Law Commons^™

December 31, 2011: The Conflict Between The Catholic Church And Government Regulations, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Conflict Between the Catholic Church and Government Regulations“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Step Down, Justice Melvin, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

Published scholarship collected from academic journals, law reviews, newspaper publications & online periodicals

Justice’S Suspension Is Dubious, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

Published scholarship collected from academic journals, law reviews, newspaper publications & online periodicals

December 28, 2011: Enlisting The Help Of Sam Harris, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Enlisting the Help of Sam Harris“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

December 24, 2011: The Waning Of Christian Culture, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Waning of Christian Culture“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Pleading For A Bargain: The Upcoming Debate Over Competing Standards Of Prejudice In Missouri V. Frye, Ian Hampton

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

No abstract provided.

December 20, 2011: Religious Revival In China, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Religious Revival in China“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Forbidden Territory Or Well-Defined Boundaries? M.B.Z. V. Clinton And The Overzealous Application Of The Political Question Doctrine, Andrew Hand

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

No abstract provided.

December 16, 2011: Christopher Hitchens R.I.P., Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Christopher Hitchens R.I.P.“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

December 13, 2011: The Mcconnell-Feldman Debate Over Religious Liberty, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The McConnell-Feldman Debate Over Religious Liberty“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

The Anti-Injunction Act And The Individual Mandate, Steve R. Johnson

Scholarly Publications

The Supreme Court will soon consider challenges to constitutionality of the so-called individual mandate portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). It is important for the nation that the Court render a decision on the merits. This could be derailed, however, were the Court to dispose of the case by holding that the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA) and the Declaratory Judgment Act (DJA) preclude pre-enforcement review. Disposition on those grounds would subject the federal government, states, businesses, and individuals to years of additional uncertainty, inconvenience, and expense.

Fortunately, that threat to resolution on the merits can …

December 10, 2011: “But What If History Has No Logos?”, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “ “But what if history has no logos?”“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

December 5, 2011: Why Do We Mourn?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Why Do We Mourn?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Keep The Poking To Yourself, Mrs. Robinson: The Missouri Facebook Statute And Its Implications For Teacher Free Speech Under The First Amendment, Alex Lehrer

Student Works

No abstract provided.

December 2, 2011: The Rituals Of Mourning, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Rituals of Mourning“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Hollow Hopes And Exaggerated Fears: The Canon/Anticanon In Context, Mark A. Graber

Faculty Scholarship

Students of American constitutionalism should add constitutional decisions made by elected officials to the constitutional canon and the constitutional anticanon. Neither the canonical nor the anticanonical constitutional decisions by the Supreme Court have produced the wonderful results or horrible evils sometimes attributed to them. In many cases, elected officials made contemporaneous constitutional decisions that had as much influence as the celebrated or condemned judicial rulings. More often than not, judicial rulings matter more as a result of changing the political dynamics than by directly changing public policy. Law students and others interested in constitutional change, for these reasons, need to …

The Judicial Power And The Inferior Federal Courts: Exploring The Constitutional Vesting Thesis, A. Benjamin Spencer

Scholarly Articles

The third branch of our federal government has traditionally been viewed as the least of the three in terms of the scope of its power and authority. This view finds validation when one considers the extensive authority that Congress has been permitted to exercise over the Federal Judiciary. From the beginning, Congress has understood itself to possess the authority to limit the jurisdiction of inferior federal courts. The Supreme Court has acquiesced to this understanding of congressional authority without much thought or explanation.

It may be possible, however, to imagine a more robust vision of the Judicial Power through closer …

Crying Wolfish: The Upcoming Challenge To Blanket Strip-Search Policies In Florence V. Board Of Chosen Freeholders, Aaron Johnson

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

No abstract provided.

Social Networks & Political Uprisings, Nima Astyani

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Government By Contract And The Structural Constitution, Kimberly L. Wehle

All Faculty Scholarship

Although private parties have performed government functions throughout most of Western history, mainstream administrative law scholarship is dotted with concerns over the extent to which modern federal government activities are outsourced to private contractors. Federal contractors routinely exercise authority that is classically “executive” in nature. They write regulations, interpret laws, administer foreign aid, manage nuclear weapons sites and intelligence operations, interrogate detainees, control borders, design surveillance systems, and provide military support in combat zones. Administrative law places few constraints on private contractors, and prevailing constitutional principles — the state action and private delegation doctrines, in particular — are either inept …

November 28, 2011: Death For The Hallowed Secularist, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “ Death for the Hallowed Secularist“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

November 24, 2011: Happy Secular Thanksgiving, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Happy Secular Thanksgiving“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

November 23, 2011: Obama To Side With The Bishops, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Obama to Side With the Bishops“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Brief Of Reporter And Advisers To Restatement (Third) Restitution And Unjust Enrichment, As Amici Curiae In Support Of Respondent, Doug Rendleman, Douglas Laycock

Scholarly Articles

Restitution may be a casualty in a collision with the constitutional law of standing. Article III is traditionally said to require an “injury in fact” for standing to be a plaintiff in federal court. Edwards, who alleges that First American paid a bribe or kickback in violation of the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, seeks to recover the statutory penalty. Defendant argues that even if it violated the Act, Edwards suffered no “injury in fact.” Our amicus brief in support of Edwards alerts the Supreme Court to the many restitutionary claims either for a wrongdoer’s profits or to set …

Golan V. Holder: Congressional Power Under The Copyright Clause And The First Amendment, Claire Fong

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

No abstract provided.

It’S My Church And I Can Retaliate If I Want To: Hosanna-Tabor And The Future Of The Ministerial Exception, Brad Turner

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

No abstract provided.

November 18, 2011: The Duquesne Secular Society, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Duquesne Secular Society“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

November 16, 2011: A Secular Defense Of Religious Exemptions, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “A Secular Defense of Religious Exemptions“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Reason, The Common Law, And The Living Constitution (Review Of The Living Constitution By David Strauss), Matthew J. Steilen

Book Reviews

This article reviews David Strauss’s recent book, The Living Constitution. The thesis of Strauss’s book is that constitutional law is a kind of common law, based largely on judicial precedent and common-sense judgments about what works and what is fair. Strauss argues constitutional doctrines prohibiting discrimination and protecting free speech have a common law basis, and that the originalist would have to reject them. However, it is unclear that the common law can justify these rights. This review examines Strauss’s account of the common law and shows why it cannot justify our First Amendment protections of subversive advocacy, as Strauss …

November 11, 2011: Veterans Day 2011, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Veterans Day 2011“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.