Law Commons^™

Dworkin V. The Philosophers: A Review Essay On Justice In Robes, Michael S. Green

Faculty Publications

In this review essay, Professor Michael Steven Green argues that Dworkin's reputation among his fellow philosophers has needlessly suffered because of his refusal to back down from his "semantic sting" argument against H. L. A. Hart. Philosophers of law have uniformly rejected the semantic sting argument as a fallacy. Nevertheless Dworkin reaffirms the argument in Justice in Robes, his most recent collection of essays, and devotes much of the book to stubbornly, and unsuccessfully, defending it. This is a pity, because the failure of the semantic sting argument in no way undermines Dworkin's other arguments against Hart.

Book Review Of Faiths Of The Founding Fathers, Davison M. Douglas

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Halpin On Dworkin's Fallacy: A Surreply, Michael S. Green

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Legal Revolutions: Six Mistakes About Discontinuity In The Legal Order, Michael S. Green

Faculty Publications

A legal revolution occurs when chains of legal dependence rupture-causing one legal system to be replaced by a different and incommensurable legal system. For example, before the French Revolution chains of legal dependence ultimately led to Louis XVI, but after this legal revolution they led to the National Assembly (or the people of France it represented). The very possibility of legal revolutions depends upon laws being structured into legal systems in this fashion. And yet, despite substantial academic interest in legal revolutions, there has been a reluctance to examine the structure that makes them possible. The goal of this Article …

Statutory Interpretation In Econotopia, Nathan B. Oman

Faculty Publications

Much of the debate in the recent revival of interest in statutory interpretation centers on whether or not courts should use legislative history in construing statutes. The consensus in favor of this practice has come under sharp attack from public choice critics who argue that traditional models of legislative intent are positively and normatively incoherent. This paper argues that in actual practice, courts look at a fairly narrow subset of legislative history. By thinking about the power to write that legislative history as a property right and legislatures as markets, it is possible to use Coase's Theorem and the concept …

W & M Law School Came First. Why Care?, W. Taylor Reveley Iii

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Rhetorical Uses Of Marbury V. Madison: The Emergence Of A "Great Case", Davison M. Douglas

Faculty Publications

Marbury v. Madison is today indisputably one of the "great cases" of American constitutional law because of its association with the principle of judicial review. But for much of its history, Marbury has not been regarded as a seminal decision. Between 1803 and 1887, the Supreme Court never once cited Marbury for the principle of judicial review, and nineteenth century constitutional law treatises were far more likely to cite Marbury for the decision's discussion of writs of mandamus or the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction than for its discussion of judicial review. During the late nineteenth century, however, the exercise of …

The Struggle For School Desegregation In Cincinnati Before 1954, Davison M. Douglas

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Hans Kelsen And The Logic Of Legal Systems, Michael S. Green

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The End Of The Hudson Valley's Peculiar Institution: The Anti-Rent Movement's Politics, Social Relations, & Economics, Eric Kades

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Paradox Of Auxiliary Rights: The Privilege Against Self-Incrimination And The Right To Keep And Bear Arms, Michael S. Green

Faculty Publications

According to Locke's theory of the social contract, which was widely accepted by the Founders, political authority is limited by those natural moral rights that individuals reserve against the government. In this Article, I argue that Locke's theory generates paradoxical conclusions concerning the government's authority over civil disobedients, that is, people who resist the government because they believe it is violating reserved moral rights. If the government lacks the authority to compel the civil disobedient to abide by its laws, the result is anarchism: The limits on governmental authority are whatever each individual says they are. If the government has …

Congress As Culprit: How Lawmakers Spurred On The Court's Anti-Congress Crusade, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Privilege's Last Stand: The Privilege Against Self-Incrimination And The Right To Rebel Against The State, Michael S. Green

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Defending Truth, Cynthia V. Ward, Peter A. Alces

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Laws Of Complexity & The Complexity Of Laws: The Implications Of Computational Complexity Theory For The Law, Eric Kades

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Government Lawyers And The New Deal, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Legal Realism, Lex Fori, And The Choice-Of-Law Revolution, Michael S. Green

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Rhetoric Of Moderation: Desegregating The South During The Decade After Brown, Davison M. Douglas

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Harlot's Ghost And Jfk: A Fictional Conservation With Norman Mailer, Oliver Stone, Earl Warren, And Hugo Black, Rodney A. Smolla

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Section 2: Town Meeting: Direction Of The Court, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School

Supreme Court Preview

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of The Charlemagne Tower Collection Of Colonial Laws, James S. Heller

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Correspondence: The Stuff Of Constitutional Law, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Notes On A Bicentennial Constitution: Part Ii, Antinomial Choices And The Role Of The Supreme Court, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

Continuing the examination of judicial review conducted around the Constitution’s bicentennial, this article lays bare the inconsistencies in the expected tasks of the Supreme Court. Where some roles of the Court have traditionally been treated as indivisible, examining those same roles separate from one another produces an incoherent view of the Court that is difficult to compromise.

The Legal Profession: A Look Into The Future, William B. Spong Jr.

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Allocation Of The War Powers Between The President And Congress: 1787-88, W. Taylor Reveley Iii

Faculty Publications

For some time the international community has been keenly interested in the foreign uses to which America puts its military. The nature of these uses has traditionally been affected by the manner in which the Constitution divides the war powers between the President and Congress. This allocation of war-peace authority, in tum, is the product of a number of influences, among them the intentions of the Framers and Ratifiers for the text which they drafted and approved. Their war-power debates, as we shall see, have heavy international overtones.These debates have not been neglected, especially during America's recent involvement in Indochina. …

John Marshall's Preparation For The Bar -- Some Observations On His Law Notes, William F. Swindler

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Legal History – Unhappy Hybrid, William F. Swindler

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Three Papers From The Annual Meeting Held On October 26 And 27, 1961 In Williamsburg, Virginia, William F. Swindler, James A. Servies, Dudley Warner Woodbridge

Library Events

Legal History -- Unhappy Hybrid by William F. Swindler

Not in the Law Alone by James A. Servies

Williamsburg -- A 20-Minute History by Dudley W. Woodbridge

Common Law At Jamestown Celebration, William F. Swindler

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

John Marshall In Perspective, Dudley Warner Woodbridge

Popular Media

No abstract provided.