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Full-Text Articles in Law
Vertical Learning: On Baker And Rodriguez's "Constitutional Home Rule And Judicial Scrutiny", Nestor M. Davidson
Vertical Learning: On Baker And Rodriguez's "Constitutional Home Rule And Judicial Scrutiny", Nestor M. Davidson
Faculty Scholarship
In Constitutional Home Rule and Judicial Scrutiny, Lynn Baker and Daniel Rodriguez start an important conversation about an interesting and understudied puzzle. In one view of vertical federalism, the federal government is understood as constrained to enumerated powers, states retain plenary police power, and local governments are traditionally creatures of the state. This view yields something of structural constitutional bell curve that situates the heart of sovereignty at the state level, leaving the federal government and local governments with forms of limited authority on either end. Despite this seemingly privileged state position, however, federal courts seem unwilling in the main …
The Constitutional Dimension Of Immigration Federalism, Clare Huntington
The Constitutional Dimension Of Immigration Federalism, Clare Huntington
Faculty Scholarship
Although the federal government is traditionally understood to enjoy exclusive authority over immigration, states and localities are increasingly asserting a role in this field. This development has sparked vigorous debate on the propriety of such involvement, but the debate is predicated on a misunderstanding of the nature of federal exclusivity. Challenging the conventional wisdom that the Constitution precludes a meaningful role for state and local involvement in immigration.
This Article argues that the Constitution allows immigration authority to be shared among levels of government. After establishing the correctness of this view of immigration authority, this Article argues that the constitutionality …
Cooperative Localism: Federal-Local Collaboration In An Era Of State Sovereignty Part Ii: Federalism, Nestor M. Davidson
Cooperative Localism: Federal-Local Collaboration In An Era Of State Sovereignty Part Ii: Federalism, Nestor M. Davidson
Faculty Scholarship
Direct relations between the federal government and local governments - what this article calls "cooperative localism" - play a significant and underappreciated role in areas of contemporary policy as disparate as homeland security, law enforcement, disaster response, economic development, social services, immigration, and environmental protection. Despite the ubiquity of this practice, a jurisprudential clash is looming that threatens this important facet of intergovernmental relations. Historically, courts have allowed local governments to invoke federal authority as a source of local autonomy, despite the prevailing view of local governments as powerless instrumentalities of the state. The Supreme Court is increasingly suggesting, however, …
Dissing Congress , Ruth Colker, James J. Brudney
Dissing Congress , Ruth Colker, James J. Brudney
Faculty Scholarship
This article adopts a novel separation of powers framework to analyze the Rehnquist Court's recent decisions under the Commerce Clause and Section Five of the Fourteenth Amendment. We demonstrate in historical terms how the Court's methods for assessing the constitutional adequacy of federal laws have changed dramatically since the mid-1990s, and we argue that these new methods are undermining the proper role of Congress and producing a significant shift in the balance of power between the Branches. We identify two distinct methodologies employed by the Rehnquist Court that have resulted in growing disrespect for Congress - the "crystal ball" and …