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Full-Text Articles in Law
Constitutional Interpretation And History: New Originalism Or Eclecticism?, Stephen M. Feldman
Constitutional Interpretation And History: New Originalism Or Eclecticism?, Stephen M. Feldman
Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law
The goal of originalism has always been purity. Originalists claim that their methods cleanse constitutional interpretation of politics, discretion, and indeterminacy. The key to attaining purity is history. Originalist methods supposedly discern in history a fixed constitutional meaning. Many originalists now claim that the most advanced method—the approach that reveals the purest constitutional meaning—is reasonable-person originalism. These new originalists ask the following question: When the Constitution was adopted, how would a hypothetical reasonable person have understood the text? This Article examines historical evidence from the early decades of nationhood to achieve two goals. First, it demonstrates that reasonable-person originalism is …
Planting Seeds Of Order: How The State Can Create, Shape, And Use Customary Law, Bryan H. Druzin
Planting Seeds Of Order: How The State Can Create, Shape, And Use Customary Law, Bryan H. Druzin
Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law
This paper argues that government can strategically trigger the emergence of customary law in order to achieve specific policy ends. While much has been written on customary law, the idea that the State can stimulate its emergence is a radical notion with clear policy implications. Harnessed correctly, such an approach could be a powerful legislative weapon to create, sustain, and even redirect social order. Building upon basic insights from game theory, the paper posits a way to do this: policymakers can deliberately recreate the social conditions that foster the emergence of customary order. The paper, however, draws a sharp divide …
The Forgotten Founding Document: Considering The Ends Of The Law, A. Scott Loveless
The Forgotten Founding Document: Considering The Ends Of The Law, A. Scott Loveless
Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law
On the difficult moral issues confronting the judiciary today, a long overlooked bit of guidance is provided in the Declaration of Independence, natural law. This paper discusses the moral foundations of the Constitution and their relation to positive law, primarily addressing "same-sex marriage" in the context of Proposition 8 in California, but broadly applicable to other moral/legal conflicts such as abortion and the display of religious texts on public grounds, such as the Ten Commandments. It also challenges the judicial activism evident in many such cases as a judicial violation of the requirements of substantive due process.
The Fundamental And Natural Law 'Repugnant Review' Origins Of Judicial Review: A Synergy Of Early English Corporate Law With Notions Of Fundamental And Natural Law, Lawrence Joseph Perrone
The Fundamental And Natural Law 'Repugnant Review' Origins Of Judicial Review: A Synergy Of Early English Corporate Law With Notions Of Fundamental And Natural Law, Lawrence Joseph Perrone
Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law
No abstract provided.
Legal Policy, Technique And Research In Family Law—Some Comparative Aspects, Anders Agell
Legal Policy, Technique And Research In Family Law—Some Comparative Aspects, Anders Agell
Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law
No abstract provided.