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Updates Editor: Chapters 3, 6, 31-36, 54, 55, 77-81, Robert Bloom Oct 2013

Updates Editor: Chapters 3, 6, 31-36, 54, 55, 77-81, Robert Bloom

Robert Bloom

No abstract provided.


When Rights Become Empty Promises: Promoting An Exclusionary Rule That Vindicates Personal Rights, Robert Bloom, Erin Dewey Oct 2013

When Rights Become Empty Promises: Promoting An Exclusionary Rule That Vindicates Personal Rights, Robert Bloom, Erin Dewey

Robert Bloom

The United States has played a leading role in the development of the exclusionary rule since Weeks v. United States (1914). The original exclusionary rule justification set out in Weeks is the vindication principle which operates so as to exclude unconstitutionally obtained evidence for the purpose of vindicating the rights of the accused. In this way the exclusion of evidence provides a remedy to the victim of an illegality by maintaining the status quo ante. The U.S. Supreme Court observed in Wolf v Colorado (1949) that “[o]f 10 jurisdictions within the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth of Nations which …


The Right To Die: Themes And Variations, Charles Baron Aug 2013

The Right To Die: Themes And Variations, Charles Baron

Charles H. Baron

No abstract provided.


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.


Christian Scripture And American Scripture: An Instructive Analogy?, Gregory A. Kalscheur S.J. Dec 2011

Christian Scripture And American Scripture: An Instructive Analogy?, Gregory A. Kalscheur S.J.

Gregory A. Kalscheur, S.J.

This Review Essay examines the analogy between biblical interpretation and constitutional interpretation drawn by the eminent Yale church historian Jaroslav Pelikan in his provocative book, Interpreting the Bible and the Constitution. Part I of the Essay focuses on Pelikan’s discussion of the differences and analogies between the Bible and the Constitution that provide the foundation for methodological comparison. Part II of the Essay examines Pelikan’s effort to draw on the work of 19th-century theologian John Henry Newman in order to explore the fundamental problem of the relation between the authority of the original text and the authority of developing doctrine …


John Paul Ii, John Courtney Murray, And The Relationship Between Civil Law And Moral Law: A Constructive Proposal For Contemporary American Pluralism, Gregory A. Kalscheur S.J. Dec 2011

John Paul Ii, John Courtney Murray, And The Relationship Between Civil Law And Moral Law: A Constructive Proposal For Contemporary American Pluralism, Gregory A. Kalscheur S.J.

Gregory A. Kalscheur, S.J.

In his 1995 encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, Pope John Paul II outlined a jurisprudential vision which includes the “doctrine on the necessary conformity of civil law with moral law.” The Pope’s jurisprudential reflections prompt the question I consider in this Article: How should we understand the doctrine on the necessary conformity of civil law with moral law in a religiously pluralistic democratic society like that of the United States today? My objective is to articulate a vision of the relationship between moral values and civil law that is grounded in the tradition of Catholic social thought and that can allow the …


Catholics In Public Life: Judges, Legislators, And Voters, Gregory A. Kalscheur S.J. Dec 2011

Catholics In Public Life: Judges, Legislators, And Voters, Gregory A. Kalscheur S.J.

Gregory A. Kalscheur, S.J.

Does the desire to avoid culpable cooperation in moral evil make the conscientious Catholic judge unfit for judicial service in a constitutional system that will inevitably bring before the judge cases that implicate a host of issues as to which the Church offers moral teaching? Confused answers to this question reflect a larger confusion which often accompanies contemporary discussion of questions related to Catholic participation in public life. The confusion stems in large part from a failure to recognize that Catholics participate in public life in different ways that give them different sorts of public roles. This Essay tries to …


Civil Procedure And The Establishment Clause: Exploring The Ministerial Exception, Subject-Matter Jurisdiction, And The Freedom Of The Church, Gregory A. Kalscheur Dec 2011

Civil Procedure And The Establishment Clause: Exploring The Ministerial Exception, Subject-Matter Jurisdiction, And The Freedom Of The Church, Gregory A. Kalscheur

Gregory A. Kalscheur, S.J.

What sort of defense is provided by the ministerial exception to employment discrimination claims? The ministerial exception bars civil courts from reviewing the decisions of religious organizations regarding the employment of their ministerial employees. While the exception itself is widely recognized by courts, there is confusion with respect to the proper characterization of the defense provided by the exception: should it be seen as a subject matter jurisdiction defense, or as a challenge to the legal sufficiency of the plaintiff's claim? This Article argues that articulating the right answer to this question of civil procedure is crucial to a proper …


Moral Limits On Morals Legislation: Lessons For U.S. Constitutional Law From The Declaration On Religious Freedom, Gregory A. Kalscheur S.J. Dec 2011

Moral Limits On Morals Legislation: Lessons For U.S. Constitutional Law From The Declaration On Religious Freedom, Gregory A. Kalscheur S.J.

Gregory A. Kalscheur, S.J.

