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Articles 1 - 14 of 14
Full-Text Articles in Law
Secularization, Religiosity, And The United States Constitution, Christopher L. Eisgruber
Secularization, Religiosity, And The United States Constitution, Christopher L. Eisgruber
Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies
This article draws upon leading works in the sociology of religion to assess what I shall call "the secularization claim" regarding the United States. It endeavors, in particular to clarify the possible meanings of "secularization,"and then to use these conceptual refinements to examine what sort of evidence exists that the United States has been secularized. Though it is not possible to falsify every version of the secularization claim, there is little evidence to support it, especially in its most prominent and politically relevant variations. The article then goes on to offer a preliminary analysis of to what extent, if any, …
The Political Market For Criminal Justice, Rachel E. Barkow
The Political Market For Criminal Justice, Rachel E. Barkow
Michigan Law Review
In 2004, the number of individuals incarcerated in the United States exceeded the two million mark. The current incarceration rate in the United States is 726 per 100,000 residents, the highest incarceration rate in the Western world and a dramatic increase from just three decades ago. Not only are more people serving time, but sentences have markedly lengthened. What should we make of these trends? The answer has been easy for most legal scholars: to them, the incarceration rate in the United States is too high, and reforms are necessary to lower sentences. But many political leaders and voters reach …
Crime, Criminals, And Competitive Crime Control, Wayne A. Logan
Crime, Criminals, And Competitive Crime Control, Wayne A. Logan
Michigan Law Review
Given the negative consequences of crime, it should come as no surprise that states will endeavor to make their dominions less hospitable to potential criminal actors. This predisposition, when played out on a national stage, would appear ripe for a dynamic in which states will seek to "out-tough" one another, leading to a spiral of detrimental competitiveness. Doran Teichman, in an article recently appearing in these pages, advances just such a view. Teichman posits that the decentralized structure of America's federalist system provides states with "an incentive to increasingly harshen" their crime control efforts, with the net result being excessive …
Decentralizing Crime Control: The Political Economy Perspective, Doron Teichman
Decentralizing Crime Control: The Political Economy Perspective, Doron Teichman
Michigan Law Review
In an article recently published on the pages of this Law Review, The Market for Criminal Justice: Federalism, Crime Control, and Jurisdictional Competition ("The Market"), I put forward a theory of crime control in a decentralized government. Specifically, I made three distinct claims. First, criminal justice policies affect the geographic decision of criminals as to where to commit their crimes. Other things being equal, criminal activity will tend to shift to areas in which the expected sanction is lower. Second, local jurisdictions attempting to lower their crime rates will react to policies adopted by neighboring jurisdictions and try …
Rights, Rules, And Raich, Alex Kreit
Self-Regulation For Safety And Security: Final Minutes Or Finest Hour?, Douglas C. Michael
Self-Regulation For Safety And Security: Final Minutes Or Finest Hour?, Douglas C. Michael
Law Faculty Scholarly Articles
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the accounting and auditing crisis later caused by the Enron and Worldcom scandals of that same year, created a great sense of insecurity in many Americans. In this Article, I analyze the federal government's response to crisis. I first define what a crisis is: a sudden, existential threat to which the entity has insufficient resources to respond. I then explain how regulation for safety and security is unique in two aspects: perceptions matter, and the assistance of the regulated entities is essential. I proceed by describing and analyzing the regulatory history and …
Katrina And The Rhetoric Of Federalism, Christina E. Wells
Katrina And The Rhetoric Of Federalism, Christina E. Wells
Faculty Publications
The public's desire to assign blame for government's inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina has largely focused on the federal government's slow and seemingly inept response to the storm. In their own defense, federal officials cast federalism--the system that divides power among federal, state, and local governments--as the main culprit underlying their inadequate response to hurricane victims. Had power and authority not been split among three different units of government, the argument goes, the federal government might have been able to act more quickly to save lives and prevent suffering. In effect, federal authorities claim to have been hamstrung by a …
Endangered Statute - The Current Assault On The Endangered Species Act, Philip Weinberg
Endangered Statute - The Current Assault On The Endangered Species Act, Philip Weinberg
Villanova Environmental Law Journal
No abstract provided.
