Article examines the role of civil suits in providing accountability for the Bush administration's conduct of the "war on terror." There have been calls for a "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" to perform this function, almost like a retroactive impeachment of President Bush. For now, the idea appears to be dead, especially since many of the policies have continued under President Obama. Increasingly, the default accountability mechanism for questioning government conduct is the array of civil suits against federal officials by self-proclaimed victims of the war, cases which might be referred to as reverse war on terror suits. Many of …


Direito E Poder Em Nietzsche, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Nov 2011

Direito E Poder Em Nietzsche, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

A crítica impiedosa e fria de Nietzsche ao Direito moderno, aos direitos, à democracia e a vários esteios da nossa actual civilização ajudar-nos-à certamente a compreender melhor a situação de ataque mais subtil, politicamente correto e hipócrita que se vive já a essa "Weltanschauung", e poderá vir a agravar-se. Nietzsche fala claro, e profeticamente. Só que, felizmente, as profecias (ao menos as políticas: mas parece até que todas) podem ser contrariadas pelas vontade das pessoas. E os piores vaticínios poderão sê-lo se tivermos vontade de preservar a democracia, a liberdade, os direitos, e o Direito moderno, aprofundando-os e não deixando-os …


Consensual Amorous Relationships Between Faculty And Students: The Constitutional Right To Privacy, Elisabeth A. Keller Nov 2011

Consensual Amorous Relationships Between Faculty And Students: The Constitutional Right To Privacy, Elisabeth A. Keller

Elisabeth Keller

Surveys of college students in the United States revealed that a significant number of students thought they had been victims of some form of sexual harassment. Growing awareness of the magnitude, dimensions, and effects of sexual harassment at educational institutions and the potential for institutional liability have prompted educators to adopt policies to avert such problems. The policies typically prohibit sexual harassment of employees and students and alert the university community to the serious effects of sexual harassment and the potential for student exploitation. Some universities have gone beyond establishing regulations directed at widely litigated problems of sexual harassment and …


Consensual Amorous Relationships Between Faculty And Students: The Constitutional Right To Privacy, Elisabeth A. Keller Nov 2011

Consensual Amorous Relationships Between Faculty And Students: The Constitutional Right To Privacy, Elisabeth A. Keller

Elisabeth Keller

Surveys of college students in the United States revealed that a significant number of students thought they had been victims of some form of sexual harassment. Growing awareness of the magnitude, dimensions, and effects of sexual harassment at educational institutions and the potential for institutional liability have prompted educators to adopt policies to avert such problems. The policies typically prohibit sexual harassment of employees and students and alert the university community to the serious effects of sexual harassment and the potential for student exploitation. Some universities have gone beyond establishing regulations directed at widely litigated problems of sexual harassment and …


Hidden In Plain Sight: Achieving More Just Results In Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Cases By Re-Examining Supreme Court Precedent, Elisabeth A. Keller, Judith B. Tracy Nov 2011

Hidden In Plain Sight: Achieving More Just Results In Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Cases By Re-Examining Supreme Court Precedent, Elisabeth A. Keller, Judith B. Tracy

Elisabeth Keller

Lower federal courts often fail to provide plaintiffs in sexual harassment cases the relief intended by Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964 and mandated by the Supreme Court when it recognized the cause of action twenty years ago. There is little doubt that sexual harassment in the workplace persists. However, lower courts misapply or ignore Supreme Court reasoning that would result in fairer and more consistent dispositions in hostile work environment sexual harassment cases. This article draws directly on reasoning from the Supreme Court cases to explain the sources of the confusion in the lower courts and offers …


Hidden In Plain Sight: Achieving More Just Results In Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Cases By Re-Examining Supreme Court Precedent, Elisabeth A. Keller, Judith B. Tracy Nov 2011

Hidden In Plain Sight: Achieving More Just Results In Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Cases By Re-Examining Supreme Court Precedent, Elisabeth A. Keller, Judith B. Tracy

Elisabeth Keller

Lower federal courts often fail to provide plaintiffs in sexual harassment cases the relief intended by Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964 and mandated by the Supreme Court when it recognized the cause of action twenty years ago. There is little doubt that sexual harassment in the workplace persists. However, lower courts misapply or ignore Supreme Court reasoning that would result in fairer and more consistent dispositions in hostile work environment sexual harassment cases. This article draws directly on reasoning from the Supreme Court cases to explain the sources of the confusion in the lower courts and offers …


Should Corporations Have First Amendment Rights?, Kent Greenfield, Daniel Greenwood, Erik Jaffe Nov 2011

Should Corporations Have First Amendment Rights?, Kent Greenfield, Daniel Greenwood, Erik Jaffe

Kent Greenfield

As Professor Winkler correctly stated, current doctrine emphasizes the rights of listeners rather than the identity of corporate speakers. My argument is, in effect, that this emphasis misses the key point. But I will not deal with listeners directly. I am simply going to assume, rather than argue, that if corporate advertising were ineffective in influencing voters or legislators, normal market processes would eliminate it. I'm going to take it for granted that when corporations speak, it makes a difference in the actual results.