A persistent American confusion regarding the proper relationship between law and morality is manifest in the opinions in Lawrence v. Texas. The Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Religious Freedom provides the foundation for an analytical framework that can bring clarity to that confusion. The heart of this framework is the moral concept of public order. This concept offers a principled explanation of both the holding in Lawrence and the limitations the Court placed on that holding. The Court could clarify the confusion manifest in Lawrence by explicitly acknowledging that a state interest only becomes legitimate for purposes of rational basis …


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 …


Un Hombre, Un Voto, Germán M. Teruel Lozano Dec 2011

Un Hombre, Un Voto, Germán M. Teruel Lozano

Germán M. Teruel Lozano

No abstract provided.


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.


The Hollowness Of The Harm Principle, Steven D. Smith Dec 2011

The Hollowness Of The Harm Principle, Steven D. Smith

Steven D. Smith

Among the various instruments in the toolbox of liberalism, the so-called “harm principle,” presented as the central thesis of John Stuart Mill’s classic On Liberty, has been one of the most popular. The harm principle has been widely embraced and invoked in both academic and popular debate about a variety of issues ranging from obscenity to drug regulation to abortion to same-sex marriage, and its influence is discernible in legal arguments and judicial opinions as well. Despite the principle’s apparent irresistibility, this essay argues that the principle is hollow. It is an empty vessel, alluring but without any inherent legal …


Justice Douglas, Justice O'Connor, And George Orwell: Does The Constitution Compel Us To Disown Our Past, Steven D. Smith Dec 2011

Justice Douglas, Justice O'Connor, And George Orwell: Does The Constitution Compel Us To Disown Our Past, Steven D. Smith

Steven D. Smith

Justice William O. Douglas's majority opinion in Zorach v. Clauson famously asserted that "[w]e are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being." What did Douglas mean, and was he right? More recently, in cases involving the Ten Commandments, the Pledge of Allegiance and other public expressions and symbols, the Supreme Court has said that the Constitution prohibits government from endorsing religion. Can Douglas's "Supreme Being" assertion be reconciled with the "no endorsement" prohibition? And does the more modern doctrine demand that we forget, falsify, or forswear our pervasively religious political heritage? This essay, presented as the William O. …


The Tenuous Case For Conscience, Steven D. Smith Dec 2011

The Tenuous Case For Conscience, Steven D. Smith

Steven D. Smith

If there is any single theme that has provided the foundation of modern liberalism and has infused our more specific constitutional commitments to freedom of religion and freedom of speech, that theme is probably “freedom of conscience.” But some observers also perceive a progressive cheapening of conscience– even a sort of degradation. Such criticisms suggest the need for a contemporary rethinking of conscience. When we reverently invoke “conscience,” do we have any idea what we are talking about? Or are we just exploiting a venerable theme for rhetorical purposes without any clear sense of what “conscience” is or why it …


“Reasoning-Lite” In The Violent Video Game Case, Alan Garfield Nov 2011

“Reasoning-Lite” In The Violent Video Game Case, Alan Garfield

Alan E Garfield

One might have expected that the Supreme Court’s recent decision in the violent video game case, Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Ass’n, would have been a thoughtful balancing of society’s competing interests in protecting freedom of speech and protecting children from harm. After all, the Supreme Court had held decades earlier that the government could deny minors access to soft-porn, or what the Court called “girlie magazines.” So one could have assumed the Court would seriously consider California’s claim that minors also needed sheltering from the grittier world of violent video game rapes, beheadings, and ethnic cleansings. Yet, as Justice Scalia’s …


¿Puede La Fe Aportar Algo Al Derecho? La Respuesta De La Teología Jurídica, Juan Carlos Riofrío Martínez-Villalba Nov 2011

¿Puede La Fe Aportar Algo Al Derecho? La Respuesta De La Teología Jurídica, Juan Carlos Riofrío Martínez-Villalba

Juan Carlos Riofrío Martínez-Villalba

El artículo analiza la posibilidad de que la fe aporte contenidos a la ciencia del Derecho y al ordenamiento jurídico. La perspectiva no es histórica, sino jurídica y teológica. Consta de tres partes: (i) el planteamiento del problema del aporte de la fe; (ii) la delimitación de la teología jurídica, que es la ciencia llamada a resolver el problema; y, (iii) la respuesta al problema. En el fondo el análisis procura mostrar cómo la fe puede ser “fuente de derecho”. Termina señalando el alcance y los límites de esta fuente en el derecho sobre las cosas naturales y sobrenaturales.


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 …


The Constitutionality Of The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act In The Courts Of Appeals, Mel Cousins Nov 2011

The Constitutionality Of The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act In The Courts Of Appeals, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

Having undergone an extensive process of political discussion and debate, the ACA (properly the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) is now under intensive legal challenge with over 20 different cases from both states and organizations and individuals having been initiated. The challengers argue that the Act lacks a constitutional basis and/or infringes on their constitutional rights. These cases involve a fascinating intersection of legal, political and policy issues and, regardless of the outcome, will have important implications for the future direction of US health care policy. There have now been four decisions of the courts of appeal on the …


