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Articles 1 - 30 of 51
Full-Text Articles in Law
Measuring The Chilling Effect, Brandice Canes-Wrone, Michael C. Dorf
Measuring The Chilling Effect, Brandice Canes-Wrone, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
Supreme Court doctrine grants special protection against laws that “chill” protected speech, most prominently via the overbreadth doctrine. The overbreadth doctrine permits persons whose own speech is unprotected to challenge laws that infringe the protected speech of third parties. The Court has not generally applied overbreadth and the other speech-protective doctrines to other constitutional rights even though other rights could also be subject to a chilling effect. The case law simply assumes that the chilling effect only acts on the exercise of speech, and that this justifies treating speech differently from other rights. We tested these assumptions with respect to …
Truth, Justice, And The American Constitution, Michael C. Dorf
Truth, Justice, And The American Constitution, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
No abstract provided.
First Amendment Freedom Of Speech And Religion - October 2009 Term, Burt Neuborne, Michael Dorf
First Amendment Freedom Of Speech And Religion - October 2009 Term, Burt Neuborne, Michael Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
No abstract provided.
Three Vital Issues: Incorporation Of The Second Amendment, Federal Government Power, And Separation Of Powers - October 2009 Term, Michael C. Dorf, Erwin Chemerinsky
Three Vital Issues: Incorporation Of The Second Amendment, Federal Government Power, And Separation Of Powers - October 2009 Term, Michael C. Dorf, Erwin Chemerinsky
Michael C. Dorf
No abstract provided.
How To Choose The Least Unconstitutional Option: Lessons For The President (And Others) From The Debt Ceiling Standoff, Neil H. Buchanan, Michael C. Dorf
How To Choose The Least Unconstitutional Option: Lessons For The President (And Others) From The Debt Ceiling Standoff, Neil H. Buchanan, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
The federal statute known as the “debt ceiling” limits total borrowing by the United States. Congress has repeatedly raised the ceiling to authorize necessary borrowing, but a political standoff in 2011 nearly made it impossible to borrow funds to meet obligations that Congress had affirmed earlier that very year. Some commentators urged President Obama to ignore the debt ceiling, while others responded that such borrowing would violate the separation of powers and therefore that the president should refuse to spend appropriated funds. This Article analyzes the choice the president nearly faced in summer 2011, and which he or a successor …
Dynamic Incorporation Of Foreign Law, Michael C. Dorf
Dynamic Incorporation Of Foreign Law, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
Lawmaking bodies in one polity sometimes incorporate the law of another polity “dynamically,” so that when the law of the foreign jurisdiction changes, the law of the incorporating jurisdiction changes automatically. Dynamic incorporation can save lawmaking costs, lead to better legal rules and standards, and solve collective action problems. Thus, the phenomenon is widespread. However, dynamic incorporation delegates lawmaking power. Further, as the formal and practical barriers to revocation of the act of dynamic incorporation become higher, that act comes closer to a cession of sovereignty, and for democratic polities, such sessions entail a democratic loss. Accordingly, dynamic incorporation of …
A Nonoriginalist Perspective On The Lessons Of History, Michael C. Dorf
A Nonoriginalist Perspective On The Lessons Of History, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
No abstract provided.
The Morality Of Prophylactic Legislation (With Special Reference To Speed Limits, Assisted Suicide, Torture, And Detention Without Trial), Michael Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
My subject is the morality of prophylactic legislation. What do I mean by ‘prophylactic’ legislation? Let me illustrate the concept by drawing a contrast with the most famous hypothetical case in the scholarly literature of Anglo-American jurisprudence. During the course of their debate over the relation between law and morality, Lon Fuller and H. L. A. Hart disagreed about what tools are needed to discern the meaning and scope of a rule barring vehicles from a public park. Hart and Fuller clashed over whether legislative purpose and considerations of morality enter into the process of discerning what Hart famously called …
The 2000 Presidential Election: Archetype Or Exception?, Michael C. Dorf
The 2000 Presidential Election: Archetype Or Exception?, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
No abstract provided.