Legal Lines In Shifting Sand: Immigration Law And Human Rights In The Wake Of September 11, Daniel Kanstroom Nov 2011

Legal Lines In Shifting Sand: Immigration Law And Human Rights In The Wake Of September 11, Daniel Kanstroom

Daniel Kanstroom

In March of 2004, a group of legal scholars gathered at Boston College Law School to examine the doctrinal implications of the events of September 11, 2001. They reconsidered the lines drawn between citizens and noncitizens, war and peace, the civil and criminal systems, as well as the U.S. territorial line. Participants responded to the proposition that certain entrenched historical matrices no longer adequately answer the complex questions raised in the “war on terror.” They examined the importance of government disclosure and the public’s right to know; the deportation system’s habeas corpus practices; racial profiling; the convergence of immigration and …


Criminalizing The Undocumented: Ironic Boundaries Of The Post-September 11th ‘Pale Of Law.’, Daniel Kanstroom Nov 2011

Criminalizing The Undocumented: Ironic Boundaries Of The Post-September 11th ‘Pale Of Law.’, Daniel Kanstroom

Daniel Kanstroom

The general hypothesis put forth in this Article is that well-accepted historical matrices are increasingly inadequate to address the complex issues raised by various U.S. government practices in the so-called “war on terrorism.” The Article describes certain stresses that have recently built upon two major legal dichotomies: the citizen/non-citizen and criminal/civil lines. Professor Kanstroom reviews the use of the citizen/non-citizen dichotomies as part of the post-September 11th enforcement regime and considers the increasing convergence between the immigration and criminal justice systems. Professor Kanstroom concludes by suggesting the potential emergence of a disturbing new legal system, which contains the worst features …


"Passed Beyond Our Aid:" U.S. Deportation, Integrity, And The Rule Of Law, Daniel Kanstroom Nov 2011

"Passed Beyond Our Aid:" U.S. Deportation, Integrity, And The Rule Of Law, Daniel Kanstroom

Daniel Kanstroom

The United States is still in the midst of a massive deportation experiment that is exceptionally sweeping and harsh by virtually any historical or comparative measure. In the last twenty-five years, the number of non-citizen deportations has exceeded 25 million. It is therefore important to think critically about how deportation is really working, especially as to many hundreds of thousands of green-card holders. These individuals have grown up, been fully acculturated, attended school, and raised families in the United States. Upon deportation, they are separated from their families and sent to places where they frequently have few acquaintances, do not …


The Right To Deportation Counsel In Padilla V. Kentucky: The Challenging Construction Of The Fifth-And-A-Half Amendment, Daniel Kanstroom Nov 2011

The Right To Deportation Counsel In Padilla V. Kentucky: The Challenging Construction Of The Fifth-And-A-Half Amendment, Daniel Kanstroom

Daniel Kanstroom

The U.S. Supreme Court’s pathbreaking decision in Padilla v. Kentucky seems reasonably simple and exact: Sixth Amendment norms were applied to noncitizen Jose Padilla’s claim that his criminal defense counsel was ineffective due to allegedly incorrect advice concerning the risk of deportation. This was a very significant move with virtues of both logic and justice. It will likely prevent many avoidable and wrongful deportations. It may also help some deportees who have been wrongly or unjustly deported in the past. However, the apparent exactness of the case, as a Sixth Amendment decision, raises fundamental constitutional questions. For more than a …


Padilla V. Kentucky And The Evolving Right To Deportation Counsel: Watershed Or Work-In-Progress?, Daniel Kanstroom Nov 2011

Padilla V. Kentucky And The Evolving Right To Deportation Counsel: Watershed Or Work-In-Progress?, Daniel Kanstroom

Daniel Kanstroom

Though widely heralded by immigration and human rights lawyers as a “landmark,” possible “watershed,” and even “Gideon decision” for immigrants, Padilla v. Kentucky is perhaps better understood as a Rorschach test, than as a clear constitutional precedent. It is surely a very interesting and important U.S. Supreme Court case in the (rapidly converging) fields of immigration and criminal law in which the Court struggles with the functional relationship between ostensibly “civil” deportation proceedings and criminal convictions. This is a gratifying development, for reasons not only of justice, fairness, proportionality, and basic human decency, but also (perhaps) of doctrinal consistency. The …


Standing Mute At Arrest As Evidence Of Guilt: The 'Right To Silence' Under Attack, Frank R. Herrmann S.J., Brownlow M. Speer Nov 2011

Standing Mute At Arrest As Evidence Of Guilt: The 'Right To Silence' Under Attack, Frank R. Herrmann S.J., Brownlow M. Speer

Frank R. Herrmann, S.J.

