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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Cycle Of Delegitimization: Lessons From Dred Scott On The Relationship Between The Supreme Court And The Nation, Jonathon J. Booth
The Cycle Of Delegitimization: Lessons From Dred Scott On The Relationship Between The Supreme Court And The Nation, Jonathon J. Booth
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
This Article examines how Chief Justice Taney’s opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford sparked a cycle of delegitimization that parallels contemporary debates about the Supreme Court’s legitimacy crisis. Part I explicates how one family’s fight for freedom in Missouri reached the Supreme Court, the resulting radical decision, and the nation’s reaction to show the initial stages of this cycle. Part II examines the impact of Dred Scott on politics and law during the James Buchanan administration (1857–1861). During this period, the federal government, Southern states, and some Western territories swiftly implemented the decision, for example by expelling free Black residents. …
How American Society And Law Continue To Undermine People With Disabilities Seeking Education And Employment, Angelica Guevara
How American Society And Law Continue To Undermine People With Disabilities Seeking Education And Employment, Angelica Guevara
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
Our Founders specifically identified education as necessary to economic success and full participation in our democracy and society. However, the Supreme Court held in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez that education in America is not a constitutional right; instead, it is a commodity that few can afford. Then, in 2023, Biden v. Nebraska exposed the direct result of that ruling: the average American––regardless of their disability status––struggles to pay back their student loans, even when they have a well-paying job. The student debt crisis significantly impacts the economic future of students with disabilities, who make on average sixty-six …
Will The New Roberts Court Revive A Formalist Approach To Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence?, Roger Antonio Tejada
Will The New Roberts Court Revive A Formalist Approach To Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence?, Roger Antonio Tejada
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
While all Chief Justices leave behind distinctive periods of judicial thought and practice, the quantitative and qualitative data presented in this article show that the Roberts Court in particular stands out in the development of Fourth Amendment precedent. The key cases that shaped the search and seizure doctrine before and during his rise show that, contrary to what many may expect, Chief Justice Roberts will likely oversee limited, pro-defendant decisions that could grant additional legitimacy to the Court’s crime-control jurisprudence. On the other hand, the new Justices’ voting records and writings suggest that there are several potential coalitions that could …
Rethinking The Fundamentals: Applying The Evolving Standards Of Decency Test To The Court’S Evaluation Of Fundamental Rights., Nick Wolfram
Rethinking The Fundamentals: Applying The Evolving Standards Of Decency Test To The Court’S Evaluation Of Fundamental Rights., Nick Wolfram
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
In 1910, the Supreme Court recognized in Weems v. United States that a constitution “must be capable of wider application than the mischief which gave it birth.” This principle led to the creation of the Court’s two-pronged “evolving standards of decency,” test: (1) evidence of an objective indicia of a national consensus, and (2) the reviewing court’s own independent judgment. To this day the Court has yet to apply this test outside of the Eighth Amendment context. But can the “evolving standards of decency,” test identify and protect other fundamental rights? This Article explores how the Court could apply the …
Editor-In-Chief’S Forward, Zoë Grimaldi
Editor-In-Chief’S Forward, Zoë Grimaldi
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
No abstract provided.
Editor-In-Chief’S Forward, Zoë Grimaldi
Editor-In-Chief’S Forward, Zoë Grimaldi
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
No abstract provided.
Domestic Supply (A Feminist Proposal), Jennifer Hendricks
Domestic Supply (A Feminist Proposal), Jennifer Hendricks
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
No abstract provided.
