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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Law

How Traditional And Minority Religions Fare In The Courts: Empirical Evidence From Religious Liberty Cases, Gregory C. Sisk Jan 2005

How Traditional And Minority Religions Fare In The Courts: Empirical Evidence From Religious Liberty Cases, Gregory C. Sisk

University of Colorado Law Review

There is an enduring legal myth that members of minority religious groups face a decidedly uphill battle in securing accommodation for or even tolerance of unconventional religious practices, expression, or values from the courts. According to conventional wisdom, traditional Christian believers may anticipate a more hospitable welcome from the judiciary when asserting claims of conscience or religious liberty. However based upon an empirical study of religious liberty decisions in the federal courts, the proposition that minority religions are less successful with their claims was found to be without empirical support, at least in the modern era and in the lower …


Judicial Modesty And The Jury, Suja A. Thomas Jan 2005

Judicial Modesty And The Jury, Suja A. Thomas

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.


Child Custody, Religious Practices, And Conscience, Kent Greenwalt Jan 2005

Child Custody, Religious Practices, And Conscience, Kent Greenwalt

University of Colorado Law Review

This article asks to what extent considerations relating to religion should figure in custody disputes. One inquiry is whether the kind of religious life that a parent plans for his or her child should figure in the decision whether to grant custody to that parent. The article focuses on a religious life that involves very substantial deprivation no after-school activities, no television, no pets, no reading except schoolwork and the Bible-from an ordinary secular perspective. A second inquiry is whether one parent of a divorced couple should be able to prevent the other parent from exposing a child to various …


Federal Land Retention And The Constitution's Property Clause: The Original Understanding, Robert G. Natelson Jan 2005

Federal Land Retention And The Constitution's Property Clause: The Original Understanding, Robert G. Natelson

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.


Navigating Dangerous Constitutional Straits: A Prolegomenon On The Federal Marriage Amendment And The Disenfranchisement Of Sexual Minorities, Ronald J. Krotosynski, Jr., E. Gary Spitko Jan 2005

Navigating Dangerous Constitutional Straits: A Prolegomenon On The Federal Marriage Amendment And The Disenfranchisement Of Sexual Minorities, Ronald J. Krotosynski, Jr., E. Gary Spitko

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.


What Does Religion Have To Do With Freedom Of Conscience?, Steven D. Smith Jan 2005

What Does Religion Have To Do With Freedom Of Conscience?, Steven D. Smith

University of Colorado Law Review

Although the framers of the First Amendment chose to protect "the free exercise of religion" and deleted language about 'freedom of conscience, " a widely-held modern assumption maintains that constitutional protection should extend to conscience generally, not just to religious exercise. But is this extension defensible? This article considers three classic rationales for religious freedom-the "separate spheres" rationale, the 'futility" rationale, and the "higher duties" rationale-and asks whether they justify protection of non-religious conscience. The article concludes that all of the classic rationales are vulnerable to serious objections. However, a somewhat different rationale, which might be called the "personhood" rationale, …


A Practical And Pragmatic Approach To Freedom Of Conscience, Martin H. Belsky Jan 2005

A Practical And Pragmatic Approach To Freedom Of Conscience, Martin H. Belsky

University of Colorado Law Review

Using a series of anecdotes and illustrations, the author posits that freedom of conscience, broadly defined, can only be protected, if at all, by assertive individual and group action. Such action must be not just against government interference but also against nongovernmental or private activities as well as intimidation. Professor Belsky urges individual balancing of the freedom of conscience and other legal, governmental and societal interests. This balancing is a form of "constitutionalism," and when necessary must be followed up by enforcement through personal action.


Reviving The Coercion Test: A Proposal To Prevent Federal Conditional Spending That Leaves Children Behind, Coulter M. Bump Jan 2005

Reviving The Coercion Test: A Proposal To Prevent Federal Conditional Spending That Leaves Children Behind, Coulter M. Bump

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.


Who Needs Freedom Of Religion?, James W. Nickel Jan 2005

Who Needs Freedom Of Religion?, James W. Nickel

University of Colorado Law Review

This article proposes that we view freedom of religion as a specific application area of more general basic liberties such as freedoms of thought, expression, association, assembly, movement, privacy, political participation, and economic activity. Separate enumeration of freedom of religion in national and international bills of rights may be useful, but it is not indispensable. In this respect freedom of religion is more like scientific freedom or artistic freedom than like freedom of expression. Recognizing that separate enumeration of freedom of religion is dispensable has salutary consequences for how we conceive and justify freedom as it applies to religion. First, …