Digital Commons Network^™

Alumni House (Mayhew, Vaughn & Halprin) Historic Structure Report, William Riggs, Frederic Knapp, Steve Finacom, Chris Verplanck

William W. Riggs

Designed by architect Clarence W. Mayhew, with the landscape design by H. Leland Vaughn and Lawrence Halprin, Alumni House was constructed in 1953-54 on the south bank of Strawberry Creek, immediately west of the site of the proposed California Student Center. Described as a “home on the campus,” Alumni House was designed for the use of the California Alumni Association (CAA) as a gathering place for returning University of California alumni, as well as an office building for employees of the CAA. This HSR documents the history, existing conditions, and character defining features of this building and its landscaping, as …

Sacred Disputes? On The Ministerial Exception And The Constitution, Mark Strasser

Mark Strasser

Federal courts have long been hearing church disputes, for example, concerning conflicting claims regarding the rightful possession and use of church property. However, there is no clear understanding concerning the contours of the constitutional limitations on the courts when one of the parties in interest is a religious organization. The conflicting jurisprudence may be clarified in the 2011-2012 term when the Court hears and decides Hosanna–Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, although there is reason to be pessimistic that this will happen. This article lays out the relevant jurisprudence as presented by the United States …

Revisiting Federalism: Core And Basic Characteristics, Haiting Zhang

haiting zhang

ABSTRACT This article makes analytical and comparative studies on the essential characteristics of federalism: legally shared sovereignty, constitutional specific division of powers and a court arbiter role. The essence of a state is sovereignty; the allocation of sovereignty within a state thus determines its nature. Because of the inconsistency between legal sovereignty and political sovereignty, to study federalism from a legal point of view requires determining where legal sovereignty resides. The traditional sovereignty atom was split in accommodation of the dramatic theoretical and political revolution early in America’s history; the theory of popular sovereignty largely contributed to the transformation. In …

Funding Stem Cell Research: The Convergence Of Science, Religion & Politics In The Formation Of Public Health Policy, Edward A. Fallone

Edward A Fallone

The controversy over the funding of stem cell research by the federal government is used as a case study for examining how policy choices are made in the field of public bioethics. This article examines the manner in which the decision to fund stem cell research has been influenced by the convergence of evolving scientific knowledge, conflicting religious values, and the role of elected officials in a representative democracy. The article begins by reviewing the current state of scientific knowledge concerning adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and the process of direct cell re-programming. Because each …

Tradition As Justification: The Case Of Opposite-Sex Marriage, Kim Forde-Mazrui

Kim Forde-Mazrui

A central point of contention in the national debate over same-sex marriage is the importance of preserving tradition. That debate also features prominently in constitutional litigation over bans on same-sex marriage. Opponents of such bans argue that tradition is an illegitimate justification for them, while defenders of traditional marriage contend that tradition is not only a legitimate justification, it is sufficiently important to withstand heightened judicial scrutiny.

This article assesses tradition as a justification for laws challenged on equal protection grounds, with a focus on laws that limit marriage to different-sex couples. The article makes two main points. First, it …