Holmes And Dissent, Allen P. Mendenhall Nov 2011

Holmes And Dissent, Allen P. Mendenhall

Allen Mendenhall

Holmes saw the dissent as a mechanism to advance and preserve arguments and as a pageant for wordplay. Dissents, for Holmes, occupied an interstitial space between law and non-law. The thought and theory of pragmatism allowed him to recreate the dissent as a stage for performative text, a place where signs and syntax could mimic the environment of the particular time and place and in so doing become, or strive to become, law. Holmes’s dissents were sites of aesthetic adaptation. The language of his dissents was acrobatic. It acted and reacted and called attention to itself. The more provocative and …


Religious Arbitration And The New Multiculturalism: Negotiating Conflicting Legal Orders, Michael A. Helfand Nov 2011

Religious Arbitration And The New Multiculturalism: Negotiating Conflicting Legal Orders, Michael A. Helfand

Michael A Helfand

This Article considers a trend towards what I have termed the "new multiculturalism," where conflicts between law and religion are less about recognition and symbolism and more about conflicting legal orders. Nothing typifies this trend more than the increased visibility of religious arbitration, whereby religious groups use current arbitration doctrine to have their disputes adjudicated not in U.S. courts and under U.S. law, but before religious courts and under religious law. This dynamic has pushed the following question to the forefront of the multicultural agenda: under what circumstances should U.S. courts enforce arbitration awards issued by religious courts in accordance …


Hosanna-Tabor And Supreme Court Precedent: An Analysis Of The Ministerial Exception In The Context Of The Supreme Court’S Hands-Off Approach To Religious Doctrine, Samuel J. Levine Nov 2011

Hosanna-Tabor And Supreme Court Precedent: An Analysis Of The Ministerial Exception In The Context Of The Supreme Court’S Hands-Off Approach To Religious Doctrine, Samuel J. Levine

Samuel J. Levine

The United States Supreme Court‘s review of the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the case of Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. EEOC could lead to a major development in the Court‘s Religion Clause jurisprudence. On one level, Hosanna-Tabor presents important questions regarding the interrelationship between employment discrimination laws and the constitutional rights of religious organizations. The narrow issue at the center of the case is the ministerial exception, a doctrine that precludes courts from adjudicating discrimination claims arising out of disputes between religious institutions and their ministerial employees. This Essay …


Perfectly Legal To Mandate The Purchase Of Insurance, Alan E. Garfield Nov 2011

Perfectly Legal To Mandate The Purchase Of Insurance, Alan E. Garfield

Alan E Garfield

No abstract provided.


Marbury Versus Madison: Documents And Commentary, Mark Graber, Michael Perhac Nov 2011

Marbury Versus Madison: Documents And Commentary, Mark Graber, Michael Perhac

Mark Graber

Marbury versus Madison combines documents and analytical essays timed for the bicentennial year (2003) of one of the most important Supreme Court cases. This timely collection will explain: the constitutional, political, philosophical background to judicial review the historical record leading to this landmark case the impact of the decision since 1803 its impact on the world stage, especially for new and emerging democratic nations. Also includes a listing of all the Supreme Court cases citing Marbury an an annotated Marbury v. Madison.


Rethinking Abortion: Equal Choice, The Constitution, And Reproductive Politics, Mark Graber Nov 2011

Rethinking Abortion: Equal Choice, The Constitution, And Reproductive Politics, Mark Graber

Mark Graber

Mark Graber looks at the history of abortion law in action to argue that the only defensible, constitutional approach to the issue is to afford all women equal choice--abortion should remain legal or bans should be strictly enforced. Steering away from metaphysical critiques of privacy, Graber compares the philosophical, constitutional, and democratic merits of the two systems of abortion regulation witnessed in the twentieth century: pre-Roe v. Wade statutory prohibitions on abortion and Roe's ban on significant state interference with the market for safe abortion services. He demonstrates that before Roe, pro-life measures were selectively and erratically administered, thereby …


Dred Scott And The Problem Of Constitutional Evil, Mark Graber Nov 2011

Dred Scott And The Problem Of Constitutional Evil, Mark Graber

Mark Graber

Dred Scott and the Problem of Constitutional Evil concerns what is entailed by pledging allegiance to a constitutional text and tradition saturated with concessions to evil. The Constitution of the United States was originally understood as an effort to mediate controversies between persons who disputed fundamental values, and did not offer a vision of the good society. In order to form a "more perfect union" with slaveholders, late-eighteenth-century citizens fashioned a constitution that plainly compelled some injustices and was silent or ambiguous on other questions of fundamental right. This constitutional relationship could survive only as long as a bisectional consensus …


Political Judges And Popular Justice: A Conservative Victory Or A Conservative Dilemma?, George D. Brown Nov 2011

Political Judges And Popular Justice: A Conservative Victory Or A Conservative Dilemma?, George D. Brown

George D. Brown

Most of the judges in America are elected. Yet the institution of the elected judiciary is in trouble, perhaps in crisis. The pressures of campaigning, particularly raising money, have produced an intensity of electioneering that many observers see as damaging to the institution itself. In an extraordinary development, four justices of the Supreme Court recently expressed concern over possible loss of trust in state judicial systems. Yet mechanisms that states have put in place to strike a balance between the accountability values of an elected judiciary and rule of law values of unbiased adjudication are increasingly invalidated by the federal …