Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

PDF

United States Supreme Court

2005

University of New Mexico

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

The Disenfranchisement Of The American Indian, Brenna Clani Jun 2005

The Disenfranchisement Of The American Indian, Brenna Clani

Student Thesis Honors (1996-2008)

The history of the enfranchisement of the American Indian is complicated and complex. This paper will sort through this complicated and complex history. The paper will first analyze the unique status of Indians and how it excluded them from the meaning of "citizen," as interpreted by the United State Supreme Court. It is against this backdrop that the way in which states denied American Indians the right to vote after the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 will then be analyzed.


Should State Courts Be Required To Follow The Decisions Of Lower Federal Courts When Interpreting Questions Of Federal Law?, Quinn Bumgarner-Kirby Jun 2005

Should State Courts Be Required To Follow The Decisions Of Lower Federal Courts When Interpreting Questions Of Federal Law?, Quinn Bumgarner-Kirby

Student Thesis Honors (1996-2008)

At first glance, the rule that state courts are not bound by decisions of the lower federal courts in interpreting questions of federal law seems uncontroversial. Yet the roots of that rule are far from clear. The United States Supreme Court has not definitively stated the rule. While the majority of courts seem to adhere to the rule, a few courts have held that state courts are bound by decisions of the lower federal courts under certain circumstances. Should state courts be bound by lower federal court decisional law? If not, should they nonetheless follow precedent from the circuit in …