Law Commons^™

An Opinion For The Ages, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

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

December 4, 2013: God Again, Or, Am I An Atheist?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “God Again, Or, Am I an Atheist?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Stretching Religious Liberty, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

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

November 8, 2013: Legislative Prayer, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

'Dred Scott V. Sandford' Analysis, Sarah E. Roessler

Student Publications

The Scott v. Sandford decision will forever be known as a dark moment in America's history. The Supreme Court chose to rule on a controversial issue, and they made the wrong decision. Scott v. Sandford is an example of what can happen when the Court chooses to side with personal opinion instead of what is right.

August 9, 2013: The Christian Case Against Gay Marriage, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

July 28, 2013: Pro-Life Liberalism, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Pro-Life Liberalism“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

July 14, 2013: Political Grandstanding On Gay Marriage, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Political Grandstanding on Gay Marriage“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

July 11, 2013: Should We Discard The Constitution?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

July 2, 2013: Is Opposition To Gay Marriage Irrational?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Is Opposition to Gay Marriage Irrational?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

June 29, 2013: The Other Side Of The Us Supreme Court Decisions, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Other Side of the US Supreme Court Decisions“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

May 16, 2013: Was Schempp Such A Triumph?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Was Schempp Such a Triumph?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

May 9, 2013: Secular Discomfort At Shaming, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

April 21, 2013: The Third Church/State Issues Symposium In Philadelphia, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Third Church/State Issues Symposium in Philadelphia“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

The Incorporation Doctrine: The Degradation Of State Sovereignty And The Ushering Of Federal Tyranny, Roland Al Achtau

Senior Honors Theses

Abstract

My senior thesis paper will discuss the incorporation doctrine of the Bill of Rights to state governments. The incorporation doctrine has been subject to extensive debate as to the proper relationship between state and federal sovereignty. Proponents of incorporation believe that the incorporation of the Bill of Rights limits state governments from using pre-Civil War practices (such as discrimination and inhumane treatment of persons) and thus would ensure greater liberty to individuals. However, opponents believe that such a transfer of power to the federal government can lead to the demise of state sovereignty and usurpation of national power. In …

April 13, 2013: Cherry Picking Religious Liberty, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

Pennsylvania’S Supreme Court, Still Broken, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

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

March 10, 2013: The Executioner In Chief, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

February 16, 2013: No One Believes In Separation Of Church And State, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “No One Believes in Separation of Church and State“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

February 12, 2013: The Absurdity Of Corporate Religious Freedom, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Absurdity of Corporate Religious Freedom“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

February 3, 2013: The Response To Obama’S Contraception Initiative, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Response to Obama’s Contraception Initiative“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

January 24, 2013: What Was President Obama’S Speech About?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “What Was President Obama’s Speech About?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

January 17, 2013: I Agree With Some Of The Words Of Pastor Louie Giglio, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “I Agree With Some of the Words of Pastor Louie Giglio“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Reconciling Positivism And Realism: Kelsen And Habermas On Democracy And Human Rights, David Ingram

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

It is well known that Hans Kelsen and Jürgen Habermas invoke realist arguments drawn from social science in defending an international, democratic human rights regime against Carl Schmitt’s attack on the rule of law. However, despite embracing the realist spirit of Kelsen’s legal positivism, Habermas criticizes Kelsen for neglecting to connect the rule of law with a concept of procedural justice (Part I). I argue, to the contrary (Part II), that Kelsen does connect these terms, albeit in a manner that may be best described as functional, rather than conceptual. Indeed, whereas Habermas tends to emphasize a conceptual connection between …

A General Defense Of Erie Railroad Co. V. Tompkins, Ernest A. Young

Faculty Scholarship

Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins was the most important federalism decision of the Twentieth Century. Justice Brandeis’s opinion for the Court stated unequivocally that “[e]xcept in matters governed by the Federal Constitution or by acts of Congress, the law to be applied in any case is the law of the state. . . . There is no federal general common law.” Seventy-five years later, however, Erie finds itself under siege. Critics have claimed that it is “bereft of serious intellectual or constitutional support” (Michael Greve), based on a “myth” that must be “repressed” (Craig Green), and even “the worst decision …

The First Amendment, Equal Protection, And Felon Disenfranchisement: A New Viewpoint, Janai S. Nelson

Faculty Publications

This Article engages the equality principles of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause to reconsider the constitutionality of one of the last and most entrenched barriers to universal suffrage—felon disenfranchisement. A deeply racialized problem, felon disenfranchisement is additionally and independently a legislative judgment as to which citizen's ideas are worthy of inclusion in the electorate. Relying on a series of cases involving state interests in protecting the ballot and promoting its intelligent use, this Article demonstrates that felon disenfranchisement is open to attack under the Supreme Court's fundamental rights jurisprudence when it is motivated by a desire to …

The Causal Context Of Disparate Vote Denial, Janai S. Nelson

Faculty Publications

For nearly fifty years, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ("VRA") and its amendments have remedied racial discrimination in the electoral process with unparalleled muscularity. Modern vote denial practices that have a disparate impact on minority political participation, however, increasingly fall outside the VRA's ambit. As judicial tolerance of disparate impact claims has waned in other areas of law, the contours of Section 2, one of the VRA's most powerful provisions, have also narrowed to fit the shifting landscape. Section 2's "on account of race" standard to determine discrimination in voting has evolved from one of quasi-intent determined by a …

State-Sponsored Religious Displays In The U.S. And Europe: Introduction, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

On June 22, 2012, the Center for Law and Religion proudly hosted, together with the Department of Law at Libera Universita Maria SS. Assunta (LUMSA), an international conference, State-Sponsored Religious Displays in the U.S. and Europe. Held at LUMSA's campus in Rome, Italy, the conference brought together leading American and European scholars, judges, and government officials to address the legality of public religious displays in different nations. Professor Silvio Ferrari of the University of Milan delivered the Conference Introduction. Panels included Cultural or Religious? Understanding Symbols in Public Places; The Lautsi Case and the Margin of Appreciation; and State-Sponsored Religious …