It is commonly understood that an arrested person has a right to remain silent and that the government may not use his or her silence to prove guilt at trial. Three Circuit Courts of Appeal, however, reject this understanding. They allow the prosecution to use an arrested person's pre-Miranda silence as direct evidence of guilt. This article argues that those Circuits are wrong. The article, first, demonstrates the historical antiquity of the Common Law principle that a detained person has the right to stand mute. Though the right was limited by statutory incursion and in tension, at times, with the …


Disparate Impact Is Not Unconstitutional, Michael Evan Gold Nov 2011

Disparate Impact Is Not Unconstitutional, Michael Evan Gold

Michael Evan Gold

[Excerpt] In Ricci v. DeStefano, the "New Haven Firefighters" case, whitefirefighters and one Hispanic firefighter sued the city of New Haven, Connecticut and city officials under Title VII. The plaintiffs claimed the city had committed intentional discrimination or disparate treatment against them when the city disregarded the results of promotion examinations that had an adverse effect on black and Hispanic applicants. The Supreme Court sustained the claim. In his concurring opinion, Justice Scalia invited attorneys in subsequent cases to consider arguing that the disparate impact theory of employment discrimination is unconstitutional. He reasoned as follows: • The Constitution prohibits the …


United States V. Leon And Its Ramifications, Robert M. Bloom Oct 2011

United States V. Leon And Its Ramifications, Robert M. Bloom

Robert M. Bloom

No abstract provided.


“A More Majestic Conception:” The Importance Of Judicial Integrity In Preserving The Exclusionary Rule, Robert M. Bloom, David H. Fentin Oct 2011

“A More Majestic Conception:” The Importance Of Judicial Integrity In Preserving The Exclusionary Rule, Robert M. Bloom, David H. Fentin

Robert M. Bloom

In Mapp v. Ohio (1961), the Warren Court held that the so-called exclusionary rule was applicable to the states. Subsequent Supreme Courts have shown their disenchantment with the rule by seeking to curb its applicability. Most recently, the Court has characterized the exclusionary rule as a “massive remedy” to be applied only as a “last resort.” The Courts’ analytical framework for the last thirty-five years for cutting back the exclusionary rule was a balancing test which weighed the costs of suppressing reliable evidence with the benefits of deterring future police violations. This balancing has been used most recently in two …


Warrant Requirement -- The Burger Court Approach, Robert M. Bloom Oct 2011

Warrant Requirement -- The Burger Court Approach, Robert M. Bloom

Robert M. Bloom

No abstract provided.


Judicial Integrity: A Call For Its Re-Emergence In The Adjudication Of Criminal Cases, Robert M. Bloom Oct 2011

Judicial Integrity: A Call For Its Re-Emergence In The Adjudication Of Criminal Cases, Robert M. Bloom

Robert M. Bloom

A court can invalidate or rectify certain kinds of offensive official action on the grounds of judicial integrity. In the past, it has served as a check on overzealous law enforcement agents whose actions so seriously impaired due process principles that they shocked the bench’s conscience. The principle not only preserves the judiciary as a symbol of lawfulness and justice, but it also insulates the courts from becoming aligned with illegal actors and their bad acts. The 1992 case of U.S. v. Alvarez-Machain, however, may have signaled a departure from past practices. This article reviews current Supreme Court cases and …


Inevitable Discovery: An Exception Beyond The Fruits, Robert M. Bloom Oct 2011

Inevitable Discovery: An Exception Beyond The Fruits, Robert M. Bloom

Robert M. Bloom

No abstract provided.


The Supreme Court And Its Purported Preference For Search Warrants, Robert M. Bloom Oct 2011

The Supreme Court And Its Purported Preference For Search Warrants, Robert M. Bloom

Robert M. Bloom

No abstract provided.


A Dream Deferred, Ruth-Arlene W Howe Oct 2011

A Dream Deferred, Ruth-Arlene W Howe

Ruth-Arlene W. Howe

Presentation at the MLK Annual Unity Breakfast, Boston College, January 19, 2005.


Hidden In Plain Sight: Achieving More Just Results In Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Cases By Re-Examining Supreme Court Precedent, Elisabeth A. Keller, Judith B. Tracy Oct 2011

Hidden In Plain Sight: Achieving More Just Results In Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Cases By Re-Examining Supreme Court Precedent, Elisabeth A. Keller, Judith B. Tracy

Judith B. Tracy

Lower federal courts often fail to provide plaintiffs in sexual harassment cases the relief intended by Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964 and mandated by the Supreme Court when it recognized the cause of action twenty years ago. There is little doubt that sexual harassment in the workplace persists. However, lower courts misapply or ignore Supreme Court reasoning that would result in fairer and more consistent dispositions in hostile work environment sexual harassment cases. This article draws directly on reasoning from the Supreme Court cases to explain the sources of the confusion in the lower courts and offers …