Unprecedented: Asian Americans, Harvard, The University Of North Carolina, And The Supreme Court’S Striking Down Of Affirmative Action, Harvey Gee
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College Students for Fair Admissions, Inc., Petitioner v. University of North Carolina, et al. (“SFFA v. Harvard”),1 author Harvey Gee urges his fellow Asian Americans––the star plaintiffs in the case and depicted as the main beneficiaries of its holdings–– to fight back to preserve affirmative action. Part I explores how the Court’s approach to affirmative action changed from the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement through many of the pivotal affirmative action cases prior to the 2010s. Part II then seeks …
The Purpose And Practice Of Precedent: What The Decade Long Debate Over Stare Decisis Teaches Us About The New Roberts Court, Russell A. Miller
The Purpose And Practice Of Precedent: What The Decade Long Debate Over Stare Decisis Teaches Us About The New Roberts Court, Russell A. Miller
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
The Supreme Court’s tectonic decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health upended the Doctrine of Substantive Due Process by radically reinterpreting the doctrine of stare decisis. The Court’s established practice regarding stare decisis should have operated to preserve the fifty-year-old abortion jurisprudence. But we should have seen this change coming. Although there has been an intense and involved debate over the purpose and practice of precedent for generations, that debate shifted at the beginning of 2018. Four approaches to stare decisis emerged along a continuum, from complete abandonment of the doctrine and incremental erosion to modernized adherence to precedent. This …
Editor-In-Chief’S Forward, Zoë Grimaldi
Editor-In-Chief’S Forward, Zoë Grimaldi
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
No abstract provided.
Procedural Pluralism: A Model For Enforcing Internal Administrative Law, Daniel Epstein
Procedural Pluralism: A Model For Enforcing Internal Administrative Law, Daniel Epstein
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
Much of our federal administrative law relies upon supposedly mandatory procedures that agencies often ignore. So, can the administrative state achieve legitimacy if it is bound by laws that it rarely, if ever, complies with? New data shows that agencies simply ignore administrative procedures without recourse because compliance ultimately depends on who holds power in the administrative state––not congressionally delegated rules or procedures imposed by the President. This article refutes the prevailing assumption that, as the sole powerholder of the entire executive department, the President is responsible for the current state of administrative non-compliance and underenforcement because the President decides …
Politicians The Founders Warned You About, Neil Fulton
Politicians The Founders Warned You About, Neil Fulton
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
Many articles have explored the Founders’ intentions regarding the constitutional text. Much less attention has focused on the Founders’ ideas regarding the traits needed of the leaders in a constitutional republic. The Constitution focuses on governing structures, many of which relate to the electoral process. The Constitution does not spell out the ideal traits of the leaders elected pursuant to those processes. Nonetheless, the Founders possessed clear views about the virtues and qualifications that ideal political leaders required. Indeed, the Founders issued warnings about certain archetypal political figures who, because of their flagrant disregard of the ideal virtues and qualifications, …
Getting Off Off-Duty: The Impact Of Dobbs On Police Officers’ Private Sexual Lives, Joshua Arrayales
Getting Off Off-Duty: The Impact Of Dobbs On Police Officers’ Private Sexual Lives, Joshua Arrayales
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
Upon its leak and subsequent official release, the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization shocked and worried the nation. Overnight, the Court overturned forty-nine years of precedent. Those forty-nine years of overturned precedent not only implicate the ability to obtain abortion, but also the ability to engage in relationships, marry, make decisions about our own body, and keep our personal lives private. As a result, many advocates worry about the status of fundamental rights since many of those rights relied on the now overturned cases Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey as well as …
The Inadmissibility Of Victim Impact Evidence, Fernanda Gonzalez
The Inadmissibility Of Victim Impact Evidence, Fernanda Gonzalez
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
Currently, 41% of inmates on death row in the United States are Black, even though Black people make up only 13.6% of the total population in the country. Additionally, the data has repeatedly shown that states that do not have the death penalty have lower murder rates than states that do. Despite these disparities, more than half of states in the United States continue to allow capital punishment in some form as an alternative to a life sentence. These disparities were further exacerbated by the Supreme Court’s decision in Payne v. Tennessee, which allowed prosecutors to introduce victim impact evidence …
Litigating The Future Of Youth’S Access To Gender-Affirming Care, Sophia Ureta-Fulan
Litigating The Future Of Youth’S Access To Gender-Affirming Care, Sophia Ureta-Fulan
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
Youth should challenge limitations and prohibitions to their pursuit of gender-affirming care under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (EPC). Executive orders in several states have severely limited or prohibited youths’ ability to pursue gender-affirming care. These legal schemes and policies restrict access to gender-affirming care in violation of the ADA and the EPC. This paper discusses the need for gender-affirming care, the policy landscape in the United States restricting youths’ access to gender-affirming, evaluates arguments to expand the ADA to include coverage of gender dysphoria, and explores potential EPC challenges …