Law Commons^™

First Amendment Fetishism, John M. Kang

Faculty Scholarship

The Supreme Court, starting in 1971, has lit upon a reckless path of protecting speech that is, by any reasonable measure, appallingly vulgar, emotionally hurtful, and dangerous. Against the wishes of the community, the Court has protected a roster of extremely offensive speech:

• a rageful repetition of the F-word uttered by a teacher before children in a school auditorium

• a White skinhead’s cross burning on the front lawn of a Black family’s house

• the public burning of the American flag by an avowed Communist who hated the United States and who cared nothing for the emotional pain …

Balkinization Symposium On Christian G. Fritz, Monitoring American Federalism: The History Of State Legislative Resistance, Christian G. Fritz

Faculty Scholarship

Balkinization, the blog founded by Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment Jack Balkin (Yale Law School), hosted a symposium on Christian Fritz's book Monitoring American Federalism: The History of State Legislative Resistance (Cambridge University Press, 2023) June 14-26, 2023. Six scholars from law schools across the United States discussed the book and the symposium concluded with Professor Fritz's response to the commentators.

Interposition: A State-Based Constitutional Tool That Might Help Preserve American Democracy, Christian G. Fritz

Faculty Scholarship

Interposition was not a claim that state sovereignty could or should displace national authority, but a claim that American federalism needed to preserve some balance between state and national authority.

http://commonplace.online/article/interposition/

Monitoring American Federalism: The Overlooked Tool Of Sounding The Alarm Interposition, Christian G. Fritz

Faculty Scholarship

One key feature of the U.S. Constitution – the concept of federalism – was unclear when it was introduced, and that lack of clarity threatened the Constitution’s ratification by those who feared the new government would undermine state sovereignty. Proponents of the new governmental framework were questioned about the underlying theory of the Constitution as well as how it would operate in practice, and their explanations produced intense and extended debate over how to monitor federalism.

http://50shadesoffederalism.com/case-studies/monitoring-american-federalism-the-overlooked-tool-of-sounding-the-alarm-interposition/#more-1574

Arresting Assembly: An Argument Against Expanding Criminally Punishable Protest, Allison Freedman

Faculty Scholarship

ARRESTING ASSEMBLY: AN ARGUMENT AGAINST EXPANDING
CRIMINALLY PUNISHABLE PROTEST
ALLISON M. FREEDMAN

ABSTRACT

In recent years, public protests have shed light on societal inequities that had previously gone unheard. Yet instead of responding to protesters’ concerns, many state legislators are attempting to silence disenfranchised groups by introducing hundreds of “anti-protest” bills. This is a recent phenomenon and one that is accelerating—the largest wave of “anti-protest” bills was introduced on the heels of the most robust protest movement in recent history, Black Lives Matter during the summer of 2020.

Although it is clear that legislators are attempting to tamp down public …

The Constitutional Costs Of School Policing, Maryam Ahranjani, Natalie Saing

Faculty Scholarship

Abstract

Responding to fears of violence and liability on K-12 campuses, local school boards and superintendents have made on-site or embedded school police omnipresent in American public schools. Yet, very little attention is paid to the many costs associated with their presence. When situating law enforcement’s presence squarely in the racist history of policing and school policing, the juxtaposition with the civic purpose of public education reveals significant constitutional costs. This Article builds on existing scholarship by bringing attention to the conflict between the First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments and the dimensions of embedded school police. Ultimately, schools …

“Trumping” Affirmative Action, Vinay Harpalani

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay examines the Trump administration’s actions to eliminate affirmative action, along with the broader ramifications of these actions. While former-President Trump’s judicial appointments have garnered much attention, the Essay focuses on the actions of his Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. It lays out the Department of Justice’s investigations of Harvard and Yale, highlighting how they have augmented recent lawsuits challenging race-conscious admissions policies by Students for Fair Admissions. It considers the timing of the DOJ’s actions, particularly with respect to Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College. It examines the strategies used by …

Is It Time To Revisit Qualified Immunity?, Joseph A. Schremmer, Sean M. Mcgivern

Faculty Scholarship

The right to sue and defend in the courts of the several states are essential privileges of citizenship. Eight generations ago, this right was unavailable to black people, because descendants of African slaves were never intended to be citizens. Then, and for years to come, local governments failed to protect African Americans from violence and discrimination and were sometimes complicit in those violations.

Qualified immunity was born in 1982 when the Supreme Court decided Harlow v. Fitzgerald. With an outflow of questionable court decisions shielding officers solely because they act under color of state law, it is time for the …

Kob Interviews Joshua Kastenberg About Constitutional Rights During Covid-19, Joshua Kastenberg, Brittany Costello

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Developing Youth Voices, Maryam Ahranjani

Faculty Scholarship

Discusses the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, and its role in inspiring students to speak up about the things that are important to them. Students learn how the Constitution works by reading cases, and developing critical thinking and oral advocacy skills with relatable mentors.

For more information visit:

https://www.wcl.american.edu/impact/initiatives-programs/marshallbrennan/20th-anniversary/

Nearing Thirty Years: The Burger Court, Strickland V. Washington, And The Parameters Of The Right To Counsel, Joshua E. Kastenberg

Faculty Scholarship

In Strickland v. Washington, the Court issued a standard for determining when defense counsel's ineffective performance, through no direct fault of the prosecution, law enforcement, public, or judiciary, undermined the fairness of a trial such that a conviction or sentence had to be rendered as a violation of due process. The article's conclusion presents a model for applying the legal history underlying Strickland to ineffective assistance cases.