Shared Constitutional Interpretation, Michael C. Dorf, Barry Friedman
Shared Constitutional Interpretation, Michael C. Dorf, Barry Friedman
Michael C. Dorf
In United States v. Dickerson the Supreme Court reaffirmed its decision in Miranda v. Arizona, stating that it was a 'constitutional decision' and, thus, not subject to congressional overruling. At the same time, the Dickerson Court reiterated Miranda's "invitation" to "Congress and the States to . . . search for . . . other procedures which are at least as effective" as the Court's prescribed warnings in protecting the suspect's rights. This article uses Dickerson as a lens through which to examine the possibilities of shared constitutional interpretation. After all, the Court that decided Dickerson has, in recent years, been …
Same-Sex Marriage, Second-Class Citizenship, And Law's Social Meanings, Michael C. Dorf
Same-Sex Marriage, Second-Class Citizenship, And Law's Social Meanings, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
Government acts, statements, and symbols that carry the social meaning of second-class citizenship may, as a consequence of that fact, violate the Establishment Clause or the constitutional requirement of equal protection. Yet social meaning is often contested. Do laws permitting same-sex couples to form civil unions but not to enter into marriage convey the social meaning that gays and lesbians are second-class citizens? Do official displays of the Confederate battle flag unconstitutionally convey support for slavery and white supremacy? When public schools teach evolution but not creationism, do they show disrespect for creationists? Different audiences reach different conclusions about the …
Spandrel Or Frankenstein's Monster? The Vices And Virtues Of Retrofitting In American Law, Michael Dorf
Spandrel Or Frankenstein's Monster? The Vices And Virtues Of Retrofitting In American Law, Michael Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
No abstract provided.
The Heterogeneity Of Rights, Michael C. Dorf
The Heterogeneity Of Rights, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
What is the implication for the validity of governmental rules of the conclusion that the rule interferes with a constitutional right? This question has implications for two important doctrinal puzzles. The first is the question when, if ever, a litigant has a constitutional right to an exemption from a generally valid rule of law. Many constitutional rights are rule-dependent in the sense that they protect actors against certain kinds of governmental rules rather than shielding acts against governmental interference. This Article denies the claim by scholars and judges that this rule-dependence reflects a deep truth about the nature of constitutional …
Federal Governmental Power: The Voting Rights Act, Michael C. Dorf
Federal Governmental Power: The Voting Rights Act, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
No abstract provided.
Instrumental And Non-Instrumental Federalism, Michael C. Dorf
Instrumental And Non-Instrumental Federalism, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
No abstract provided.
Dicta And Article Iii, Michael C. Dorf
The Coherentism Of Democracy And Distrust, Michael C. Dorf
The Coherentism Of Democracy And Distrust, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
No abstract provided.
Interpretive Holism And The Structural Method, Or How Charles Black Might Have Thought About Campaign Finance Reform And Congressional Timidity, Michael C. Dorf
Interpretive Holism And The Structural Method, Or How Charles Black Might Have Thought About Campaign Finance Reform And Congressional Timidity, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
No abstract provided.
A Comment On Text, Time And Audience Understanding In Constitutional Law, Michael Dorf
A Comment On Text, Time And Audience Understanding In Constitutional Law, Michael Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
No abstract provided.
The Detention And Trial Of Enemy Combatants: A Drama In Three Branches, Michael C. Dorf
The Detention And Trial Of Enemy Combatants: A Drama In Three Branches, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
No abstract provided.