The Commerce Power And Criminal Punishment: Presumption Of Constitutionality Or Presumption Of Innocence?, Margaret H. Lemos
The Commerce Power And Criminal Punishment: Presumption Of Constitutionality Or Presumption Of Innocence?, Margaret H. Lemos
Faculty Scholarship
The Constitution requires that the facts that expose an individual to criminal punishment be proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. In recent years, the Supreme Court has taken pains to ensure that legislatures cannot evade the requirements of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and jury presentation through artful statutory drafting. Yet current Commerce Clause jurisprudence permits Congress to do just that. Congress can avoid application of the reasonable-doubt and jury-trial rules with respect to certain critical facts-the facts that establish the basis for federal action by linking the prohibited conduct to interstate commerce-by finding those facts itself rather …
Presidential Signing Statements And Executive Power, Curtis A. Bradley, Eric A. Posner
Presidential Signing Statements And Executive Power, Curtis A. Bradley, Eric A. Posner
Faculty Scholarship
A recent debate about the Bush administration's use of presidential signing statements has raised questions about their function, legality, and value. We argue that presidential signing statements are legal and that they provide a useful way for the president to disclose his views about the meaning and constitutionality of legislation. In addition, basic tenets of positive political theory suggest that signing statements do not undermine the separation of powers or the legislative process and that, under certain circumstances, they can provide relevant evidence of statutory meaning. Although President Bush has raised many more constitutional challenges within his signing statements than …
The Fate Of Stem Cell Research And A Proposal For Future Legislative Regulation, Lauren Thuy Nguyen
The Fate Of Stem Cell Research And A Proposal For Future Legislative Regulation, Lauren Thuy Nguyen
Santa Clara Law Review
No abstract provided.
Sosa, Customary International Law, And The Continuing Relevance Of Erie, Curtis A. Bradley, Jack L. Goldsmith, David H. Moore
Sosa, Customary International Law, And The Continuing Relevance Of Erie, Curtis A. Bradley, Jack L. Goldsmith, David H. Moore
Faculty Scholarship
Ten years ago, the conventional wisdom among international law academics was that customary international law (CIL) had the status of self-executing federal common law to be applied by courts without any need for political branch authorization. This "modern position" came under attack by so-called "revisionist" critics who argued that CIL had the status of federal common law only in the relatively rare situations in which the Constitution or political branches authorized courts to treat it as such. Modern position proponents are now claiming that the Supreme Court's 2004 decision in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain confirms that CIL has the status of …
Daedalean Tinkering, Sean J. Griffith
Daedalean Tinkering, Sean J. Griffith
Michigan Law Review
Part I of this Review describes Skeel's account of corporate scandal, focusing on the central theme of excessive risk-taking. Part II examines Skeel's most original policy proposal-the creation of an investor insurance scheme to protect against excessive risk. Although the proposal takes up only a few pages of the book, it targets the books' core concern-the risk of corporate fraud. In evaluating the proposed investor insurance regime, this Review raises a set of objections based on cost and administrability and argues that an insurance regime would be duplicative of existing mechanisms that effectively spread the risk of financial fraud. Part …
Moving Toward Exclusive Tribal Autonomy Over Lands And Natural Resources, Stacy Leeds
Moving Toward Exclusive Tribal Autonomy Over Lands And Natural Resources, Stacy Leeds
Stacy Leeds
In order for tribal governments and individual American Indians to gain autonomy over their lands and natural resources, federal law must end the federal government’s trustee status over Indian lands. The General Allotment Act of 1887 was intended to accelerate the transfer of American Indians into mainstream American society by teaching them how to become self-sufficient through efficient land use. In turn, this would lessen the federal government’s need to supervise and protect American Indian interests. However, the allotment policy was never fully implemented, leaving the federal government with perpetual oversight of Indian lands. The federal government’s trustee role has …