Levels Of Generality In The Definition Of Rights, Laurence Tribe, Michael Dorf
Levels Of Generality In The Definition Of Rights, Laurence Tribe, Michael Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
This article focuses on one important aspect of the quest for constitutional meaning: how to determine whether a particular liberty-whether or not expressly enumerated in the Bill of Rights-is a "fundamental" right. Whether under the somewhat tarnished banner of substantive due process or under a different rubric, the designation of a right as fundamental requires that the state offer a compelling justification for limitations of that right. In addition, under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, state-sanctioned inequalities that bear upon the exercise of a fundamental right will be upheld only if they serve a compelling governmental interest. …
Can Process Theory Constrain Courts?, Michael C. Dorf, Samuel Issacharoff
Can Process Theory Constrain Courts?, Michael C. Dorf, Samuel Issacharoff
Michael C. Dorf
Politics is the most difficult domain for constitutional law. As practiced in the United States, the aim of constitutionalism is both to provide a foundation for democratic governance and a limitation on the scope of such politics. The Constitution is supposed to enable democratic politics and establish its outer bounds. Yet the original Constitution performed this task only inferentially, leaving most of the details to either subsequent amendments or, more centrally, to judicial interpretation. This in turn leads to a fundamental question: what are the bounds of judicial intervention into the political arena? Although this is an old question, it …
A Partial Defense Of An Anti-Discrimination Principle, Michael C. Dorf
A Partial Defense Of An Anti-Discrimination Principle, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
Over a quarter century ago, Professor Fiss proposed that the constitutional principle of equal protection should be interpreted to prohibit laws or official practices that aggravate or perpetuate the subordination of specially disadvantaged groups. Fiss thought that the anti-subordination principle could more readily justify results he believed normatively attractive than could the rival, anti-discrimination principle. In particular, anti-subordination would enable the courts to invalidate facially neutral laws that have the effect of disadvantaging a subordinate group and also enable them to uphold facially race-based laws aimed at ameliorating the condition of a subordinate group. Since Fiss’s landmark article appeared, Supreme …
Recipe For Trouble: Some Thoughts On Meaning, Translation And Normative Theory, Michael C. Dorf
Recipe For Trouble: Some Thoughts On Meaning, Translation And Normative Theory, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
No abstract provided.
Be Careful What You Wish For, Michael C. Dorf
Does Heller Protect A Right To Carry Guns Outside The Home?, Michael C. Dorf
Does Heller Protect A Right To Carry Guns Outside The Home?, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
No abstract provided.
Fallback Law, Michael C. Dorf
Fallback Law, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
Legislatures sometimes address the risk that a court will declare all or part of a law unconstitutional by including "fallback" provisions that take effect on condition of such total or partial invalidation. The most common kind of fallback provision is a severability clause, which effectively creates a fallback of the original law minus its invalid provisions or applications. However, fallback law can and sometimes does take the express form of substitute provisions. Fallback law can raise a surprisingly large number of constitutional and policy questions. A fallback provision itself must be constitutional, but how to discern the constitutionality of the …
Nullifying The Debt Ceiling Threat Once And For All: Why The President Should Embrace The Least Unconstitutional Option, Neil H. Buchanan, Michael C. Dorf
Nullifying The Debt Ceiling Threat Once And For All: Why The President Should Embrace The Least Unconstitutional Option, Neil H. Buchanan, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
In August 2011, Congress and the President narrowly averted economic and political catastrophe, agreeing at the last possible moment to authorize a series of increases in the national debt ceiling. This respite, unfortunately, was merely temporary. The amounts of the increases in the debt ceiling that Congress authorized in 2011 were only sufficient to accommodate the additional borrowing that would be necessary through the end of 2012. In an economy that continued to show chronic weakness -- weakness that continues to this day -- the federal government would predictably continue to collect lower-than-normal tax revenues and to make higher-than-normal expenditures, …
An Institutional Approach To Legal Indeterminacy, Michael C. Dorf
An Institutional Approach To Legal Indeterminacy, Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf
For over a generation, academic jurisprudence and constitutional theory have attempted to reconcile, on the one hand, the rule of law and the Constitution's fundamentality with, on the other hand, the fact that legal and constitutional rules frequently do not produce determinate answers to concrete controversies. The approach of radical democrats who would abandon judicial review is unacceptable to all those who believe that some judicially enforceable limits on politics are needed to prevent majoritarian tyranny. At the same time, however, constitutional theories that attempt to justify judicial review have limited utility; at best they strike a compromise between the …
Constitutional Existence Conditions And Judicial Review, Michael Dorf, Matthew Adler
Constitutional Existence Conditions And Judicial Review, Michael Dorf, Matthew Adler
Michael C. Dorf
Although critics of judicial review sometimes call for making the entire Constitution nonjusticiable, many familiar norms of constitutional law state what we call "existence conditions" that are necessarily enforced by judicial actors charged with the responsibility of applying, and thus as a preliminary step, identifying, propositions of sub-constitutional law such as statutes. Article I, Section 7, which sets forth the procedures by which a bill becomes a law, is an example: a putative law that did not go through the Article I, Section 7 process and does not satisfy an alternative test for legal validity (such as the treaty-making provision …